The Suburban One League (SOL) girls’ flag semifinals came and went this past week, and I was far from surprised by the final four teams and their outcomes. All four teams (Abington, North Penn, CB East, and PW) showed up, played their hearts out, and left it all on the field. I must admit, these were my first in-person games this season, and it was intense in both games. In our first game, undefeated North Penn played stellar defense and walked away with an 18-6 victory over Plymouth-Whitemarsh. In game two, undefeated Abington took care of business against Central Bucks East and cruised to a 48-13 win. In game one, North Penn fought hard with Plymouth-Whitemarsh and powered through to victory. Quarterback Tori Cavanaugh tossed three touchdown passes. Tessa Wieloch scored a touchdown and showed off her superior athleticism. Amani Keys was catching everything thrown her way and weaving in and out of tackles. The defense was lights out. Lani Williams & Maura Tornetta patrolled the secondary and came away with an interception each. North Penn’s head coach, Kevin Zebluim, was pleased with his team’s performance. I’ll almost bet anyone that he’s looking forward to his next matchup. Is spoke with him earlier in the season, and he said they had to beat a lot of good teams first to get to that. Abington and North Penn have a history, and Abington has ended the Lady Knights’ season two years in a row. He said after the game, “They played a great defensive game and I’m very proud of their hard work and great attitudes.” SOI’s intern journalist, Colin Hogan, caught up with Dan Chang, head coach of Plymouth-Whitemarsh, and this is what he shared about his team’s effort and season as a whole: “I’m really happy with our season this year. We’ve got such a great group of girls who come to work hard all the time. They’re great kids to be around, and I couldn’t have asked for more to be a part of this program.” Chang continued, “I’m super proud of everything they’ve done this year and accomplished. We have three seniors that we’re deeply going to miss as they move on, but we’re excited for the rest of our girls to come back and make some waves next year.” In game two, it was all Abington. The undefeated Lady Ghosts showed why they remain undefeated and are a dominant force within the SOL. The second play from scrimmage proved to be motivation and the exact way the team wanted to start the game. Maddison Oldham took the hand off and raced 35+ yards to pay dirt to open the scoring. Co-Head Coach Francis Bowe told Colin, “To start fast and not let up has been our motto all year long because we play a lot of teams that like to hold the ball and run the clock to control the game. They (East) do a lot of short passes, so by us starting fast, we immediately put pressure on them.” Melissa Brizzell said about the weather, “We’ve always played our best games in the rain. Our very first game, three years ago, was against Wissahickon, and it was raining; they loved it, and it was their favorite game from last season.” Brizzell concluded, “When we were in the Championship against North Penn last year, and it was raining. They love it and lock in when it rains.”The rest of the game, we watched as 2024 Pennsylvania Player of the Year Maya Johnson just took over. If she wasn’t taking off and wiggling in and out of traffic, she was dropping dimes to Misha Posner. The center accounted for two scores and two conversions. Abington’s defense was locked down while allowing just two scores. As for facing off against North Penn again for the SOL Championship, they are excited, considering both teams are undefeated. The final is going to be the best game of the year. Coach Brizzell ended with, “North Penn is a very competitive team and undefeated, the best of the best in the Suburban One are going to be playing each other for the third time in a row for a Championship. We are excited.” It might not have been the outcome they had hoped for, but Head Coach Erik Pederson of Central Bucks East said after the game, “Hey listen, Abington is a high-level team. They have some players that are great and are just plain hard to stop.” Pederson continued, “I’m happy with our team, we were 11-1 heading into this game, which improved from last season, and I can’t say enough about the maturity of our girls this season, but hats off to Abington.”