Southeastern Pa. girls' soccer preview

The Central Bucks South girls' soccer team looks to make another deep playoff run after appearing in the program's first state final in 2016. The Lady Titans beat Central, Hempfield, and Manheim Township before suffering a devastating overtime loss to Canon-McMillan in the PIAA Class 4A final.

CB South ended with a 19-6-1 overall record and went 9-2-1 in Suburban One League Continental Division action.

The Lady Titans won numerous close games thanks to goalkeeper Sophia Boggs, who will be playing at D1 Colgate this fall. The netminder tallied an impressive 0.58 goals against average to go along with 178 saves and 16 shutouts as a senior en route to her second straight team MVP honor. In addition, the two-time first team all-league pick was selected for the Women's National Training Pool in 2015, was a four-year member of the FC Bucks Elite Clubs National League team and a 2017 participant in the ECNL Player Development Program.

CB South also lost SOL Continental first-team defenders Nicole Wills and Courtney Taylor and midfielder Maddie Koch to graduation. Despite the losses, the Lady Titans will still be a force due to key players returning such as defender Margot Centofanti, defender Mackenzie Edwards, midfielder Aleksa Peev, midfielder Brooke Steigerwalt, and midfielder Chelsea Nichols.

"With a core of returners with playoff experience we hope to make it deep into the playoffs again this year," said head coach Betsy Bullock.

Conestoga has many key pieces still in place from last year's team that lost in the first round of the PIAA Class 4A state tournament. The Pioneers bring back last year's top two leading scorers, Caitlin Donovan and Nia Scott, along with senior Hannah Morgan (Providence Commit, 2016 all-state and NSCAA all-region 2016).

"With the addition of some very talented freshman to an already strong returning roster, the sky is the limit on what this group can achieve this season," said head coach Benjamin Wilson.

Quakertown hopes to repeat on its 2016 landmark season of 14-1-4, which included an 11-0-3 mark in the SOL American Division. The Panthers' season ended when they fell in penalty kicks to Downingtown West in the second round of the District 1 Class 4A playoffs.

Head coach Mike Koch will lean on Lafayette commit Haley Pursel to anchor the midfield, while Ashley Gluck and Kyra Handel provide the attack. Melina Jagiello and goalkeeper Morgan Small return to lead a defense that posted 10 shutouts last season. Midfielder Sam Barkholz, midfielder Beach Fox, and defender Grace Kave are also among the core group of returning players.

The Panthers, though, lost Vic Sturgess, Katie Crouthamel, Carley Peacher, Lauren Pursel, Julia Taylor, Haley Dulis, and Sam Ramsden to graduation.

Pennsbury has found itself atop the SOL National Division for the last three seasons. The Lady Falcons are coming off a 16-3 overall record with an 11-1 mark in the SOL National. Unfortunately, the season ended with a setback to Downingtown East in a District 1 Class 4A playback game.

Coaches Kaitlyn Battiste and Kim Lindemann hope to take the next step with a strong senior class composed of midfielder Kelsey Butler, midfielder Dani Cady, defender Hope Drewes, midfielder Lizzy Kirk, defender Jenna Peters, goalkeeper Kerry Phillips, and midfielder Riley Young. Pennsbury, however, will miss Meredith Webber (UMBC), Rachel Beri, and Cara Thomas.

Villa Joseph Marie will try to continue an impressive stretch that includes three straight appearances in the state championship game, one state title (2014), and four District One championships. The Jems fell to Moon Area in the 2016 PIAA Class 3A state title game.

The team will have an uphill battle after losing Murphy Agnew to graduation. Agnew earned 2016 Gatorade Pennsylvania girls' soccer player of the year honors after recording 29 goals and 15 assists. A member of the U.S. Youth Soccer Region I Olympic Development Program team, Agnew participated in the High School All-American Game in North Carolina in December. A three-time national championship tournament MVP with her club team, she concluded her prep soccer career with 101 goals and 49 assists.

Nazareth Academy, a rival of Villa Joseph Marie in the Catholic Academies League, has high expectations after making Districts for the first time in 12 years. The Pandas lost to league rival Gwynedd Mercy in the first round of the District 1 Class 3A playoffs.

Lauren Powell, Bella Spinelli, Steph Marino, Abby Watson, Kierra McAneny, and Hannah Florentino, who is coming off a knee injury, return for Nazareth. Maura Lifsted and Madison Joynes were the only two players lost to graduation.

"Our goal is to compete for a league championship, which in our league is extremely tough with teams like Villa Joe, Gwynedd, Mount St. Joseph, Villa Maria, and Saint Basil," said head coach Dan Bradley. "The goal last year was to make Districts, but this year we raised our expectations to achieve more than just making it."

Conwell-Egan has its sights set on returning to Hershey. The Lady Eagles are coming off their fifth consecutive District 12 title and a loss to Warrior Run in the quarterfinals of the PIAA Class 1A state playoffs.

The Lady Eagles will have to make up for the loss of Lindsay Straka, who recorded a team-high 18 goals and eight assists in 2016. Straka found the back of the net 54 times during her four-year varsity career.

Conwell-Egan will look to fill the void with midfielder Carly Bonfig, striker/midfielder Mackensie Michaels, defender/goalkeeper Maddy Terry, midfielder/defender Ally Wojton, striker/midfielder Chole Grabowski, striker/midfielder Alexandra Chalmers, defender Erin Rottloff, and defender Lexi Hyska.

"Experienced seniors should carry our team deep into the playoffs," said head coach Andy Adamiec.

Other teams to watch are Neshaminy (defending District One Class 4A champions), Pennridge (Class 4A state quarterfinalists) and St. Basil (Class 2A state quarterfinalists).