Photo courtesy of Carl Gulbish
West Chester Henderson Holds CB East Scoreless
Central Bucks East attacked the West Chester Henderson defense from all sides, but the Warriors withstood the early-season test to earn a 0-0 draw on their second day facing a state finalist. Henderson lost 1-0 to CB South in their 2026 debut while CB East, the defending PIAA 4A State Champions, opened their season a day ago by dismantling West Chester Rustin 8-0.
In a rematch of last season’s District 1 Round of 16, an East 2-1 win, the Patriots out-created by a significant margin yet couldn’t find the back of the net, an uncharacteristic outcome as of late. Going back to the opening round of last season’s district playoffs, East has averaged just over four goals per game. But they certainly has their moments.
The game opened with a wave of attacks down the right side through Mia Forney, who navigated multiple double teams by weaving through defenders and putting constant pressure on keeper Samantha Lee. Forney, the University of Maryland commit, had a goal and an assist in the win over Rustin and wasted no time jumping in on the action. Eight minutes into the game, she found Kiera Sleicher at the back of the six, but Sleicher pushed her shot over the bar. Three minutes later, Forney beat two defenders to the end line, but Henderson defender Samantha Hillery steered the cross away. Less than a minute later, Forney sliced through traffic at the end line and tested Lee at the near post, and Hillery stepped up to clear away the rebound.
Two minutes later, Henderson nearly struck first against the run of play when Sydney Fernandes had a clear look at goal, but a strong challenge from Ella Roumey forced a rushed shot that East keeper Maddie Thompson saved.
East had their best chances midway through the half as the game settled into a rhythm in their favor. Sleicher had a shot from distance that carried over the bar, Taylor Roumy broke free down the left side and ripped a shot that also missed high, and a Roumy to Forney short corner ended with Forney clipping the bar from a tight angle. East’s first goal nearly arrived when Quinn Reilley’s contested cross from the left side gave Lee difficulties at the near post. Taylor Roumy jumped on the rebound, but Lee got enough of the ball to deflect it off the post and out of danger.
With just over ten minutes to go, Ava Mignon’s distant shot beat Lee but hit the underside of the bar and bounced off the goal line. Reilly couldn’t get on top of the high bounce and sent a header over.
Henderson won a free kick outside the box off a dangerous counter, and Anneliese Knapp’s free kick found the target but lacked the power to beat Thompson.
Late in the half, Forney once again found room down the right, but the Henderson defense managed to clog the passing lanes and battle for second balls with much resiliency.
Henderson grew into the game defensively and frustrated East going forward with organized coverages and timely tackles. A long, looping free kick from Sleicher tested Lee in the early in the second half, and Forney broke down the right side again with Taylor Roumy just missing a touch at the front of the six. Minutes later, Roumy found Forney at the back post, but Lee made the initial save with fine positioning and snatched the rebound before Forney could take another stab.
With time winding down, Henderson nearly stole the winner after Thompson, came out to play the ball with her feet, but the ball deflected wide a challenge from a Henderson striker. Henderson held off a few late East chances off set pieces and a long strike from Mattie Williams in the closing seconds, seeing out a game that felt more like a win.
“They were fantastic on the counter pressing,” West Chester Henderson coach Stephen Norris said after the game about his team’s performance. “They were great in transition. They rotated well defensively, and they’ve been fantastic and just putting forth a great effort on and off the field. CB East is such a fantastic team. They’re well coached. They play hard together, so we’re happy to have a great result that we can build off of.”
Not many teams can claim to have pushed both state finalists to their limits, and though Norris is still approaching the season one game at a time, he was happy with his team’s performances in the early season challenges. “We had a tough loss yesterday, but they didn’t let that define them. They rallied back up, and once they feel that confidence, they can play against anybody.”
Henderson will meet Haverford early next week.
CB East coach Jake Nesteruk found positives despite not getting the result. “We played well enough for the win,” he said. “I thought Henderson absolutely was excellent tonight and really well prepared, really well coached, organized, good effort, and ultimately they did what they needed to do.”
While East held most of the possession and created a much larger percentage of the game’s chances, Nesteruk still saw the game as an opportunity for his team to grow.
“We’re trying to figure out the blueprint of how teams will defend against us, and that’s what we got from this. We see how teams are going to play, how they’re going to adjust. We have to continue to figure out how to problem solve and answer those questions.”
With the a majority of players back from last season’s state championship team, CB East enters 2026 as one of the frontrunners to lift the state trophy again. Before that opportunity, they’ll run through a difficult league schedule that includes CB South, last season’s District 1 champion Pennridge, CB West, and Souderton, who’ve all won state titles in recent years. Peters Township was the last school to win back-to-back titles among the largest PA schools, winning three in a row from 2010-2012.
“The team that we’ve got this year, we believe wholeheartedly that they can control matches,” Nesteruk said. “Last year, that team kind of grew into themselves, learned how to battle. Games were a lot more even. You see it tonight. There’s just a lot of confidence in our decision making, control of the ball, how we play, the style of our play. We’re trying to embrace the target on our back, but these kids are old enough and mature enough that they just want to go out and play and play the right way.”
CB East will face 3A state finalists Radnor on Monday before hosting Souderton mid-week. In two weeks, East will host CB South and Pennridge wihin a 48-hour span, a biggest task in the early season.
Abington and LaSalle play to 1-1 draw after 40 Minutes
Abington, the defending PIAA 4A Boys champions, opened their season against PCL and District 12 champions LaSalle Friday night at Schwarzman Stadium at Abington High School. After forty minutes of action, both teams made their case for a another promising season, drawing 1-1.
From the opening minutes, Abington used the narrow field to their advantage with several long throw ins by Carter Shannon, who sent deep liners into LaSalle’s penalty area. To the Explorer’s credit, they defended each set piece as well as they could with defenders Robert Newtown and Sam Lang making strong aerial challenges and keeper Dylan Schollin cleaning up the secondary balls on the ensuing skirmishes. Abington’s Sean Westmoreland had a clean header off a Jaza Vasquez corner that he headed over the bar, and Brenner Ewer also had a header go over the bar from another Shannon throw in.
Vasquez created the most of his opportunities for the Ghosts as the LaSalle defenders tried to surround him on long balls over the top and team up whenever he had space to dribble. His first real opportunity to score came when he turned a poor clearance from a recycled free kick into shot from the top of the box that Schollin saved.
Against the run of play, LaSalle created a good chance of their own on the counter midway through the half, but midfielder Jan Axsom pulled his shot wide.
Abington broke through with just under fifteen minutes to go in the half. Setting up for another Schollin deep throw into the box, Vasquez ran short and posted up a LaSalle defender, letting the quick throw run past him toward goal. After winning a challenge from Jack Siravo, he ripped a shot into the top corner to put Abington up 1-0.
LaSalle responded with a goal of their own once after play resumed. Taking advantage of their own set piece, Aidan Scollin found the back of the net to take away any momentum the hosts had gained from rousing their fans after the opening goal.
As time in the first half winded down and the remaining daylight along with it, the game followed the same recipe of Abington set piece and LaSalle counter. Vasquez sent a deep in-swinging cross from the far left that beat the LaSalle backline, but Ewer’s lunging toe poke went wide. A late Abington corner won by Westmoreland caused more scrambling, but Schollin and his defenders cleared the ball away from any danger.
Officials called the game at halftime due a power outage in the area. It is unknown if the game will be made up as a second half or replayed, but it presented a strong early test for both teams, each who will be looking to contend again in their respective leagues with a returning core of upperclassmen.
Abington hosts Wissahickon Wednesday before traveling to Archbishop Ryan Friday. LaSalle will host the Christian Brothers Academy Friday and will open PCL play the following week.
