Great first eight. Eight games into the season, Council Rock North is still unbeaten.
The North soccer side opened its fall 6-0-2. The Indians, who drew Central Bucks South 1-1 on Tuesday after a six-day hiatus, were the first team in District One 4A to be unbeaten after their first seven matches.
“I think the two biggest attributes of this team are that we are big and fast,” said North head coach Joe Stackhouse, who is in his 12th season at the Newtown school. “We’re very physical and we play from end to end. We defend well as a team. So far, we’ve only given up four goals. I think the team is gelling really well.
“We only have five seniors on the team and against CR South we started two sophomores in the defensive end. Overall, we’re deeper than we’ve been in the last couple of seasons,” Stackhouse continued. “We had a really good season last year. I think over the next couple of years, knock on wood, we’re going to be fairly decent.”
The Indians had a strong 2022, winning the SOL Patriot and advancing to the second round of districts. While rival CR South is equally strong, it is easy to see another Council Rock 1-2 finish in the division … and for the Indians to check the boxes on their team goals.
“We have very distinct goals and we’ve been using, for the most part, the same four points year in and year out,” Stackhouse explained. The first is to win the SOL Patriot. “The second one is to gain a place at the table at districts,” Stackhouse continued. “The third one is to advance to a place in the state tournament.” The fourth, and not the least important, is to claim the Unity Cup, given to the winner of the CR North/CR South series.
The Indians graduated Nick Wise, who tallied a dozen goals and claimed the divisional Player of the Year. But they have replaced him with a balanced offensive attack. Entering Tuesday, 10 different North players have scored this year. Ari Pollack’s five lead the team; James Reynolds and Windsor Varady have both added four.
Pollack “plays exceptionally well from box to box. The other day against Neshaminy, he was by far, the best player on the field,” Stackhouse praised. “He not only is a good player but he has a lot of physical grit to him. He is the fittest guy on the field.”
North drew CR South 2-2 on Sept. 5. The Indians followed that by posting three straight shutouts against Neshaminy, Pennsbury and Central Bucks West. Calvin Hopkins, a next level prospect at goalkeeper, stopped a Pennsbury penalty kick to preserve the clean sheet.
Pollack had goals against both Pennsbury and CB West; Jack Randolph (Pennsbury) and Logan Adams (CB West) added their first tallies of the season.
“I’ve always preached that for you to be a good soccer club, you have to be 14, 15, 16 deep. And it has to be transparent. You can’t put in a sub and have them play at a lesser level,” Stackhouse commented. “The better teams are all the same way. They are coming at you in waves.
“With Neshaminy, during the course of the match, we used every kid who was dressed. And it wasn’t like we were giving guys ‘slop time,’ pardon the expression,” Stackhouse continued. “We were giving some kids on the back end of the bench some critical minutes. That has been a pleasant surprise: that we’re as deep as we are. The guys up front have stepped up and played but I don’t have any qualms if I have to put the subs in.”
North continues its crossover games, heading to Lansdale to take on North Penn on Thursday.
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