East Whiteland – Red-hot West Chester Henderson, which had outscored its opponents 12-1 in its first three contests in the PIAA District One 4A boys’ soccer tournament, knew it faced a particularly tough challenge in the championship final against undefeated Conestoga Saturday afternoon at Great Valley High School.
When the Warriors lost to Conestoga, 2-1, earlier this season, it marked the seventh straight loss Henderson endured against the Pioneers.
“For us seniors, we knew we were 0-7 in our last seven games against Conestoga,” said Henderson senior forward Frank DeRosa. “And our last loss [2-1] was at home. We did not want to lose again.”
Henderson senior defender Max Zandi added, “We came out today with [plenty of] energy.”
The energetic Warriors came out of the gate smoking, DeRosa scored a goal in the 11th minute of play, and Henderson (21-1-1) spent most of the first half in Conestoga’s territory on the way to a 2-0 victory and the District One championship.

To view a photo gallery of the West Chester Henderson-Conestoga District One boys’ championship final click here
Conestoga head coach David Zimmerman, whose Pioneers suffered their first defeat of the season, said, “All credit goes to Henderson, particularly in the first half. For the first 15 minutes of the game, they played like I’ve not seen anyone play.”
Zandi, who assisted on the second goal, said, “This was one of our best games of the season. In Districts, we’ve really been clicking.”
By the end of the game, the Warriors felt relief as well as jubilation.
“When the game was over, I just said, ‘Thank God,’ said Zandi. “We knew we were 0-7 [against Conestoga] coming in.”
DeRosa said, “When the game ended I was really tired. But I really wanted to celebrate with our fans, so we went over to see them [right after the game].”
In the opening round of the PIAA 4A state tournament Tuesday, West Chester Henderson will play Cumberland Valley, the third-place finisher from District 3; while Conestoga will square off against Parkland, the second-place finisher in District 11.
Henderson head coach Sean Ryan said, “I have a lot of respect for Conestoga, they’ve been really successful. We were on them for the first 10 minutes or so, and Frank’s early goal really settled our players down. Frank’s scoring has been a big [advantage] for us lately. Aidan [senior midfielder Aidan McFadden] did a great job whipping the ball in to Frank before he scored.”
DeRosa said, “The play started off with [senior forward] Richie Schlentz playing the ball in, and I took a shot that hit the post. Aidan played the second ball in to me, I saw an opening to the goal, but I couldn’t get to the ball with my foot, so I got my head on it, and it went in.”
In the 40th minute, Zandi got the ball inside to senior Zach Roberts, who fired in a goal just before the half ended to give the Warriors a 2-0 lead. On a similar play a week ago against Lower Merion in the District One quarterfinals, the Zandi-to-Roberts connection led to an overtime game-winner against Lower Merion.
“I was just trying to get a decent ball in, I was trying to aim for Zach and create chaos for the goalkeeper,” said Zandi. “Zach’s been the hot guy for us.”
Ryan said, “Zach’s been one of our key players [lately], with his [clutch] scoring and midfield play.”
Zimmerman said, “That [second] goal was too much, made it difficult to recover from. For us to score three goals at that point is unrealistic.
“I don’t think we played particularly well in the first half. When you get to this level [in the post-season], you have to consistently show up, play well.”
Ryan sees the veteran Warriors coming together at the right time.
“We had some injuries and illness earlier this season, but got everybody back a week before the regular season ended,” said Ryan. “We have a lot of really talented players, many of whom have played soccer [together] for more than a decade. We have pretty good depth of talent – we used 16 guys today.”
For Conestoga, this loss could be a gut check, according to Zimmerman.
“The key for us now will be how we react to our first loss of the season,” said Zimmerman. “Sometimes it can re-fuel a team – we’ll see.”

EAST WHITELAND >> When he plays on the wing, Radnor’s Andrew Boujoukos isn’t exactly a speed merchant.

When he saw Jack Miller turn a Holy Ghost Prep defender inside out and strip the ball 60 yards from the goal with acres of green space ahead of him, however, Boujoukos bolted.

He didn’t stop until the ball had ruffled the back of the net.

Boujoukos scores on the counter! Radnor wins 2-1 pic.twitter.com/yWEIRRaZnb

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) November 5, 2016

Miller and Boujoukos executed an unholy counterattack in the first overtime session Saturday, handing the Raiders a 2-1 win over the top-seeded Firebirds in the District 1 Class 3A championship at Great Valley.

Radnor’s Andrew Boujoukos, right, and Ryan Peter celebrate the former’s game-winning goal in overtime past Holy Ghost Prep goalkeeper Harry Scuron as Radnor claimed the District 1 Class 3A title, 2-1. (Digital First Media/Pete Bannan)

“I just knew, there was only two minutes left in the first overtime, and getting down the field was the only thing I had to do,” Boujoukos said. “Jack Miller was either going to shoot it and I had to get the rebound, or he was going to pass it, and I knew I was going to be ready to shoot that ball.”

Boujoukos’s goal in the 93rd minute owed greatly to Miller’s dogged work. After a Holy Ghost free kick was cleared, Miller was the high man stranded against two defenders. He picked the pocket of the first, then forced the other into a choice: Stick Miller or attend to Boujoukos streaming up the right channel.

Miller placed his feed where only Boujoukos could catch up to it, poking it past a sliding Harry Scuron and setting off the Raiders’ celebrations.

The win moves Radnor (13-7-1) into a date with Fleetwood, the fourth seed from District 3 in Tuesday’s first round of the PIAA Class 3A Tournament.

Though less controversial, Boujoukos’s goal mirrored the determination of Radnor’s equalizer, a trademark Phil Regan grinder goal where the defender-turned-forward made enough contact with Scuron to warrant a Holy Ghost assistant earning a red card for his protests.

PHOTO GALLERY: Radnor vs. Holy Ghost Prep

Trophy time for the @RHSBoysSoccer16 pic.twitter.com/5XEMfvvMKK

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) November 5, 2016

Off a high-bounding ball, Regan and Scuron leapt for a 50-50 ball near the penalty spot. Scuron got his hands to it, but dropped it after contact with some combination of Regan and a Holy Ghost teammate. It was the kind of collision in the gray area defined by the special (and unofficial) protection afforded only to goalies. The whistles remained silent, and in quick succession, Regan and David Azzarano had shots blocked.

Radnor’s Jack Miller, right, takes the ball away from Holy Ghost’s Ryan Danastorg and starts a break that would result in a winning goal in overtime by Andrew Boujoukos, lifting Radnor to a District 1 championship Saturday night at Great Valley High School. (Digital First Media/Pete Bannan)

But Regan — the “quick, out-of-control guy,” in his words, that coach Joe Caruolo turns to when he needs a goal — found the ball and pounded it into the waiting cage.

“I just knew I needed to provide energy right off the bat,” Regan said. “That was the first opportunity I had to make a run. I saw the ball bouncing, I was fearless and went up for it. Next thing I know the ball is right next to me and I just kicked it in.”

Despite the bench’s protests, the goal stood, pegging back a Ryan French tally in the 44th minute.

But the final result reflected the overall balance of play. Radnor dominated the first half, unfortunate not to carry a lead into the break. The Firebirds (14-6-1) stormed out of halftime, and within four minutes were ahead via French, who tucked away a cross played into the box by outside back Alex Rubinstein that pinballed to him. That avenue of attack via the wings was Holy Ghost’s most fruitful.

“Our best power is from our midfield to the outside and across the face to get to the goal,” French said. “I think we did that well tonight.”

Regan struck back, and Radnor had the best chance to end it in regulation when Cal Hanson’s glancing near-post header of a corner kick struck the crossbar above a beaten Scuron.

Miles Maesaka clear off the line! That’s a title saver. I think McDonald had the header. pic.twitter.com/PN8fdr5VYI

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) November 5, 2016

But as has been the Raiders’ postseason destiny, they required overtime for a third consecutive game. The Raiders beat Phoenixville in PKs in the quarters after Regan’s last-minute equalizer, then topped Bishop Shanahan in overtime in the semis via a Ryan Peter tally.

“This team has grown to have a ton of confidence, a ton of composure,” Regan said. “When we’re down, no one feels that they’re in any bit losing this game. This team has a special ability to stay in the fight and pick up wins.”

Holy Ghost Prep’s Ryan Danastorg, left, tries to edge out Radnor’s Andrew Boujoukos Saturday. (Digital First Media/Pete Bannan)

“(Goalie Ben) Toomey says in the huddle every single time, ‘Let’s get a goal in the first overtime,’ not the second overtime or PKs,” Boujoukos said. “Let’s get it in play.”

Holy Ghost grabbed the first chance of extra time four minutes in when forward Connor Fife rose for a header, but fullback Miles Maesaka was stationed at the far post and dutifully booted it off the line.

“The world kind of just stopped,” Maesaka said. “I saw the ball on the line, and I just kicked it off. …It was like floating on the line. I just reacted and slapped at it and kicked it out.”

Toomey made four saves, including a massive sliding denial of Fife minutes after French’s goal. Scuron was the busier of the netminders with nine saves. But Boujoukos and the Raiders had the final say, adding a little hardware to a trove of memories they’ve accumulated this postseason.

Hanson off the crossbar! Another corner. pic.twitter.com/gEgrtIV68o

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) November 5, 2016

“It means so much, especially for guys that have been on varsity for three years,” Maesaka said. “We’ve been out in the first round four years in a row, since I’ve been here. So this is one of the best experiences of my high school career.”

NEWTOWN >> Playing for third is the last thing any team wants to be doing.

It means that team lost in the semifinals and someone else is playing for the title it wanted so badly. But, at least in recent history in the World Cup, a third place game in soccer can still be really, really good. Just put two teams of the caliber of Council Rock North and North Penn on the same field and something good will come of it.

There actually was something to play for, aside from the seeding, for both teams despite having locked up their PIAA Class AAAA tournament bids. Neither really wanted to go into states on a two-game losing skid and even with La Salle awaiting the winner, it was a challenge the two teams would have taken.

In the end, it was North Penn working through a 2-1 victory in the District 1 consolation game on a chilly evening at Rock North on Saturday.

“It was huge, we want to go into states on the right foot,” North Penn senior midfielder and captain Mike Kohler said. “We might have lost a little momentum (in a 2-1 semifinal loss) to Conestroga but we got it right back here, which is so important.”

In the first half, it was the hosts who looked like they wanted it more and they did. CR North was on the wrong side of a lopsided score against West Chester Henderson in their district semi and even though Henderson won the district title on Saturday, the Indians wanted to right their ship as well.

The Rock North coaches were stunned when they didn’t get a penalty kick on an apparent foul in the North Penn box in the first half but otherwise saw a lot to like from their side. Grant Bonas, Conor O’Donnell, Nick Guarna and Nikita Ilin all had some quality moments on offense during the match.

“It was a lot better than the other night,” North coach Joe Stackhouse said. “Henderson beat Conestoga who was in all these polls, No. 1 in the country. The other night was a perfect storm, we didn’t play anywhere near our capabilities and they executed everything. This is a tough game to play for both teams, we’re third; we’re fourth, either way we’re still playing on Tuesday.”

North Penn’s problem in the first half was one of direction. The Knights were playing too fast, not maintaining possession and playing far too direct, which isn’t their game. At the half, the coaches got the guys together and talked about those things and after halftime, it was more like North Penn.

Freshman Carter Houlihan played in central midfield on Saturday and was simply excellent. Houlihan has been swapping between center back and defensive mid the last few weeks, depending on matchup. He said it’s an adjustment, but he’s getting more comfortable.

“I thought I did well handling the ball,” Houlihan said. “The first half I came out a little shaky but at halftime, Coach (Paul Duddy) gave me a good talk and I came out, didn’t have any nerves and played pretty well. We were more relaxed.”

After an initial surge by CR North, the Knights began to press back and broke through early in the frame. Kohler whipped a shot across goal that seemed to be well wide until it hit a Rock North defender and took a cruel turn into the back of the net with 33:34 left.

That really got the Knights going with Nate Baxter pushing a pair of shots wide and Aiden Jerome forcing Anthony Caruso into a save on a header. Caruso had a couple of big stops on the night, including one two minutes in off an absolute screamer of a free kick by Kohler.

North Penn won a throw deep in Indians territory, allowing Houlihan to give it a strong heave into the box. There, forward Luke McMahon had a gem of a goal when he was able to turn on the ball and get a good leg behind it for a one-time strike into the net with 26:05 left.

“We told them just to go back to what we do best with moving the ball and possessing,” Duddy said. “We possessed it more and that opens up more chances.

“It was a great finish. (Kohler) does a lot for us, and a lot of guys do, but Luke gets goals for us and he’s had a great season.”

The Knights seemed to have the game in hand and began to pull some key guys with less than 10 minutes left. Then, the officials called the Knights for a foul in the box off a corner and gave CR North the PK it had wanted so badly in the first half.

North Penn keeper Bobby Dean made a tremendous save on Jon Pugh’s penalty take but his teammates froze and allowed North’s Sean Finneyfrock to slide in and knock home the second chance.

“It’s hard for these kids, I give them a lot of credit because they’re playing a lot of games real fast,” Stackhouse said. “It’s all these kids, North Penn, everybody. It’s a lot of games real fast without a break and again, they’re kids, they’re not men yet. “

That brought the Knights starters in and they saw out the game. Rock North will face Emmaus in the first round and Stackhouse said he likes his team’s chances in that matchup.

North Penn meanwhile will get a second crack at La Salle. The teams met on the Explorers’ home field in September with La Salle taking a 1-0 win in a high-level high school game. Houlihan and Kohler both said they’re looking forward to the rematch and getting the experience of their first state game.

“I’m so excited for it,” Kohler said. “It’ll be my first one in my four years and I can’t wait.”

“I can’t wait for it,” Houlihan said. “Everyone has been coming up to us at school and asking about it, the whole team is excited and the coaches are excited. I think we deserve it.”

NORTH PENN 0 2 – 2
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0 1 – 1
Goals: NP – Mike Kohler 47’, Luke McMahon (Carter Houlihan) 54’; CRN – Sean Finneyfrock (Jon Pugh) 72’. Shots: NP – 8, CRN – 4. Saves: NP – Bobby Dean 3, CRN – Anthony Caruso 6.

Asa Bell

Bell, a senior forward, is one of the top players in the Friends’ Schools League and has scored a dozen goals (many of them game-winners) and dished out a half-dozen assists for the Phoenix boys’ soccer team (12-5). Friends’ Central head coach Galen Guindon said, “Asa has tremendous speed and has worked hard to improve his finishing. His ability to get in behind the back line makes him an extremely dangerous striker. He is a team first player and has been a fantastic leader for our program this season.” Off the pitch, Bell runs track for Friends’ Central (and has competed at the Penn Relays) and has been an avid drummer since fourth grade.

Q: Which of your game-winning goals stands out in your memory the most? Can you describe how the play unfolded and your role in it?

A: My favorite was against Marple-Newtown High School. It was a run of about 70 yards, and I remember it happening so quickly. We had just conceded a free kick just over the opposing side of midfield, and I was playing winger. The ball came in and was headed out, and fell to my feet. When I looked up, I noticed the amount of space in front of me, so I sprinted into it with the ball. Matt Blackman crossed my path in front of two center backs and a holding midfielder, forcing the opposing outside back to pick him up. At this time I am crossing midfield, and have just beaten their holding midfielder, but the touch I took was too big. However, it had split the two center backs and was rolling towards the keeper. I knew that I was fast, and because the two center backs were closing in on the ball going to the keeper as well I had to make something happen if we were going to win the game. I sprinted 30 yards catching up to the two center backs and tapped the ball between the keeper legs as he was reaching down to pick it up. It went through his legs and was rolling slowly towards the goal, with nobody around. I kicked it as hard as I could into the back of the net knowing that I had scored a pretty great goal.

Q: You mentioned that beating George School on penalty kicks in the Friends’ Schools  League championship semifinal last fall was the highlight of your Friends’ Central soccer career. Can you share your memory of it with us?

A: It was a good game overall, opening with me scoring a well built-up goal ending with a cross from Matt. With the score 2-2 after overtime, we had to go to penalty kicks. This forced us to go to extra time, and then penalties. I always take the fourth penalty, because I always trust in Nolan (Nolan McGrann, our keeper) to make a save. If he saves a penalty before mine, I can handle the pressure of putting away a crucial penalty. But, of course, it was nowhere near that easy. Two penalties before me, we missed a penalty kick. This put more pressure on me because if I did not score, the game would be pretty much over. I ran up confidently and placed the ball in the bottom right right corner. Nolan then saved the next penalty, which brought the entire team so much relief. We went back and forth trading goals with George School, until on the tenth penalty, they missed and we rushed over to Nolan and tackled him. Our fans ran onto the field, and we were all yelling and cheering. After the game, walked all the way around the other side of our track, blasting Etta James’ song, “At Last.”

Q: What has been the key to your offensive point production this fall?

A: Trust and determination. I always tell myself to work hard so that my teammates do not have to, and being able to rely on my teammates no matter how many mistakes are made is a big part of getting assists and making the right runs towards goal.

Q: You’ve been playing alongside Matt Blackman since kindergarten. Does that bond enhance the on-field communication between the two of you – can you give an example of this happening during this season?

A: Absolutely. It really helps us get things going on offense when you are able to trust someone so much, especially when they are as skilled as Matt. It’s funny, because we tend to disagree in terms of runs and patterns of movement, but we still end up winning games and working things out before it becomes an issue. A good example of us working together I can be most clearly seen when he plays me through ball. He often takes on players towards my side (right wing) so that when he picks his head up, he can slot me in to find service. When this happens, he either runs around me for an overlap, or runs into the box. But once the pass is made, the hard work is done. As he is sprinting into the box. I always play a ball that runs right across the edge of the 6 yard box, which he meets without fail every time. Whether or not it goes in is up to which foot meets it, but I always try to find him when I can.

Q: What attribute(s) do you feel you have that make you best suited to forward? What aspect of your game are you currently working on the most?

A: I personally believe my speed is my best attribute. Often times my teammates joke about beating me in races, even though they know that I am the fastest. My speed allows me to make up for mistakes that come from maybe a bad touch or pass, and allow me to create chances that someone who is two steps slower than me would not be able to make. This being said, for a long time my weak foot and longer range finishing has not been as good as it should be, because for a long time when I was young, I never felt them necessary. I have put considerable effort into both, and they have significantly improved over the course of this season.

Q: Tell us a little about your club soccer career – what (to you) has been the highlight of your club soccer career?

A: In 10th grade I joined Nolan’s club team, Marple Fury and had a great time playing with him. The next year, I joined FCUSA Philadelphia with Matt, and had an even better time because we played in really competitive tournaments. My favorite moment from club soccer was winning the indoor state cup. It was in a barn style building about an hour and a half from my house, and it was really cold. We played a handful of short, 6-on-6 games. We had won every game except for one, against a team with a goalie that seemed like he could save anything. We made it to the final, and it went to overtime. The way overtime works in that tournament is each team removes a player every five minutes, and it ends if someone scores. After removing two players, Matt finally scored and we rushed the field and won scarves to commemorate the tournament.

Q: Tell us a little about your pre-game preparation the day of a game.

A: During the day, I make sure that I always drink at least one small carton of coconut water. This is because they have an extremely large amount of potassium to prevent cramps. Before a home game, we go into the big lecture hall on the bottom floor of one of the school buildings and blast music and dance around to get hyped up for the game. For an away game, we do the same thing, but in a significantly smaller space (back of the bus) which helps us feel together for games that are not home. Before every game, I always punt a ball up about 10-15 yards straight up into the air, bring the ball down and sprint across to the long side of the field. After I reach the other side, I do a Cruyff turn and sprint back, and do step-overs as I slow down. Afterwards, I join the team warmup.

Q: You wear No. 13 for Friends’ Central. Why did you pick this number – was there a particular reason?

A: 13 is bad luck, so I wear it to give bad luck to the other team.

Q: Who is your favorite soccer player and why? Is there a soccer player whose game you try to emulate?

A: Ronaldinho by a mile. I believe is the only player who has truly mastered every aspect of offensive soccer. He could dribble, pass, shoot, and play physically like no other player that he ever shared the field with. Whenever the ball came to his feet, the game changed pace and he always attempted to create a chance with by either playing it or getting it back or taking on an insane amount of players and still coming out on top. To an extent, I try to recreate his play, but I focus more on Lionel Messi. I focus on him because he is typically not a flashy player, which is the opposite of Ronaldinho, but still possesses almost all of the same ability. What I find most appealing about Messi’s play, however, is his little movements. The most complicated move he does is a step-over, because he can create all of the space he needs with a deadly shoulder fake or a fake shot. With his pace, he can create five or six yards between him after doing a move in only three steps. He is also relatively short, like me, so displays other means to score goals or set up players with individual skill, which is something I tried to do more this season for my team.

Q: Who have been your biggest soccer mentors, and what was the most important thing you learned from each one?

A: Galen (Friends’ Central head coach Galen Guindon) has had a big impact on my understanding of the game and what it should mean to every player on the field. He has showed us that if we commit to our system and trust each other and work as hard as we will outmatch every team we play. And this season, it really showed, even though we did not finish with a title. My other biggest influence was my childhood club coach, Sylvester Corbie. We met after a game I played in his indoor league, and said that he wanted me on his team. He has truly taught me everything I know about the basics of soccer, from learning how to do a stepover, to creating space for teammates by moving the ball or beating players. He often highlighted the importance of individual skill and I have met some of my best friends to date playing with him and his team.

Q: What was your most memorable experience at the Penn Relays?

My most memorable experience from them was my last race of the meet last spring, the 4 x 400. At the beginning of the race, there were at least 15-20 people on the track for our heat, and getting away from as many people as possible was extremely important. My friend Auguste was the lead off, and my other friend Ellis was the second leg. They both ran solid legs, but we had a bit of ground to make up. This meant that I had to pass a few people if our best runner, Jeff Brown (who is currently running at Bucknell University), wanted to anchor us somewhere high in the heat. I passed seven people, and finished with a 52 second split. That was far from the most difficult part, because the handoff was a mess of people all standing in one place running near full speed. Jeff moved to the edge of the handoff zone, which allowed me to hand the baton off to him free of any confusion and allowed him to run a smooth leg.

Q: Do you participate in any other extracurricular activities at Friends’ Central? What sparked your interest in each of these activities?

A: I am part of a few clubs, most centered around race relations and promotion of equality such as GSA (gay-straight alliance), STAR (students talking about racism), Students for Islamic Awareness, and Black Student Forum. I believe that to create a more cohesive country we need to create a less turbulent and frankly dangerous environment for minorities.

Fun facts – Asa Bell

Favorite book: The Great Gatsby.

Favorite author: F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Favorite TV show: Atlanta.

Favorite movie: Shrek 2.

Favorite athlete: Steph Curry.

Favorite pre-game pump-up song: Tarzan & Jane-Toy Box.

Favorite team: Manchester United.

Favorite place to visit: “The soccer field.”

Favorite pre-game meal: Coconut water and salad.

Favorite color: Blue.

Person I most admire: “Ronaldinho – I believe he is always overlooked in the conversation of best players ever, and has shown that soccer is almost an art form.”

Birth date: March 18, 1999 in Hackensack, N.J.

Family members: LiRon Anderson-Bell (mother), Glenn Bell (father), Bradleigh Bell (sister), Jackson (dog).

(To be selected as Main Line Boys Athlete of the Week, a student-athlete must first be nominated by his coach.)

EAST WHITELAND >> In an up-and-down regular season, Radnor authored arguably its most complete performance Sept. 27, a 3-0 throttling of Strath Haven.

Fast forward six weeks, and many of the leading lights were the same Saturday night at Great Valley as the Raiders stunned top-seeded Holy Ghost Prep, 2-1, in overtime of the District 1 Class 3A final. But those players’ impacts came at different positions on the field.

Both goalscorers, Phil Regan and Andrew Boujoukos, have served spells in central defense, with Regan the preferred choice lately as Boujoukos steps into midfield. Miles Maesaka, a right back for his club team, has shuttled between defense and midfield.

The interchangeable parts introduce a level of unpredictability that makes the Raiders so difficult to stop as they head into the PIAA tournament, taking on District 3 fourth-place team Fleetwood at 7 p.m. at Hatboro-Horsham Tuesday.

“We’re all very versatile, we all work hard in practice and everyone knows they just have to play their role, play composed, play confident,” Regan said. “This is the most versatile team I’ve ever seen. We have different guys playing different positions every game. We never have the same lineup.”

Regan is the ultimate manifestation of versatility. He started the season primarily deployed in midfield, but his speed and aerial ability made him an ideal partner for Cal Congleton in defense, which frees Boujoukos for more attack-minded contributions, including his dangerous set-piece deliveries.

Regan is also coach Joe Caruolo’s ace in the hole late in games as a roving center forward when in need of a goal. He supplied the final touch in the last minute of regulation in the quarterfinals against Phoenixville, his equalizer with 12.1 seconds left staving off elimination and paving the way for victory in penalty kicks.

Regan was at it again Saturday, equalizing in the 66th minute on a typically hard-nosed goal after he (legally, in the eyes of the ref) jarred the ball loose from Holy Ghost goalkeeper Harry Scuron and tucked away a goal on the third chance.

“I love it,” Regan said. “It’s my opportunity just to have fresh legs and use my speed and throw off the defenders who haven’t seen a quick, out-of-control guy. It’s probably my favorite thing to do, spark energy in the team and keep it up.”

While Regan and Boujoukos (also a baseball player) aren’t soccer-first athletes, others like forward Jack Miller and Maesaka are. Their understanding of how to read the game from a variety of viewpoints provides the ballast around which other alterations take hold.

“I consider us a really coachable team, and we can adapt really well,” Maesaka said. “So we can each play like three positions. And coach trusts us there.”

Maesaka repaid that faith in overtime with a game-saving clearance off the line of a header from a Holy Ghost corner kick. The post-guarding duty on set pieces is a constant for Maesaka in midfield or defense.

As some parts of his role change, others stay the same. And team-wide, as long as the approach remains similar, in mentality and in technical approach, the Raiders are secure in winning games multiple ways.

“Our coaches really give us the confidence that we need; ‘Hey, you can play striker, you can play center back, we trust you back there,’” Boujoukos said. “That gives me, that gives Phil, that gives everybody on this team the confidence to score a goal.”

Girls Soccer
Class 3A
1-2 Penncrest vs. 3-1 Manheim Central

The Lions’ loss in the District 1 title game to Villa Joseph Marie wasn’t just a decisive 4-1 setback to the six-time reigning district champion Jems. It was a stunning concession of goals for a side that had allowed just eight in its first 18 games.

The defensive mettle favors the Lions (14-2-3) being able to compete with teams like Manheim Central, which won its first District 3 title, in Tuesday’s opener at Manheim Township at 5. The question is for a generation of players making their first PIAA tournament appearance how quickly they can adapt to the rigors of states.

Against the Barons (18-4), they’ll have to figure it out quickly. Manheim scored goals within the first five minutes of both the District 3 semis and finals and is particularly dangerous on set pieces.

Class A
1-1 Christian Academy vs. 3-1 Fairfield

TCA’s first foray into PIAA soccer is daunting: Against a Fairfield (21-1) juggernaut at Northeastern High at 7 p.m.

The Knights’ only loss this season came to Central York, a 4A team. Along the way, they’ve scored 173 goals, including 33 in two games against Hanover. Their District 3 final was a 6-1 romp over York Catholic, though the Knights needed two overtimes to get by Tulpehocken in the semis.

The Crusaders (13-3-1) have their strengths, with the attacking of Lindsay Haseltine and Hannah Sareyka, scorer of the overtime game-winner in the District 1 final against Delco Christian.

Tredyffrin – You might think deep in the back of their minds, there are days Dave and Karen Donovan wish their children’s passion for soccer were not so deeply rooted – but that could not be further from the truth.

If that was the case they would most likely have less broken objects in the house when Conestoga soccer stars Chris and Caitlin Donovan turn the living room into a makeshift soccer field, with the fireplace serving as the perfect goal  when they are unable to go outside due to the weather.

“Having a place to play inside in the winter is nice since I don’t like to play outside when it’s too cold,” Chris said following his team’s 2-0 defeat to West Chester Henderson in the district final Nov. 5 at Great Valley High School. “My mom doesn’t like it too much because sometimes we break things but honestly that’s where I come up with some of my best moves.”

Caitlin, whose team defeated Central Bucks South 1-0 Nov. 4 to earn the third place seed from District One in the upcoming state playoffs added, “We do play in the living room a lot and Mom’s not too happy about that. There are a few broken objects.”

Despite hearing a clank here or a boom there, a broken leg on a table or knick knacks breaking when a shot goes wide or high, the parents (Dave and Karen) would not have it any other way, with soccer being the tool to create a unique sibling relationship.

“The whole family bonds over soccer especially me and Chris,” said Caitlin, “We have a unique relationship and I don’t think any body else has that bond.”

“Soccer is a special thing that brings Caitlin and I closer together,” said Chris, “We always try to go to each other’s game when we can so we can support each other.”

Reaping the benefits of their relationship and talent has been the Conestoga boys’ and girls’ soccer teams.

 “It’s been great,” said Conestoga’s first-year girls soccer head coach Ben Wilson, referring to his team. “From the summer trainings, I could see that we had a good blend of everything-talented experienced players, young potential and Caitlin is obviously a top talent especially for a freshman. We also had other freshmen, goalie Maeve Regan and left back Calista Courtney. They are all really talented but Caitlin is a young goal scoring threat which makes her stand out a little more but it’s a good blessing because you know for three more years we will have a top player scoring goals for us.”

Conestoga boys’ head soccer coach Dave Zimmerman said, “Chris is first and foremost our primary goal scorer. He has led the team in goals both this season and last season. What’s amazing to me is how much he produces playing on the right wing. He has more goals and assists than any player at that position that I have coached in my 15 years as Conestoga’s coach. The best part about Chris is that despite all of his success, he is the most humble and unassuming player on the team. He’s a great example to the younger players on the team.”

Tuesday, the Conestoga boys’ and girls’ teams began play in the 2016 PIAA Class 4A tournament with the boys taking on Parkland, the runner-up from District 11 at Downingtown West, while the girls team hit the road and traveled to J. Birney Cum Stadium in Allentown to take on District 11 champion Parkland.

While it’s exciting for both teams, it could add a wrinkle for the parents if they wish to see each of their children compete. However, it’s nothing new for a set of parents that have juggled schedules since Chris began playing soccer in first grade and Caitlin followed suit in Kindergarten.

“It means so much because our parents are so supportive of both of us,” said Caitlin, who leads the team in scoring with nine goals. “They will sacrifice anything to get us to a practice or a game.”

Chris, who led the team in scoring with 13 goals added, “I have to thank them because they take some time off work some times. We have weekends away which obviously cost a lot.”

Chris began club soccer with TEYSA at U9, which changed to FC Europa at U11.   At U15 his whole team and coach switched clubs and joined FC Montco.  Their team name is Die Mannschaft, currently ranked #1 in the state by Got Soccer.  With the change in the age brackets (birth year instead of birth date) this year their team decided to stay together so as they head into the club season they will be playing U18 because they have a mix of kids born in 1999 and 2000.  They will be participating in the National League.

Caitlin also began club soccer with TEYSA at U9, which changed to FC Europa at U11.  At the start of the U13 season her team dissolved and the coach at Lower Merion graciously invited her to play with them. She played at Lower Merion for the past two years.  After the spring season she moved to 1776 United FC Xtreme.  Similar to her brother’s team regarding the change in age brackets (birth year instead of birth date) they decided to stay together so they will be playing U16 as they head into the club season due to a mix of kids born in 2001 and 2002.  They are also currently ranked No. 1 in the state by Got Soccer and will be participating in the National League.

LEHMAN >> There’s a lot the Daniel Boone boys soccer team didn’t know.

The Blazers didn’t know what it was like to make the PIAA Championships. They didn’t know what it would be like to play in states, either.

And Jamie Burns, standing over a free kick from 22 yards out near the midpoint of the first half of Boone’s PIAA Class AAA first round game against Dallas, still isn’t sure how he did what he did.

“We started off the game with some good chances but couldn’t put any away,” the Blazers senior forward said. “I hit that free kick – I don’t know how I hit that but it went in – and it started a 10-minute push for us and we got another one.”

Burns’ brilliant top-left corner strike began a Daniel Boone first-half barrage that saw the standout frontman find the net again and the Blazers withstood a nervy finish to top District 2 champion Dallas, 2-1, in the first round of the PIAA Class AAA Championships at Lake Lehman High School.

Daniel Boone’s Matt Lambert ushers the ball out of play in the late stages against Dallas. (Austin Hertzog – Digital First Media)

What the Blazers didn’t know hasn’t hurt them, that’s for sure.

“We knew we had a good team with potential, it’s good to see us fulfilling that because we haven’t in past years, we’ve been bounced in the first round of playoffs. But now we’re in the state quarterfinals – it’s unreal to be honest with you,” Burns said.

The District 3 third-place finisher Blazers advance to face District 11 champion Northwestern Lehigh, a 1-0 winner over Athens in another first round game.

It wasn’t the sharpest start for Boone as Dallas’ direct style of play put the defense under pressure. The Blazers gained some traction as the half progressed with some chances created for Burns  through the attacking group of Burns, Ayoub Mouhou, Matt Glady and Carter Ferguson and midfielders Greg Blume and Tyler Brown.

Daniel Boone’s Cooper Duffie carries the ball upfield against Dallas. (Austin Hertzog – Digital First Media)

The tide fully turned in the 18th minute on Burns’ take that hit the inside of the left post and caromed in.

“It was a good distance and I knew if I got it up and over (the wall) with some pace that it would go in,” said Burns, who is among Berks’ top scorers this season with 28 goals. “Top corner, I can’t write that, it just happened. I’m going to remember that one for a while.”

Jamie Burns top corner! Beauty from 22. Boone u 1-0, 22:46 1H pic.twitter.com/rGeOswKEPy

— Austin Hertzog (@AustinHertzog) November 8, 2016

The Blazers were in firm control and fully deserving of goal No. 2 as Mouhou played centrally on the counterattack to Burns, who calmly struck his shot to the left of the Dallas keeper.

The game had the makings of a rout at that point, but it never came to fruition. Dallas came out strong in the second half with Nate Maransky playing supplier for forwards Zack Kalna and Zach Holthaus. Then, with 21 minutes remaining, a costly miscommunication between the Blazers’ D and goalkeeper Stephen Williams saw neither come for a high ball that Maransky ran on to a finished to make it improbably a one-goal game.

Daniel Boone’s Greg Blume pressures Dallas’ Beaudyn Lewis during the first half Tuesday. (Austin Hertzog – Digital First Media)

“After their goal it just got me fired up,” Blazers defender Matt Lambert said. “Before the goal maybe we were lackadaisical back there with a 2-0 lead. But once that goal went in we got fired up and were going hard to every ball.”

The Boone defense – Lambert joined by Colin Barndt, Cooper Duffie and Ben Hofmanner – did their part down the stretch to hang on, Lambert making a key tackle with Holthaus in a goal with five minutes left.

“It’s great, a great way to pull it out in the end. We started falling off but a win’s a win,” Burns said. “State quarterfinals and you can’t be mad about that.”

By The Numbers

Boone held a decided statistical advantage with 10 shots on goal to two by Dallas. The Blazers led in corners 11-3, including four in direct succession in the second half.

Who’s Next

The 14-8 Blazers, under coach Matt Kade, will be the underdogs in their quarterfinal against undefeated Northwestern Lehigh, but that won’t bother them.

“Anything happens now,” Lambert said. “We play an undefeated team but who knows? Any given day any team can win.”

PHILADELPHIA >> Having already faced La Salle once already this season – and came away with a loss – North Penn’s Mike Kohler knew what would be the difference in their PIAA Class AAAA first round game Friday night.

“We definitely knew what to expect coming into the game. We knew we had to get the first goal,” Kohler said. “It was really both teams are so good defensively when you go down to either us or La Salle it’s going to be an uphill climb.”

That proved to be the formula for the Knights to earn their way to the state quarters. Kohler converted a penalty kick after getting fouled in La Salle’s 18-yard box early in the first half and the North Penn defense made the goal hold up for 70-plus minutes to edge the Explorers 1-0 at Northeast’s Charles Martin Memorial Stadium.

“Coach (Paul) Duddy has never had a state win and that’s really unfortunately because he’s such a great coach, so really doing this for him,” Kohler said. “He hasn’t had the most success in states but we’re trying to change that.”

BOYS #SOCCER: Mike Kohler scores on a PK to give @KnightsLoyalty a 1-0 lead 1H over La Salle. The goal gave NP a 1-0 win in state 1st round. pic.twitter.com/Ig84B3Ibb6

— Mike Cabrey (@mpcabrey) November 9, 2016

North Penn, making its first PIAA appearance since 2004 after finishing third in District 1, moves on to face District 1 champ West Chester Henderson in the quarters Saturday at a place and time to be determined. Henderson defeated District 3 third-place side Cumberland Valley 6-2.

“I don’t know a whole lot about them, but if they beat Conestoga, they must be pretty, pretty good,” said Duddy of Henderson.

La Salle beat North Penn 1-0 on Sept. 24 but Tuesday the Explorers could not break through the Knights’ backline of Noah Kwortnik, Jack Johnston, Christain Snyder and Eric Szilagyi. The Explorers’ best opportunities to score came on free kicks, but most of them they could not get on the frame of the goal.

“In the beginning of the game, we were just trying to close to gaps and stuff between the midfield. We were trying to get our midfielders up into the attack and I think that was good because we got Mike and Carter up,” Kwortnik said. “But after we scored the goal, we basically wanted to keep the pressure up, we wanted to try and get a second goal or a third goal. And I think we were getting close.

“As we went into the second half, they added extra pressure onto their offense and that gave us a lot more (to defend), we had to drop a few players back just so we could effectively take their counterattack. But also after that, they had two or three defenders in the back and I think that opened up a lot of gaps for our outfield midfielders as well as our attackers.”

La Salle, the Philadelphia Catholic League and District 12 champ, finishes the season at 18-2-2. The Explorers were play in their first PIAA tournament since 2012 when they reached the AAA semifinals

“Once you get the Round of 16 here, there’s only really going to be one happy team at the end of these two weeks,” La Salle coach Tom McCaffery said. “And just tried to remind our guys of what they accomplished and winning the league for the first time in four years, a district championship is great and they lost to a really good team tonight.

“We battled them earlier in the year, they’re even teams and it was a really good soccer game, which is good. Glad we didn’t lay an egg.”

Kohler tallied the game’s lone goal in the eighth minute, the senior fouled in the box for the PK after making a run from the right sideline.

“I saw him coming into a strong tackle so I was able to take a touch by him and he just took me out,” he said.

Kohler sent his penalty into the left side of the net – La Salle keeper Brett Werner guessing left – to put the Knights up 1-0 at 32:31.

“I tried not to get into in to my head, the keeper, so I just picked my spot and went to it,” Kohler said.

North Penn pushed for a second strike in minutes after Kohler’s goal, but send two shots high. La Salle’s top chance to tie in the first half came on a free kick from 45 yards out when Michael D’Angelo got a free header but the effort went wide left.

Werner preserved the one-goal margin with a strong second half. He grabbed a free ball in the box before Luke McMahon could pound on it then denied a Nate Baxter shot after Baxter sped behind the La Salle defense.

Free kicks again gave La Salle its best looks at an equalizer. James Natale’s headed a ball wide right while another restart saw a ball bounced through the box before a shot that went off-target at the right post.

“When we’re in their end, they’re going to have a hard time scoring. So sometimes the best defense a good offense,” Kohler said. “And it was able to release some pressure of our defense so they could get a breather too.”

North Penn keeper Bobby Dean corralled a ball in the air off after La Salle free kick was deflected then stopped a shot at the near post after the Explorers played a short corner.

“The 18 seemed to be the wall that weren’t going to be allowed to get by,” McCaffery said. “And so they held strong there and even though we were able to bring it a little bit there in the second half, they did a great job of holding their lines and with a great keeper behind them, who did a really job again tonight, it was just hard to break down.

“And that’s the puzzle you got to figure out. Unfortunately we were out of time and couldn’t get it.”

HORSHAM >> All season long Jack Miller has looked forward to setting his teammates up to make a big play.

Tuesday night at Hatboro-Horsham High School was no different for the senior midfielder who played a pivotal role in his team’s 2-0 win over Fleetwood, the fourth place finisher from District 3, in the first round of the PIAA Class 3A state boys soccer tournament.

In the 17th minute Miller threw the raucous student section into a frenzy when his throw-in found the head of Andrew Boujoukos. The senior nodded the ball towards the net and wound up hitting a Fleetwood player — who knocked the ball into his own goal to give Radnor the 1-0 lead.

“I looked at Calvin (Congleton) and saw he was covered on both sides, so I looked at Andrew (Boujoukos) and saw he had a smaller defender on him,” Miller said. “I decided to throw to him and he got a really good flick and it went off somebody’s head so it was just perfect.

“I have been playing attack midfielder most of the season and I love playing the through ball more than scoring,” added Miller. “I love watching the ball go beyond the defense and seeing what my forwards can do. It’s as good a feeling as scoring.”

Radnor coach Joe Caruolo added, “That’s the name of the game. Jack is a selfless player and the game is really beautiful when you set other people up. Jack plays the game like a man and when you get older you look to set other people up and not just go, go, go. It’s a pleasure to have someone like Jack setting other players up.”

Holding a tenuous 1-0 lead and Fleetwood putting on a relentless charge, the Raiders got the cushion they were aiming for when junior Ryan Peter collected a set piece in the box delivered by Congleton and hammered it home to give Radnor the 2-0 lead in the 57th minute.

“I saw the ball up in the air, I was reading it and backpedaling. I saw nobody was going for it so I just followed our philosophy all season of being aggressive and went for the ball and good things happen,” Peter said.

With the win, Radnor becomes just the fourth team in school history to win a state playoff game (eight state tournament appearances with the last one coming in 2004) and will advance to play Gettysburg, the second-place finisher from District 3, on Saturday at a time and site to be determined.

“I love these seniors,” said Peter. “They are my best friends, my family and I will do anything for them. They have put together a great season.”

“Tonight is a special moment,” said Caruolo. “There have only been four (Radnor) teams to win a state playoff game so it’s nice to not only re-write history but moreso with these kids and see them continue a great season.”

DOWNINGTOWN >> It was, admittedly, a slow start. But after getting a bit of an early wakeup call, West Chester Henderson responded forcefully and proceeded to clobber Cumberland Valley, 6-2, in first round action of the PIAA Class 4A tournament Tuesday at DeSerafino Stadium.
“Putting six in is not a total shock to us in terms of what we can do,” said Warriors’ head coach Sean Ryan. “It’s a talented group and when they put things together, really great things can happen.”
Now 22-1 overall, the reigning District 1 champions advanced to the state quarterfinals, where they will meet North Penn on Saturday. A year ago, Henderson was knocked out of the tournament in the quarters.
“To get beyond the state quarterfinals — for the first time since early in the last decade — is a big motivating factor,” Ryan acknowledged.
“This is the last shot, so they want to have as much success as they possibly can. They know this is a special group and they just want to make the most of every opportunity they have.”
The start, however, was not ideal. Just over 10 minutes into the action, Cumberland Valley’s Holden Zimmerman scored on a header off a corner kick. But instead of sewing any seeds of doubt, the Warriors roared back about two minutes later to tie it, and then three minutes later, Henderson took the lead for good.
“This is an experienced group, they’ve played a lot of playoff games and they’ve been down before and come back,” Ryan pointed out. “So they knew they could do it and kept with the plan.”
Senior Richie Schlentz scored first off an assist from Frank DeRosa, and then freshman Kevin Kiefer hit paydirt after talking a pass from Aiden McFadden.
“We came out flat,” said McFadden, who wound up leading the way with two goals and an assist. “It’s disappointing, but the response was great.
“We didn’t come out with a lot of pace, to be honest. It wasn’t the best start. (Cumberland Valley) capitalized on it, and it was definitely a wakeup call. We needed a response and Richie (Schlentz) gave us that, and then a few minutes later (Kevin) Kiefer added a goal, and from there we were rolling.”
McFadden notched his first – on a header off a pass from Charlie Collins – with about three minutes remaining in the first half, and the Warriors took a 3-1 lead into the intermission.
“I think we were able to kick it up to another gear after we went down a goal,” Ryan said.
Soon after McFadden added his second goal midway through the second half thanks to a pass from teammate K.J. Walkes, Zimmerman scored again for Cumberland Valley to make it 4-2. But Henderson responded once again, finishing the Eagles off with a pair of DeRosa goals in the final 7:17.
“Frank is a kid that plays until the final whistle,” McFadden said.
“We talk about that,” Ryan added. “We don’t want to give a team any room to breathe once we have the momentum, so we press aggressively. Even when they cut it to 4-2, we could have gone into a shell and hunkered down, but we kept pushing and really killed the game off.”
In all, the Warriors outshot the third-seeded team from District 3,17-7. Henderson is now 18-0-1 in its last 19 matches. Cumberland Valley falls to 15-7.
“We are rounding into a good place,” Ryan said. “Toward the end of the season, we were fortunate to get healthy. Once that happened, we started to click into place and in a lot of ways we’ve been flying ever since. Now, the challenge is to keep that rolling on Saturday against North Penn.”

DOWNINGTOWN >> It wasn’t easy — especially giving up the equalizer with less than seven minutes left in regulation. But not once the rest of the way did the Conestoga boys’ soccer team experience any sort of crisis of confidence.
The Central League champions and district finalists have been in similar positions many times before this fall, so it should be no surprise that Conestoga quickly regrouped. And in overtime the Pioneers went on to register a 2-1 victory over a stubborn Parkland squad in the opening round of the PIAA Class 4A Playoffs on Tuesday at DeSerafino Stadium.
“This is the ninth game this season that we’ve won in either the last 10 minutes or in overtime,” said ’Stoga head coach David Zimmerman.
“We had been dominating the entire second half, so there was no reason to worry. We were pretty confident,” added forward Chris Donovan.
The game-winner — at the 13:21 mark of the OT — came off the foot of Donovan. It was the biggest goal of the junior’s high school career.
“It’s my first game-winner in overtime, so that goal will be remembered,” Donovan said.
“It was a corner kick that went all the way over to the other side. (Defender) Mike McCarthy crossed it back in, Will Klein flicked it over to me,” he explained. “I honestly wasn’t expecting to get it, especially without any defender on me.”
With the win, Conestoga advances to the state quarterfinals on Saturday, where it will face Hempfield, which beat Neshaminy Tuesday, 1-0. The Pioneers improve to 22-1 overall.
“All I wanted to do this entire game was to get four more days with these guys. Now we have that,” Donovan said.
“We’ve been in a lot of close games, and we tried to schedule a tough regular season to challenge us, so we’ve been in this type of situation before,” Zimmerman added.
After more than 65 minutes of scoreless soccer, Conestoga finally broke through. Senior Gabe Harms went wide to beat a defender, and he centered it to a wide open Mason Miller, who fired it into the back of the net.
But the lead didn’t last long. With 6:40 remaining, Parkland’s Owen Iacobelli stunned the Pioneers with a laser that caught the upper right corner of the ’Stoga net.
“It was a great shot,” Zimmerman said. “I haven’t seen too many like that this season.
“But we felt like we dominated the second half, so we didn’t see any reason why we couldn’t continue to do so.
“Part of it is we just wear teams out with our depth. When you have a freshness advantage, it starts to show in the latter portion of the match. This pattern wasn’t unusual for us.”
Following a lackluster first half, Conestoga picked up the pressure to start the second half and came close to breaking the deadlock twice. In the opening five minutes, Rodrigo Martinez’s blast hit cleanly off the near post. And about six minutes later Miller’s shot was poked away at the last second by diving Parkland keeper Jacob Verrato.
Although the Pioneers had the territorial edge in the first half, it was Parkland’s Joshua Kiser had the two best early scoring chances. The first was a header that nearly got behind ’Stoga keeper, Luke Smith, and the second was a blast that just cleared the crossbar.
“You never know,” Zimmerman said. “You can’t make any assumptions. Soccer is such a low scoring game, in general, that a goal here or there is huge. Credit to Parkland. They are a very nice team.”
Parkland, the second-seed from District 11, finishes its season at 17-4-3.

Lower Moreland boys soccer coach Matt Crouch didn’t like what he saw from his players prior to their loss to Lansdale Catholic in the District 1/12 regional championship last week.
The normally upbeat, jovial and loose Lions were almost silent on the bus ride to the game, then flat once play started. As a result, they lost to the Crusaders and had to take a trip to Hamburg to play what looked like a powerhouse team in Tulpehocken.
Tuesday’s bus ride and warm-up were much different. Crouch liked what he saw then really liked the result, a gutsy 1-0 win against a team that had scored more than 100 goals this season and had just one loss entering the match. As a result, Lower Moreland is moving on in the state tournament.
“Everybody kept talking about their record and I found out from a reporter then had scored 100-plus goals on opponents this year but we didn’t know much about them,” Crouch said by phone while traveling home on Tuesday.
Bryce Horn provided the lone tally, a bit of a right time, right place tally but it was enough thanks to the efforts of Lower Moreland’s numerous seniors. The Lions have 10 total seniors on a 20-man roster and while they don’t all get minutes, they are the heart of the team.
Tulpehocken’s forward tandem had combined for more than 55 goals and 20 assists, so it was a tall order for Lower Moreland’s back line, all seniors, to try and limit the chances.
“They’re pretty well-seasoned players,” Crouch said. “They’re not jumpy, they’re very patient and not super-aggressive which is what I thought we needed to contain those guys. Guys tend to get jumpy and want to chase and that’s when you get beat. I don’t know, I guess the age and experience back there helped.”
It was the first state game since Crouch has been with the program, nine overall and seven as the head coach.
The first state game is different for every team. Instead of dwelling on a bad performance, the Lions tried to keep things more loose at training on Monday. Crouch said it wasn’t something they’d had a chance to do this season and it certainly seemed to help on Tuesday.
“It was just a different vibe,” Crouch said. “They showed up mentally even before the game.”
Lower Moreland also embraced its underdog role.
“We spoke at practice and the boys were even repeating the phrase it’s just gravy on the mashed potatoes from here on out,” Crouch said. “Let’s just have fun and play soccer for the love of the game and if we win, we win.”
Junior Devon Asplundh, a defensive midfielder, was an impact player who put in a strong shift every time he stepped on the field, Crouch said.
Crouch said the entire game was a lot of back-and-forth between both teams with his side’s early surge getting pushed back by Tulpehocken and it swinging between the two. The crowd was heavily in Tulpehocken’s favor with the LM coach estimating they had about 400 fans to about 20 Lions faithful and the energy did seem to get to his guys in the second half.
Lower Moreland had a lull in the second half, which Crouch attributed to his guys getting a little worn down and the crowd pumping Tulpehocken up. Then senior co-captain Derek Mitchell got loose down the left side then everything changed.
Mitchell was a factor all night, not just on the goal’s build-up.
“He challenged all game long,” Crouch said. “He didn’t get one to drop but he hit the post a couple times. He was coming from the left to the right, it was a bit of a different position he was playing, we got him a different look and I thought for sure Tulephocken was going to make an effort to shut him down. They didn’t make an adjustments on him and he was a key reason in the second half why we scored.”
Mitchell played a ball off the left side into the box. Tulephocken’s keeper punched it out but only to Mike McLaughlin, who put a great header back in that found Bryce Horn on the far post about two years out. Horn had only to tap it in and the Lions were in the lead.
“They put some real quality chances on to try and tie the game up, they didn’t go away,” Crouch said. “The stadium scorekeeper counted down from 10 and it just felt like an eternity.”
Lower Moreland will face District 4 champ Lewisburg on Saturday.

Council Rock North junior Conor O’Donnell, 11, left, goes up for a header along with Emmaus senior Kacper Grycel (10) and junior Dakota Bauer (8) in 2-1 overtime win that favored the Indians Tuesday night, Nov. 8 at J. Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown. (Steve Sherman – 21st-Century Media)

ALLENTOWN – Facing District 11 champion Emmaus, Council Rock North senior Nikita Ilin didn’t see a lot of scoring chances. Frequently in Tuesday night’s PIAA Class 4A opener at J. Birney Crum Stadium, the Indians’ leading scorer was double-teamed.

Still, the North attacker had a hand in the winning strike in overtime, getting the ball over to classmate Grant Bonus, who made no mistake when he tucked the ball into the right side corner just 3:31 into the extra session.

“Sometimes, it’s good to be the most dangerous guy on the field,” stated Indians head coach Joe Stackhouse.

“Then, they collapse on you and it opens up space for everyone else. Because of that, we had a lot of time and space to play through the midfield for most of the game.”

The 2-1 triumph sends the Rock to a state quarterfinal matchup on Saturday and ends the Green Hornets’ campaign at 12-7-4.

The winning goal started in the midfield with CR North senior Ryan Pave taking a turnover on the right flank, and passing it through to Ilin, who flicked the ball onto the touch line for a waiting Bonus.

Defensively, the Rock (17-4-2) was solid across the back, thanks to the return of senior backfielder Eric Levine, who got the scoring started in the third minute of play. One of the two key men in the back along with classmate Noah Ehlin, Levine was missing with an ankle injury for the Indians’ last two District 1 playoff duels – both losses – against District 1 champion West Chester Henderson and third-place North Penn.

“You can see how much better – how much more successful – we were playing the ball across the back,” commented Stackhouse.

“The people we put in just weren’t used to that mix.

“Think about it in terms of hockey defensemen and their pairoffs – if you change the pairoff in hockey, a lot of times, it slows the whole process down.”

Additionally, Levine wasted little time getting involved in the offense. Pairing up with his backfield linemate, he headed a throw-in from Ehlin into the back of the net less than three minutes into the contest.

“I tried to judge the ball in the air and I saw it was going back post and I saw (the goalkeeper) shooting up a little bit on it,” said Levine.

“So I used a little bit of my form to gain some ground and I just put it in the back of the net.”

Of course, it all starts with the throw-in by Ehlin.

“They didn’t really know much about us, considering they don’t play us in the league,” said Ehlin.

“And the throw-in is a big part of our offense. Eric came off an ankle injury and luckily, we had him today.”

“He followed it up and that was huge for us. It definitely gave us momentum getting a goal that early in the game.”

The only goal of the game by Emmaus came in the middle of the second period, and was not without controversy. With the ball coming in from the left corner on the kick by Green Hornets junior midfielder Dakota Bauer, senior Noah Bacon was credited with the equalizer for Emmaus 11 minutes into the second half.

After the game, Ehlin still wasn’t sure how the corner kick by the Hornets reached the back of the net.

“I don’t know what happed,” said Ehlin. “We had marks and I turned around and the ball was in the net.”

Indians senior netminder Anthony Caruso can tell you.

“I went up for it and the guy hit me underneath – under my legs,” said Caruso. “I went up for it and tried to hit (the ball) but it hit off my hands and went in.”

Both before and after the game-tying goal credited to Bacon, Caruso did his best keeping the Hornets off the scoreboard. Less than two minutes into the contest, he snared a header by Emmaus sophomore Callen Reid that had the chance to put the Rock in a huge hole early on.

“He’s one of our senior goalies and he’s a huge part of our offense and defense,” said Ehlin. “He keeps us in check; without him, we wouldn’t be here, for sure.”

For CR North, it is their first state playoff win since 2006, when the Indians won states.

“Freshman year, we got this whole thing started,” said Ehlin. “We knew we wanted to make a big run senior year. We grew as a program and this is our year, I think.”

The win sends the Rock to a state quarterfinal matchup against District 3 runner-up Elizabethtown, a 2-1 winner over District 4 champ Williamsport. That duel is slated for Saturday at a time and place that is to be determined.

Contact Steve Sherman at ssherman@21st-Centurymedia.com or @BucksLocalSport on Twitter

Council Rock North 2, Emmaus 1 (OT)

(Nov. 8 at J. Birney Crum Stadium)

CR NORTH 1 0 1 – 2

EMMAUS 0 1 0 – 0

FIRST-HALF GOALS: CRN — Eric Levine, from Noah Ehlin, 3rd minute; E — none.

SECOND-HALF GOALS: E — Noah Bacon, from Dakota Bauer, 51st minute; CRN — none.

OVERTIME GOALS: CRN — Grant Bonas, from Nikita Ilin, 84th minute; E — none.

SHOTS: CR North 13, Emmaus 9.

SAVES: CRN — Anthony Caruso 5; E — Dylan Sosnow 10.

FRANCONIA >> Offense is held at a premium in soccer, and rightfully so. There are plenty of ways to score, but finding the key that unlocks a defense can be difficult  —  especially in the PIAA Class AA playoffs. Once a team finds something that works, they had better stick to it. Lansdale Catholic did exactly that Tuesday afternoon.

LC got a hat trick from Noah Saba, all on the counter attack, and held on late to secure a 3-2 victory over Biglerville in the first round of the PIAA Class AA boys soccer playoffs.

“The boys were working real well this week in practice. One of them was getting to the goal quick,” Lansdale Catholic head coach Joe Wilson said. “(Biglerville) gave us a few opportunities through the middle… Noah was there several times today and just did a great job going to the goal and finishing it.”

Saba got the scoring started after a sleepy start from both teams on a school off day. The play started with a Biglerville corner, but LC keeper Jack Kane secured that and threw a perfect outlet pass to Saba. One give-and-go with Josh Yurasits later and the score was 1-0 Crusaders in the 19th minute.

“Me and Josh, I thought we were faster than their defense,” Saba said. “I definitely knew we could run past them…my teammates fed me great balls and I just put them away.”

Biglerville got one right back however, tying the score at one about 30 seconds later. Conner Griest, who played big and physical all match long, teed up a ball and cracked one past Kane.

“I just knew we had to get one back,” Griest said. “I just have it everything I had, pulled a shot, kind of got lucky and it went in.”

Saba made sure his team would take a lead into halftime with another counter-attack goal, this time in the 32nd minute. The senior got the Biglerville keeper to come out high and slid a side-footed shot into the bottom left corner.

“I would look up and he was out kind of far… every time I kept it low I scored,” Saba said about his scoring. “So I just had to keep looking up and keep my head up when I was shooting.”

Saba scored what proved to be the game-winner with five minutes to go in the match, and it appeared to be the easiest of the three. With Biglerville pushing high, looking for an equalizer, Saba flew around the defense and again beat to keeper low to secure the hat trick.

“That’s exactly what we needed,” Wilson said about Saba’s performance. “We talked about it in practice and he told me before this game even started he was gonna get it done. He delivered it.”

Biglerville again proved to be resilient, as they were all match long, in the 78th minute when Jared Dotson-Jones scored a goal off a rebound.

“They are a high-scoring machine between (Dotson-Jones) and (Griest), the way they work in combinations together, they’re really deadly,” Wilson said.

The combination didn’t lead to a victory for the Canners, but it did lead to some tense closing moments for the Crusaders.

“I knew with the tenacity that our boys have that they would not let it happen again. They held it off all the way to the end,” Wilson said. “Very proud of the boys with their effort on that.”

In addition to starting the first goal, Kane was solid in goal all afternoon for Lansdale Catholic.

“Jack Kane is a phenomenal keeper and he came away with some really big plays today, but that’s what Jack does,” Wilson sad. “He’s a big playmaker and he has the ability to come up when you need it done.”

That rang especially true with the score 2-1 and about 20 minutes to play, when Biglerville made its strongest push for an equalizer. Kane made two point-blank saves in the span of about a minute to keep his team ahead.

“Jack Kane, I’ve been playing with him since like eighth grade, he’s one of my best friends, and he played amazing today,” Saba said. “All credit goes to (the defense) too. They kept us in the game.”

Kane finished the match with six saves.

Up next for LC is the winner of a match between Scranton Prep and Salisbury. Each team won its district tournament, as did the Crusaders.

“The last three years we lost in the first round, but it felt different this year,” Saba said. “When we won a regional championship I said ‘we should be a feared team going into states,’ and I think we just proved that again today. We should be feared and I think we can go far.”

Lansdale Catholic 3, Biglerville 2
BIGLERVILLE                       1 1 – 2
LANSDALE CATHOLIC      2 1 – 3
Goals: LC – Noah Saba 19’, Saba 32’, Saba 75’. B – Conner Griest 20’, Jared Dotson-Jones 78’.
Assists: LC — Josh Yurasits. B – NONE. Shots: LC 4, Biglerville 8.
Saves:LC – Jack Kane 6. B – Noah Mattson 1.
Corners: LC – 7, B – 3.

All-Conference Team

Pottsgrove’s Will Kaiser controls the ball against Interboro. (Austin Hertzog – Digital First Media)

Germann Larmond, senior, Pottsgrove

Tyler Rolando, senior, Pottsgrove

Will Kaiser, senior, Pottsgrove

Phil Meszaros, senior, Phoenixville

Andre Souza, senior, Phoenixville

Ronnie Minges, junior, Spring-Ford

Michael Hyduke, senior, Spring-Ford

Graham Pugh, junior, Owen J. Roberts

Alex Kidwell, senior, Boyertown

Perkiomen Valley’s Michael Weir, right, controls the ball as Owen J. Roberts’ Graham Pugh pressures during Wednesday’s game. (Austin Hertzog – Digital First Media)

Erik Recke, senior, Boyertown

Kevin Conrad, senior, Methacton

Michael Weir, junior, Perkiomen Valley

Andrew Daubenspeck, junior, Perkiomen Valley

Liberty Division – First Team

Ronnie Minges, junior, Spring-Ford

Michael Hyduke, senior, Spring-Ford

Graham Pugh, junior, Owen J. Roberts

Jason Long, senior, Owen J. Roberts

Austin Koury, senior, Owen J. Roberts

Spring-Ford’s Michael Hyduke battle Boyertown’s Erik Recke. (Barry Taglieber – For DFM)

Alex Kidwell, senior, Boyertown

Erik Recke, senior, Boyertown

Nik Verma, senior, Boyertown

Kevin Conrad, senior, Methacton

Vincent DeLisi, junior, Methacton

Michael Weir, junior, Perkiomen Valley

Chris Fiore, senior, Perkiomen Valley

Andrew Daubenspeck, junior, Perkiomen Valley

Frontier Division – First Team

Germann Larmond, senior, Pottsgrove

Phoenixville’s Andre Souza, left, races toward the ball as Pottsgrove’s Jared Kreiger defends Friday. (Austin Hertzog – Digital First Media)

Phil Meszaros, senior, Phoenixville

Andre Souza, senior, Phoenixville

Tyler Rolando, senior, Pottsgrove

Will Kaiser, senior, Pottsgrove

Alan Castillo, senior, Upper Merion

Josue Perez, senior, Upper Merion

Andrew Snyder, senior, Pope John Paul II

Colin Flanegin, junior, Pope John Paul II

Jared Krieger, senior, Pottsgrove

Blake Ericksen, junior, Phoenixville

Nate Yuchimiuk, senior, Pottsgrove

Mitchell Coll, senior, Phoenixville

Liberty Division – Second Team

Aidan Mossip, junior, Spring-Ford

Drew Rheaume, senior, Spring-Ford

Sal Ibarra, sophomore, Spring-Ford

Brandon Ott, senior, Owen J. Roberts

Doug Sbei, senior, Owen J. Roberts

Taurean Lee, senior, Owen J. Roberts

Jim Towers, junior, Boyertown

Sam Marks, senior, Boyertown

Ben Margavich, junior, Boyertown

Owen Kulig, senior, Boyertown

Mike Kerkering, senior, Methacton

Jacob Rogers, junior, Perkiomen Valley

Kyle Allan, senior, Spring-Ford

Frontier Division – Second Team

Nicholas DiPietro, junior, Pope John Paul II

Manuel Paez, sophomore, Pottstown

Mike Kirk, senior, Upper Merion

Trevor Looby, sophomore, Upper Merion

Ian Costanzo, senior, Upper Perkiomen

Matt Bailey, junior, Upper Merion

Tyler Siefer, junior, Phoenixville

Jake Spotts, senior, Pottsgrove

Jake Vogel, senior, Upper Perkiomen

Nik Curnew, senior, Pottsgrove

Logan Greco, senior, Pope John Paul II

Pat O’Brien, senior, Pottsgrove

Liam Abdalla, senior, Pottsgrove

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By DENNIS C. WAY

21^st Century Media

ELVERSON->>Mount Saint Joseph Academy head field hockey coach Tina Reinprecht has not seen Donegal High School play this year.

But she knows, that when her Magic field hockey team takes on the unbeaten Indians (26-0) Saturday at Twin Valley High School (noon) in the PIAA Class field hockey quarterfinals, they’ll be seeing a club that’s young (two seniors), potent (note their record) and as determined as her own to reach the state semifinals.

“They have a strong program, and we’re going to have to play very well as a team to play with them,” Reinprecht said. “We haven’t been to states in a while, so none of our players have had that experience.

“But we don’t want them to be playing with a fear of losing; we need them to play the same team game we’ve played all year.”

The Indians have been nothing less than a juggernaut, having won their third straight District 3 title and then escorting District One’s Henderson out of the opening round of the playoffs, 4-1, this past Tuesday.

But Indians head coach Jess Shellenberger is aware her team is in for a battle.

“We took (Wednesday) to regroup after a very physical game (Tuesday),” Shellenberger said. “We’ve been going over some tactics in preparation for Mount Saint Joseph.

“We’re looking forward to playing another good team with a strong tradition, like Mount Saint Joseph.”

To do that, the Indians have the likes of senior Rachel Robinson (who Wednesday signed a National Letter of Intent to play at the University of Virginia), scorers Mackenzie Allessie and Grace Miller and goalkeeper Katie Jean (whose eight first-half saves against Henderson kept the Indians alive before a three-goal, second-half barrage forged the end result.

“We know we’re up against a very strong program,” Reinprecht said. “We have to play hard, possess the ball and not be reckless.”

The Mount, making its first state trip since reaching as a Class AAA program in 2012, relies on scoring from the likes of Julianna Kratz, Margot Biamon and Princeton commit Margaret Lynch.

Shellenberger is aware of that firepower, but is confident in her team’s ability to stick together and play with determination is a major key to their success.

“This team has the will to win,” the coach said. “They hate to lose, and there’s a genuine love, trust and respect for each other.

“We’re a family and we want to keep this run going for as long as we can.”

Reinprecht feels her team has that same cohesiveness and used defender Hanna Poliwoda as an example of the Magic’s determined stance.

“She just works really hard,” Reinprecht said. “She’s one of the most consistent players on the team, and she wasn’t guaranteed anything at the beginning of this year. She’s just worked her way into the lineup and now she’s one of our best defenders.”

As for how far the Magic can go, Reinprecht said that will depend on how long they can play as a team.

“Collectively, we have a lot of different playing experiences here,” Reinprecht said. “But if we’re going anywhere we have to do it as a team.

“We’re happy with this opportunity. One of our girls’ goals at the beginning of the season was to get to states. And it’s going to be exciting to see what Saturday will bring.”

In other weekend playoff action –

CLASS AAAA BOYS SOCCER

NORTH PENN (1-3) vs. WEST CHESTER HENDERSON (1-1)

Saturday. 1 p.m. Spring-Ford High School

THE POOP: The Knights seek to do what only one other team has done this year, defeat the Warriors.

North Penn needed, and got a first-half penalty kick from Mike Kohler to defeat La Salle, 1-0, in Round One while the Warriors shook off a slow start and got two goals and an assist apiece from Aiden McFadden and Frank DeRosa to close out Cumberland Valley, 6-2.

CLASS AA BOYS SOCCER

LANSDALE CATHOLIC (12-1) vs. SALISBURY (11-1)

Saturday: 3 p.m. Parkland High School

THE POOP: These two district titlists square off as the Crusaders, fresh off a 3-2 win over Biglerville, try and advance to the state semis at the expense of the Falcons.

LC got a hat trick from Noah Saba in the victory over Biglerville, although the Crusaders also have plenty of firepower in the persons of Josh Yurastis and Matt Noti.

The Falcons, fresh off defeating unbeaten District Two champ Scranton Prep, are led by the scoring of Ethan Heydt and James Hadinger.

CLASS A BOYS SOCCER

CAMP HILL (3-1) vs. FAITH CHRISTIAN (1-1)

Saturday, noon, Governor Mifflin High School, Shillington

THE POOP: The Lions of Camp Hill have plenty of scoring power, with Noah Resota (23 goals) and Amias Colestock (15 goals) leading the way.

Faith Christian is paced by the triumvirate of Kory Shuster, Kazuya Hirano and Michael Pearson, and is fresh off winning the program’s first district soccer title.

CLASS AAAA GIRLS SOCCER

PENNRIDGE (1-2) vs. CUMBERLAND VALLEY (3-1)

Saturday, 7 p.m. Exeter High School

THE POOP: The Rams got key goals from Erin Stevenson, Kennedy Peace and Sarah Williams in an opening-round, 3-0 win over Stroudsburg to reach the second round.

Cumberland Valley used goals from Katie McInroy, Rachael Dorwart and Mallory Johnson to overcome Downingtown East in Round One.

CLASS AAAA GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH (1-2) vs. PARKLAND (11-1)

Saturday, 2:30, Exeter High School

THE POOP: The Trojans are coming off their third straight District 11 title, while the Colonials fell to Bishop Shanahan in the District One title game.

Parkland always seems to play its best at this time of year, and this season is paced by the trio of Sam Graver, Morgan Shervin and Grace Steurer.

The Colonials, who unseated long-time district powerhouse Upper Merion in the D-1 playoffs, are led by Lily Acquaviva, Emilee Waltz and Lauren Coscia.

CLASS AAA GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

CARDINAL O’HARA (12-1) vs. ALLENTOWN CENTRAL CATHOLIC (11-1)

Saturday, 12:30, Exeter High School

THE POOP: The Vikings landed their second straight District 11 title behind the skills of Emily Pellini, Rachel Hess and Julia Bradford, while the Lions, who stunned state-ranked York Suburban to earn a state quarterfinal berth, are paced by Meaghan Williams and the sister team of Erin and Kiki Daly.

HAMBURG >> The lament of missed opportunity. It gnaws at you.

The Daniel Boone boys’ soccer team is feeling that pretty heavily right now. The Blazers saw their PIAA run, and season, come to an end Saturday afternoon in Hamburg with a 2-0 loss to Northwestern Lehigh in the 3A quarterfinals.

It didn’t have to — perhaps shouldn’t have been — this way. The Blazers (15-9) came out bright, aggressive, creative and had the Tigers on their heels for the opening 40 minutes. Unfortunately for Boone, the club could not find a finishing touch that would have firmly established control of the contest.

“It’s unfortunate we couldn’t put those early opportunities away,” Boone head coach Matt Kade said. “We’ve had some games at the opposite end of the spectrum that I thought the other team carried. That’s just soccer. And I told the guys, unless you win the whole thing, you’re going to feel this way.”

All it takes is one break the other way.

Daniel Boone’s Jamie Burns fires a shot toward goal against Northwestern Lehigh during a PIAA Class AAA quarterfinal on Nov. 12 at Hamburg Area High School. The shot was deflected and fell wide for a corner kick. (Austin Hertzog – Digital First Media)

That came 6:16 into the second half, when Northwestern Lehigh’s Dominic Mertz converged on a ball sent defensively into the box that bounced high on Boone goalie Stephen Williams as he attempted to shield his eyes from the sun, which was directly in his line of sight. Mertz flicked a header over Williams, who got just a nick on the ball, but not strong enough to deflect its trajectory. The ball settled into upper near corner of the net.

“Too much ball-watching there in the back, too indecisive of movements,” Kade said. “If you’re not sure your keeper is going to get to the ball, just put it out of bounds. Anything to keep it out of the net.”

Lacking possession and thus, creativity, just like that the Tigers instead suddenly found themselves up 1-0. It was all they would need. Space that was available to Boone in the first half evaporated. Linkup play was stuffed at or near the 18, forays into the box few after the opening marker. The Blazers could not find a way through down the stretch.

NWL later added insurance when Sam Seyfried corralled a ball at the edge of the box, shook off his man and chipped it past Williams from five yards out for the capper with 4:12 to go.

“They caught us on some counters, put some pressure on us, and I think that second goal doesn’t happen if we’re not pressing up trying to get the equalizer,” Kade said.

Boone’s Carter Ferguson just missed to the near post on a sharp delivery into the box in the 5th minute, followed moments later by Jamie Burns trickling an offering just wide.

Daniel Boone’s Tyler Brown (9) and Ben Hofmanner (27) try to close down Northwestern Lehigh’s Noah Seng-DeLong on a shot attempt during a PIAA Class AAA boys soccer quarterfinal on Nov. 12. (Austin Hertzog – Digital First Media)

Defensively, the Blazers held the tigers down to the point where NWL’s first shot on target was a weak header easily corralled by Williams, in the 15th minute.

Despite the hard-luck ending, Kade commended his charges for the campaign. “It was a great run we put together and nobody thought we could make it as far as we did,” he said. “So, I’m proud of them. I’m proud of everything they accomplished this year.”

SOUTH WHITEHALL>> Lansdale Catholic’s opponent on Saturday was a team that began the season 17-0-2 and would trail only once all year.

However, the Crusaders jumped out to a 2-0 lead on Salisbury and never let the Falcons up off the mat.

“Coming into this game, I said we should be the most feared team in the state,” LC senior captain Noah Saba said, “and we just keep proving that every game we play.”

Against a fine opponent in District 11 Champion Salisbury, the Crusaders controlled things from start to finish, earning a commanding 5-1 victory that sends LC into the state semifinals for the first time since 2000.

“At the start of the season, I would never have imagined this. It’s awesome,” Saba said after the Class AA quarterfinal victory on the turf at Parkland High School.

The Crusaders will take on District Four Champ Lewisburg, a 2-1 winner over Lower Moreland in overtime.

Lansdale Catholic scored at the midway point of the first half then added another goal six minutes later.

“Real big first half,” Saba said. “Great goal from Josh (Yurasits) and then I got one off of his free kick.

“Josh played a great game,” Saba said of his fellow senior captain. “We’ve been playing together since eighth grade and he’s one of my best friends so it’s just been great experiencing this with him.”

Saba wasn’t done. He scored again less than nine minutes into the second half then added a PK to make it 4-0 LC with 22:45 left to play.

On his penalty kick, Saba drilled a hard ground ball to the left of keeper Tyler Keller, who got a piece of the ball but could not stop it from finding the corner. And seemingly nothing could stop Saba, who notched himself another hat trick.

“Second game in a row,” he said with a smile. “I just wanna keep working hard. My team has been playing great, the defense has been playing great. Gotta keep finding the back of the net.”

In the first half, Lansdale Catholic gained an edge. In the second half, the Crusaders were in total control.

“At the half we started talking about things we needed to do,” Crusader coach Joe Wilson said. “We wanted to possess the ball more, take our time and get exactly what we wanted so we could get a few more goals, and the guys did a great job.”

Salisbury got a PK from James Hadinger and then Yurasits had one of his own at the other end, completing the scoring for the District 12 champs with a little over 13 minutes to go.

It marked the end of a tremendous season for Salisbury (22-2-2).

“It was a great season and a great four years — that’s what I was just telling the boys,” Falcons coach Mark Allinson said. “We made it to three district finals and this was our breakthrough year.

“I certainly appreciate all of their efforts, particularly out of the senior class. We got beat by a better team today. We certainly wish them well as they advance.”

ROYERSFORD >> Frank DeRosa summed it up pretty well.

The West Chester Henderson senior striker noted his team only had four good scoring chances in the first half against North Penn Saturday afternoon in their PIAA Class AAAA quarterfinal at Spring-Ford Middle School. DeRosa also rightly noted that his team, or more accurately, he had scored on three of them.

DeRosa’s first-half hat trick woke up the Warriors from a lethargic start as they took down the Knights 5-1 in a game that wasn’t as far apart as the score looked.

North Penn’s Carter Houlihan battles West Chester Henderson’s Richie Schlentz for possession deep in North Penn’s corner during their PIAA Class AAAA quarterfinal on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016. (Bob Raines/Digital First Media)

“I was surprised to be honest because we came out very flat, very lackadaisical,” DeRosa said. “We had four chances in total and happened to score three of them. To score three in the first half against a good team is a huge accomplishment.”

Neither DeRosa or Henderson coach Sean Ryan could pinpoint exactly why the Warriors, who have been on a blistering tear since the start of districts, came out the way they did. But it was all the Knights early on, despite not having any shots to show for it.

The game would turn on Henderson’s first trek into the North Penn box. Henderson’s Aiden McFadden and North Penn’s Nick Terchek got tangled up in the corner of the box, and one of the officials deemed it enough to call for a penalty kick. Up stepped DeRosa, the team’s designated PK taker and, after a longer than usual pause, buried it with 29:29 left in the first half.

“From where I was standing it looked like a PK, but of course other people will have other opinions,” DeRosa said. “I felt like it settled us down a little bit and after we got the second and third ones, we got more into our rhythm leading into the second half.”

“Sure, it changes the game and it’s disappointing but you can’t lose 5-1 and blame referees and I wouldn’t go there,” North Penn coach Paul Duddy said. “But that certainly affected the game that early.”

DeRosa doubled the lead with 17:42 left on a nice header after McFadden had flicked a long throw back in the striker’s direction. DeRosa said he was expecting North Penn keeper Bobby Dean to make a play on the ball in mid-air but when the keeper was a split-second behind on his decision, DeRosa was able to flick the header into the net’s open space.

That goal was huge because North Penn started to apply a lot of pressure right after, but playing down 2-0 was a lot to ask.

“Our spirit is basically to shake it off and continue playing and I think that’s what we tried to do the whole game,” North Penn senior defender Noah Kwortnik said. “After that PK, it showed what the refs were going to do, but you can’t worry about the refs. We had to play our game and we did a good job of it after that penalty kick getting out form back.”

Henderson goalkeeper Brady McSwain came up big in the first half, saving a shot by Luke McMahon then getting enough hands on a great rip by midfielder Mike Kohler to knock it away for a corner. Yet for all the pressure, the Knights couldn’t get one back and two minutes after Kohler’s hit, saw the deficit increase.

West Chester Henderson’s Aiden McFadden dribbles through North Penn defenders Mike Kohler and Matt Farrell during their PIAA Class AAAA quarterfinal on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016. (Bob Raines/Digital First Media)

An initial shot was blocked, causing a scramble in the box that DeRosa pounced on, firing the free ball into the net for his third goal of the afternoon.

“It gave them all the momentum and that’s what won them the game,” North Penn senior forward Nate Baxter said. “The (PK) call lifted all the momentum off of us onto them and I guess we didn’t respond well and unfortunately that cost us the game.”

With McSwain playing exceptional, the Henderson backs were able to police up the area, clearing balls and winning a lot of the 50/50 battles that are so crucial in the outcome of a match. Duddy even conceded that the Warriors were the better team winning those second chances and other balls.

Henderson had the lead and the momentum at the half, but wasn’t content to sit on it.

“We don’t subscribe to that just because you’re winning, you sit back,” Ryan said. “We brought some subs in, some guys that were fresh. We want to play both sides of the ball and I felt they came in and generated some chances. North Penn made some good defensive plays but we continued to press, which is how we want to play.”

The Warriors scored their fourth goal less than two minutes into the second half on the most controversial moment of the day. Henderson had the ball on the endline and one of the officials blew his whistle, audible across the stadium, to call it out. North Penn players stopped but the ball had already been played off the line and McFadden put it away.

After an initial call of no goal, the two officials closest to the goal conferred then called the goal good. Another conference followed with all three of them and they only explanation they offered was that no whistle was ever blown.

“They said there was no whistle,” Duddy said. “We, of course, thought it was out.”

North Penn’s Noah Kwortnik boots the ball up field past West Chester Henderson’s Aiden McFadden during their PIAA Class AAAA quarterfinal on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016. (Bob Raines/Digital First Media)

“It’s heart-breaking,” Kohler said. “We’d been working for this point the whole year and it feels like it’s been taken away from us.”

Henderson added its fifth with 30:01 left when Tom King got up and put a beautiful header into the net off a long throw-in by Richie Schlentz.

Baxter pulled one back for North Penn with 21:57 left, off an assist from Nick Terchek. The Knights had a couple of other chances, but nothing else got past McSwain, who made seven saves in the win.

“It’s frustrating, it’s really upsetting because it’s our last game as seniors,” Baxter said. “It doesn’t represent the flow of the game at all. It’s just a sad way to go out after this season.”

North Penn still accomplished a lot this season, winning the SOL Continental title, taking third in District I and making their first state tournament appearance since 2004. Then they built on it by getting their first state win in Duddy’s tenure. A lot of good seniors like Dean, Terchek, Baxter, Kwortnik and Kohler are leaving, but there is a lot of good young talent on the roster.

For guys like McMahon and freshman Carter Houlihan, the bar has been raised. Kohler said when he has a minute to step back and think about it, he’ll realize he and his teammates did a lot to be proud of this year. They just weren’t ready to do it Saturday.

“(Henderson was) better today, on the day, they were better,” Duddy said. “There’s no doubt about it and that’s what the scoreboard says. But I’m not sure the scoreboard tells the way the game went.”

Henderson is into the state semifinals, where it will face Elizabethtown on Tuesday. The Warriors have a lot of talent and with all those guys seemingly in top form the last month, it’s made for some remarkable soccer.

“Starting with Penn Wood the first round of districts, we’ve just been on fire,” DeRosa said. “Once we scored the goal that tied Lower Merion with two minutes left, we’ve been riding momentum like I’ve never seen before. We’ve scored over 25 goals in six playoff games, which is amazing for any team. I don’t even think Central Bucks (East) did that last year, and they were amazing.”

Top Photo: North Penn’s Eric Szilagyi and West Chester Henderson’s Aiden McFadden battle in front of the North Penn goal during their PIAA Class AAAA quarterfinal on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016. (Bob Raines/Digital First Media)

It seemed fitting that Conestoga squeezed out a 1-0 win with a second-half goal in its PIAA Class AAAA state semifinal against North Allegheny Tuesday night at Chambersburg High School.
The battle-tested Pioneers (24-1) have made a habit this fall of winning razor-close games by scoring in the final minutes. Heading into the state quarterfinal, Conestoga had nine game-winning goals in the last 10 minutes of games or in overtime this season.
This time, the game-winner was by Nick Jennings, who headed the ball off a rebound into the net with 31:37 left.
“I was really excited when I saw the ball go in the net – for about 10 seconds,” said Jennings. “But then I realized we still had 30 minutes left to play.”
His goal culminated a rapid-fire succession of three shots at the North Allegheny net. The first two shots, by Jennings and Mason Miller, were stopped by point-blank saves by North Allegheny goalie Grant Glorioso.
Jennings said, “Logan [Schwartz] got the ball out wide left, I ran in behind the center back, and Logan crossed it. I headed it [the first time] and hit the ground, and the ball didn’t go in. When I got up, the ball was heading toward me, and I hit it in.”
What made this victory particularly sweet was that, last fall, Conestoga lost in the PIAA state semifinal.
“We were definitely motivated by last year’s [state semifinal] loss, and we still are,” said Jennings. “When the game ended, my first thought was chocolate – we’re going to Hershey. Then, after our post-game huddle, assistant coach Blake Stabert tossed Hershey bars in the air for all of us to catch, and everybody got one.”
Conestoga head coach David Zimmerman, asked about the Pioneers’ season-long habit of scoring game-winners in the final minutes, referred to the Pioneers’ experience – both in the post-season, and in tight games.
“We had a long post-season run last year, and this year, we’ve played – and won – a lot of tight games during the regular season,” said Zimmerman. “Three times we’ve trailed in games, and come back to win. So when we get into a tight game, it’s like, ‘Been there, done that.’”
The Conestoga coach also pointed out that Tuesday night’s win was the 25th post-season game in the Conestoga careers of each of the trio known as the “Three Amigos” – senior defender Gabe Harms, senior forward Mason Miller and senior midfielder Blaise Milanek.
Conestoga will face Elizabethtown (22-4-1), the second seed from District 3, at Hershey Stadium Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in the PIAA state championship final. Elizabethtown defeated West Chester Henderson in penalty kicks in the other state semifinal Tuesday, its second straight win by PKs. Henderson handed Conestoga its only loss of the season in the PIAA District One final, and earlier in the season, the Pioneers defeated the Warriors 2-1.
“We’re a lot more familiar with Henderson than Elizabethtown, but we’ll have a few days to do some research on [Elizabethtown],” said Zimmerman. “I know they’ve been winning in overtime, and they have momentum – it would be a mistake to underestimate them.”
The Pioneers didn’t underestimate North Allegheny, the District 7 champions. Conestoga departed Berwyn at 2 p.m. Tuesday, and reached Chambersburg at around 4:30 p.m., which gave them plenty of time to warm up and get acclimated. The warmed-up Pioneers made nine shots on goal in the first half.
“I thought we played better than [North Allegheny] in the first half, but I thought they played better than us in the second,” said Zimmerman. “Our defense played well tonight, particularly center back Will Klein. And [gaolie] Luke Smith played well, did a good jub managing the box and made some solid saves.”