FALLS >> There was not one specific play that changed the momentum of Saturday’s District 1-AAAA boys soccer quarterfinal but rather the collective play of North Penn in the second half as the Knights came from behind for a 2-1 win over Pennsbury.

“They’re a very good team, they deserve all the credit,” North Penn coach Paul Duddy said of Pennsbury. “It was a hard-played game (by) both teams (and) fair.”

The win puts North Penn into the PIAA playoffs for the first time since 2004 as it will take on the top-seeded Conestoga on Wednesday in the district semifinals.

“It’s been awhile,” Duddy said of the return trip back to states. “We’ve been so close, so often but we just couldn’t get over that hump and finally today we did.”

Gameplay was tight in the midfield through the early going with chances at a premium for both sides. It was a free kick goal, beautifully spotted by Zach LoBasso that gave the Falcons a 1-0 lead.

“They were going to want to possess the ball 60 percent of the time, we were going to want to possess it 50 percent of the time so it was going to be a little bit of a battle there,” said Pennsbury coach Tom Stoddart of the team’s conflicting playing styles. “I told my kids not to get frustrated with it and just sit in and do what you have to do and our attack is dangerous enough that I thought we could take advantage of it.”

The one-goal margin held until halftime. Coming out of the break North Penn started to put some offensive pressure on spurred by some great runs from forward Luke McMahon.

“I just try to do what’s best for the team,” McMahon said. “So if I see a slot that I think I should run into where I can get the ball and help the team out and score a goal then I’m going to run into it and hopefully find it.”

It took just five minutes into the second half for the Knights to level the score. Mike Kohler played a great ball deep into the Pennsbury half where Nate Baxter hit far-post cross right on to the foot of McMahon, who finished for the goal.

Just over 15 minutes later Carter Houlihan ripped a shot that was saved by Falcons keeper Nathan Slotnik but McMahon was there to clean up, burying the rebound to give the Knights a 2-1 lead.

“We talked about it at half that you can’t come back (all at once),” Duddy said. “You got to get the first goal. About five minutes in we did get a goal and we calmed down after that.”

As some scrappy play from both sides picked up in the second half North Penn was able to keep levelheaded and keep Pennsbury off the score sheet despite a good late push by the Falcons.

“We’ve had a few talks over the past few days and we knew coming in that we had a mission,” McMahon said. “Our mission was now that we won the league what can we do next? And our next goal was to win districts and get to the state playoffs and this game helped us.”

For the Falcons their season is not done, Pennsbury just has to take the tough road to states as it has to compete for the fifth spot. The Falcons take on Central Bucks East in a do-or-die spot. The Patriots will be third straight Suburban One Continental Conference team Pennsbury will face in the district playoffs.

“That fifth spot not only a trip to the state tournament but it’s actually a good position to get into the state tournament,” Stoddart said. “You don’t play for the fifth spot but now we are so we’re going to do our best. It should be a pretty competitive four-team tournament.”

PHILADELPHIA >> Make it four-for-four in District 12 title games for the Lansdale Catholic boys soccer seniors.

The Crusaders got the four-peat Saturday morning at the South Philly Super Site, topping a very game and resilient Philadelphia Charter Academy School 2-0 in the Class AA final behind a brace from senior Noah Saba. Goalkeeper Jack Kane won his fourth straight district title in net, and posted a shutout for the third straight year.

It’s a mark of consistency for the program, with the crop of seniors having been right in the middle of it.

LC hosts New Hope-Solebury at 3 p.m. Wednesday in a District 1/12 regional semifinal with the winner qualifying for the PIAA tournament. So while Saturday’s game looked to have little meaning in the long term, it was of great importance to the Crusaders.

“It feels amazing,” Saba said. “Coming to LC, I would have never thought or dreamt that we could have this kind of success. It just kind of proved that again that we have great coaches and a great work ethic at LC.”

The one thing that has most plagued the Crusaders this fall has been an inability to finish goals. It cost them in Catholic League games and in some non-league contests. For the first half Saturday, that same problem came back to hover over LC.

Despite controlling the run of play and putting the ball in the box over and over, the Crusaders couldn’t put anything away. The PACS keeper made some nice saves but LC also cost itself by heading balls over, not getting a foot to a ball in the box and shooting wide of target.

“We’ve had so many opportunities against good opponents like them and not been able to finish,” LC coach Joe Wilson said. “Usually what happens is we make a mistake and end up going down 1-0 then it’s a struggle. The guys know what the history has been and just stayed composed and kept working until we got what we thought we could do.”

Kane only made three saves and credited his defenders for making his day relatively easy.

“My freshman and sophomore years we had a great team with a lot of great leaders,” Kane said. “I learned a lot from them and I’m glad I was able to implement some of that leadership the past couple years. The coaching has helped, it pulls the team together. This year and last year, we really came together.”

Saba missed the squad’s last game, a 1-0 loss in overtime to Roman Catholic in the PCL quarterfinals but liked the fight and resolve his teammates showed in that effort. Playing mostly AAA and AAAA opponents all season, it was tough for the Crusaders to find their identity during the regular season.

But toward the end, they modeled themselves as a hard-working and resilient group. Despite not having a goal after 40 minutes, there was a sense of calm in the LC players as they went out to start the second half.

“We knew it was going to come, we had to stay patient,” Saba said. “They were a good team and we weren’t expecting them to come out as hard as they did. We had a slow first half but we came out in the second half a lot harder. We wanted to possess more and not hit as many long balls. We had a lot of success in the second half passing through them.”

Saba’s first goal came a shade less than three minutes into the second half. Chris Edling won the ball on a short clear by the PACS keeper and was able to thread a ball through to Saba, who got in close and slid a shot under the keeper to put LC on the board.

“The (defender) was on my back and I felt it, then I saw the goalie coming out and he was in the air a little bit, so I just put it underneath him,” Saba said. “He was getting everything high, he was good, he was athletic so I wanted to keep it low.”

Saba put the game away with 17:07 left on a second-chance opportunity. Senior Josh Yurastis had a great shot off the right side that curled with power, so the keeper could only palm it away and it went right to Saba inside the six-yard box.

“I started to breathe a little,” Wilson said. “I thought I was going to have a heart attack. It helped me and you could feel it on the field, we started playing a possession game and with the pressure off, our technical touches were a lot cleaner.

“It was the fourth year in a row and there was a lot of pressure to get that district title.”

Wilson said his team was very focused on Saturday and it mostly due to the seniors. The seniors themselves wanted to go four-in-a-row and the other guys on the team wanted to get it done for them.

Firstly, it gave them a game instead of waiting more than a week and a half to play and second, its core players got to do something they had wanted all year long.

“We got the those first three wins with all those guys above us and we wanted to continue the legacy,” Kane said. “We wanted to make it a school record with the four straight championships. We have to keep the intensity high. It’s late in the season, teams start to fall off but we have to keep that intensity up and come into next week on fire.”

PHILADELPHIA >> La Salle goalkeeper Brett Werner has a nickname given to him by his teammates for a very specific thing Werner does at practice.

That’s because “Odell,” so named for New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr, loves to try and make one-handed circus catches of soccer balls on corners and free kicks, just to test the limits of his athletic ability. Imposing at 6-foot-5, Werner is a presence in goal.

Saturday evening, he was a huge reason why the Explorers won their first Philadelphia Catholic League boys soccer title since 2012 in a thrilling 2-1 win over defending champion Roman Catholic.

La Salle’s Joseph Puck and Roman Catholic’s Seth Stangler battle for a loose ball during the Philadelphia Catholic League championship on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016. (Rick Cawley/For Digital First Media)

“From when we first played them, we knew they had all the ability, all the tools to put the pressure on us,” Werner, a junior, said. “But we came together as a team, which is what we said at halftime, we have to come together, we have to work together and we have to relieve the pressure. We put two up in the first half and stuck it out.”

Stuck it out is a great way to describe how La Salle finished the game. Roman was tremendous after halftime and even until the last whistle was applying tons of pressure on Werner and his defenders with corner kicks and long throw ins.

Only once, with 14:03 left in the game, did Roman beat the big man. Matthew Flanagan headed in a corner kick by left back Nate Lindner to cut the lead in half and possibly did up some bad memories for the Explorers. It was in last year’s semifinals that Roman ousted La Salle on a goal off a corner with 45 seconds left.

“The corner I think gave them some flashbacks,” La Salle coach Tom McCaffrey said. “But they battled through it and got the job done. That speaks to the senior leadership. Everybody on this team has some kind of a leadership role and they all embrace it in their own way and it showed tonight with their composure under pressure.”

La Salle opened the game with all the energy of a car chase scene in a blockbuster movie. The Explorers were flying up the field and even had Roman on its heels a little bit before shocking the Cahilites with two goals in a 1:07 span.

The first came after Mike D’Angelo flicked on a free kick from center back James Natale, it took a bounce and went into the net with 33:49 left in the first half. Soon after, La Salle’s dynamic winger Spencer Patton broke free down the left side and sent a wonderful cross into the box.

“We were the first senior class that could have not won a championship in our four years in a long time, so we knew we needed to work hard and we were all over them at the beginning,” senior forward Zach Hogan said. “We were outworking them on our own set pieces offensively, that’s where we created most of our chances and that’s usually what we do.”

Roman Catholic’s Kieran Flaherty and La Salle’s James Natale battle over a head ball during the Philadelphia Catholic League championship on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016. (Rick Cawley/For Digital First Media)

It wasn’t exactly a set piece, but Hogan, or at least his abdomen, was in the right place at the right time as Patton’s cross touched down and a Roman defender tried to clear it. The ball got about two feet, where it crashed into Hogan’s stomach and shot back into the net for the 2-0 lead with 32:42 left.

“They all count the same, I’ll take it,” Hogan said. “The kid had his back to me, turned to clear it and I was about a foot behind him and it just hit me in the stomach.

“It was an interesting goal.”

It was also the game-winning goal.

Roman got itself off its heels and back into attack mode soon after and started to knock on the door. Unfortunately for the Cahilities, the butler was a big dude and wouldn’t let just anyone come in. Werner had a huge save with about 5:24 left in the first half, palming an absolute screamer of a shot by Roman over the bar.

“It’s enormous, he’s the best keeper in the league and he played like it tonight,” Roman coach Ray DeStephanis said. “It doesn’t come easy against someone like that. We also had a chance early in the second chance where everyone jumped, we thought the goalie tipped it but the guy on the post saved it.”

“I saw an opportunity to make or break the game,” Werner said. “If I let that go in, the game goes another way but if I save it, then we win.”

Werner had another massive save with 35:45 left in the second half when he got down to the ground to stuff a well-taken header by Aidan Meissler on the goal line that seemed destined for the net. No matter how Roman was coming at him, Werner kept answering the call.

“I wouldn’t say worried, we were anxious to defend it,” Werner said. “We knew it was coming, it’s the PCL final, it’s high school soccer. It’s all free kicks and corner kicks, that’s how we lost last year and how we won this year. We defended them well, except for the one, but miscommunications are a part of soccer. We defended well, we stuck it out and we won.”

Patton, who is committed to play at Virginia, was still in a bit of awe at the accomplishment after the match. He said the two goals happened so fast and that entire game was a blur with the way Roman was applying pressure and trying so hard to equalize.

Roman’s freshman goalkeeper Kevin Tobin makes a save as La Salle applies the pressure during the Philadelphia Catholic League championship on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016. (Rick Cawley/For Digital First Media)

“We knew they were going to come out hard, want to win, want to keep their championship and keep the saga going but we had something else in mind,” Patton said. “We hadn’t won one in four years and we didn’t want that to continue.”

The title run capped a PCL campaign that saw the Explorers go unbeaten, with just two draws the only league results that weren’t victories.

“It’s pretty crazy,” Patton said. “I never thought at the beginning of the season in August during preseason that we would be able to do this. It’s one of those things where you’re going to come back years later and say I was part of the first team to go undefeated in PCL and it feels really good to bring one back to La Salle.”

The loss ends a run of success for Roman’s senior class that saw them reach four PCL semifinals and three straight title games.

“Once we settled in after the two goals seven minutes in, we played fine,” DeStephanis said. “We knocked the ball around fine.

“We went to a 3-4-3 at halftime knowing we would have the wind and they would sit back. At one point, probably with about 15 minutes left, we were more of a 3-3-4 with four forwards. We wanted to get the ball wide and everything was coming down our right, we were getting the throws, getting the corners, things just didn’t fall our way.”

McCaffrey said he’s seen a lot of growth from his keeper in the last two years, both mentally and physically, into a player who can control himself and is comfortable with his body.

“He’s an incredible player and if I had to pick a kid on this team to build around, it would be Brett,” Hogan said. “He’s the best goalie in the league by far and without him, we wouldn’t be here right now.”

“He messes around with that stuff because he’s that athletic,” McCaffrey said. “It shows in his basketball career with what he can do on a basketball court and it’s an unbelievable blessing to have him back there.”

Top Photo: The La Salle boys soccer team celebrates with the Philadelphia Catholic League championship trophy after defeating Roman Catholic 2-1 in the league final on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016. (Andrew Robinson/Digital First Media)

TREDYFFRIN >> When Logan Schwartz checked in for the final time with 17 minutes to play Saturday, and again when Mason Miller entered with 10 left, the message from Conestoga coach David Zimmerman was succinct: Closing time.

“The mentality is really just to keep up the pressure,” Miller said. “We know that there’s only a few minutes left in the game, and if we didn’t do anything, it would go to overtime. We just wanted to get a goal, put it away early and finish the game off.”

Conestoga’s Mason Miller, left, vies for a ball with Abington’s Donald Gibbs Thursday. Miller set up Logan Schwartz’s game-winner in Saturday’s District 1 Class 4A quarterfinal win over Central Bucks East, 1-0. (Digital First Media/Pete Bannan)

As the last wave in Zimmerman’s 20-man rotation plan, Miller and Schwartz delivered, the latter hammering home a beautifully taken goal in the 76th minute to see the top-seeded Pioneers over No. 9 Central Bucks East in a District 1 Class 4A quarterfinal grudge match.

Schwartz took Zimmerman’s “closing time” mantra to heart, and so Conestoga’s new beginning (and a fifth PIAA tournament berth in seven seasons) came from Central Bucks East’s beginning’s end.

There’s no love lost between two of the most successful teams around, a tantalizing matchup that popped off the page as soon as brackets were released. These teams decided the District 1 (then Class AAA) title last year and met in the PIAA semis, the Patriots winning both en route to a state crown and inflicting the only blemishes on Conestoga’s 2015 record. Some faces have changed, and Conestoga (20-0) is now the side lavished with national attention, but emotions were still rubbed raw Saturday.

“We got kicked out by them last year, and we needed to come back this year against them,” Conestoga defender Mike McCarthy said. “… It was definitely in the back of our minds.”

“I was a part of that, and I remember that we were their only two losses last year,” C.B. East defender Stephen Sheehan said. “If it wasn’t for us, they would’ve done what we did. And we knew coming in that they were going to want revenge. And we could tell out there, they knew who we were and what they wanted to do.”

Will Klein of Stoga heads wide. Fans thought it was in. Stoga’s best chance. pic.twitter.com/THtePcuypY

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) October 29, 2016

The win moves Conestoga into Wednesday’s semifinals to take on No. 5 North Penn, which downed No. 4 Pennsbury, 2-1. C.B. East (13-5-3) slips into playbacks to vie for District 1’s fifth and final states berth.

With that emotional input and the obvious technical ability on display, it’s no surprise free space was hard to come by. Chris Donovan earned a rare glimpse of free acreage in the 76th down the right wing. He squared a cross-field ball that Miller filtered on to a vocal Schwartz. He took a touch inside to his right foot and struck a shot that nestled inside the post, one even East’s 6-foot-3 goalie Karl Bandlow couldn’t stretch to deny.

“I saw Chris beat a guy down the line, then played Mason at the top of the box,” Schwartz said. “He let it go, and I just yelled ‘let’ for Nick (Jennings) and Nick let it got, and I just hit it as hard as I could and hoped it went in.”

“It was a beautiful finish,” Miller said. “He was determined and he knew where he was going with it, so that helped him place it where he wanted.”

Will Eisold heads just wide on a Stephen Sheehan free kick. Good chance for CB East. pic.twitter.com/OWHK8wa1mY

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) October 29, 2016

It took a moment of brilliance like Schwartz’s to fracture a stalemate wrought by punishing, cagey soccer on both sides, where few chances were generated from open play.

Conestoga’s Mike McCarthy, right, battles for a ball with Abington’s Juan Castillo Thursday. (Digital First Media/Pete Bannan)

East, under the direction of former U.S. National Team player Jeremiah White (Haverford School), lamentably squandered several looks. Center back Will Eisold carved out a pair of open headers off set pieces that he couldn’t nod goalward. Sheehan delivered several tantalizing set-piece services, the best from 30 yards out in the 66th minute with a curler placed between Conestoga goalie Luke Smith and the onrushing crowd, but there were no takers.

The best chance, though, was spurned by Eric Quigley three minutes before Schwartz capitalized. Quigley did the hard work, shouldering off McCarthy and drawing Smith off his line on a sortie down the left channel. But his left-footed attempt steered wide, grazing the outside netting.

Conestoga’s Will Klein missed a similar attempt with his head in the first half, but the Pioneers’ opportunities were fewer and further between. They started to ramp up the pressure late, including a shot from platoon midfielder Jeff Charles that forced Bandlow into a save.

Great Sheehan free kick. No takers. No score 14 minutes left. pic.twitter.com/A1sgzQAhCA

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) October 29, 2016

Conestoga’s win, a second consecutive 1-0 victory after banishing No. 17 Abington in Thursday’s second round, is a means to a larger, championship end to the season. But if you put aside the big-picture logic momentarily, it’s a particularly gratifying intermediate step.

“It was only a small step,” said McCarthy, espousing the long view. “I think we have bigger plans. We have bigger marks and goals this year.”

“Definitely, it’s a lot more special,” allowed Miller. “It’s very, very sweet, because they beat us twice last year.”

West Chester – In what has been a memorable year for the West Chester Henderson boys’ soccer team it looked as though another Central League school was going to be its kryptonite.
With Henderson’s only loss this season coming at the hands of Central League champion and district tournament No. 1 seed Conestoga, it appeared as though Lower Merion (16-3-2) was on its way of handing West Chester Henderson (19-1-1) just its second loss of the season in the third round of the PIAA District One Class 4A tournament Saturday.
But with just over two minutes remaining in regulation, and facing a 1-0 deficit, the Warriors got the equalizer, before finding the back of the net again early in overtime to notch the 2-1 victory over the Aces and clinch their third state tournament berth (including two in Class AAA) in the last four years.
“We have a senior-laden team and before the year started we had a feeling the state tournament was a distinct possibility,” said West Chester Henderson coach Sean Ryan. “To see this group have another crack in the state tournament means a lot but we still have plenty of work left in the district tournament.”
After Lower Merion keeper Sebastian Jenkins came up with two brilliant saves, the Warriors earned a corner kick. As Frank DeRosa lined up he saw a cutting Zach Roberts who got a head on the ball on the far post that seemed to be curling towards the back of the net to level the score at 1-1.
With a continued push, Henderson had another opportunity in the final minute, but as he did most of the night, Jenkins stoned Aiden McFadden from point blank range to help send the game into overtime.
In the first extra session, Henderson had a direct kick from the 50-yard line. Trying to convert a play the Warriors run in practice, senior Max Zandi drove a deep ball towards the back of the box that found the head of fellow senior Roberts, who flicked far post into the net and sent the hosts on their way to the district semifinals Wednesday night against Council Rock North.
“We work on set plays in practice, but I knew I had to put the ball on the keeper and hope somebody would be there for the tip, and luckily Zach was there for the header,” said Zandi.
“I wanted to go back post but all I really thought was scoring,” Roberts said. “Max hurried the play and Lower Merion thought we would go down the line, which left me open. Fortunately I was able to score.”
“It’s always nice to see things you practice come to fruition,” Ryan said. “The boys have to execute it and they certainly did tonight. I remember watching Max (Zandi) and Zach (Roberts) in eighth grade and to see them now is one of the great pleasures I have seen in my coaching career at Henderson.”
Lower Merion took a 1-0 lead 10 minutes into the second half when Tim O’Hare collected a cross from Max Shapiro before making a move and drilling a shot that found the back of the net.
Forced to play a man down the final six minutes of regulation and overtime, it appeared as though Lower Merion was going to escape before Henderson completed its comeback.
Lower Merion will now get ready to take on Neshaminy Wednesday in the playback round, in hopes of keeping its state playoff hopes alive.
Lower Merion coach Nico Severini said, “It was phenomenal effort and I am proud of the boys, but sometimes you are on the unlucky side of the stick. We have to regroup on Monday and be ready to play on Wednesday.”
O’Hare added, “This loss stings, but we have to get over this loss, work hard to hopefully get to states. We have to move past this and look forward.”

Quinn Dudek

Dudek, a senior forward/midfielder and captain of the Episcopal Academy boys’ soccer team, is leading the Churchmen (13-5-3, 5-2-1 InterAc as of Monday). Dudek scored the winning goal against Haverford School Oct. 18 – it was the first time in approximately 10 years that the Churchmen had beaten the Fords. Outside of EA, the Davidson College-bound senior plays for the highly-successful Penn Fusion soccer club program. EA boys’ soccer head coach David Knox said, “Quinn is a worker who makes good things happen all over the field, and inspires those around him with his work ethic. He shoulders a lot of responsibility and has very high expectations of himself and what others need to bring not only to games but to practice. In his four years on varsity he has seen a lot and knows how special and important this year is. He takes the responsibility of captain very seriously and wants to bring the Inter-Ac League title back, which we last won in 1995, 21 years ago.”

Q: You mentioned that scoring the winning goal against Haverford School is the highlight of your EA soccer career to date, as the Churchmen had not beaten the Fords in approximately 10 years. Can you describe how the play unfolded, and your role in it?

A: My teammate Nick Wallick cleared the ball out of our half and over Haverford’s back line, which I read well and was able to use my speed to get past the center back and arrive to the ball first. I hadn’t taken my first touch yet when I realized the goalie was off of his line, and I took a huge risk and half-volleyed it over the keeper from 30-35 yards out instead of dribbling the ball closer to the net to get a more high percentage shot. It paid off and dropped into the back of the net.

Q: Playing both midfielder and forward, what attributes do you feel you have that make you best suited to each position?

A: The position I play for each game depends on what injuries we have sustained and what style of play we need to play to win the game. At center midfield it gives me more ability to set the tempo and take control of the game because I play both sides of the ball, defense and offense.  Every part of the field is more accessible as a center mid fielder. I have a wide range of passing that is crucial to be successful as a center mid fielder and I can join the attack very well in this position because of my experience as a forward. As a forward, my speed and agility are huge parts of my game. I love to take people on, especially in 1 v 1 situations, and get a shot off. Also, my technical ability, my dribbling, is what shines the most for me at forward, as many of my goals and assists began with me beating people off the dribble.

Q: What aspect of your game are you currently working on the most?

A: I am working on my free kick as Coach Knox has given me the important responsiility of taking those kicks. I have had a few opportunities to take free kicks around the box but I have not put one in yet, but each time I take one I get closer and closer to finishing one. I have never really taken free kicks before this season, but I will take what I have learned to Davidson College next fall and continue to grow.

Q: Tell us a little about your experience with Penn Fusion soccer. What has been your most memorable experience with Penn Fusion?

A: Participating in the Penn Fusion Club Soccer program has been clearly my greatest experience. I play alongside some of the most talented youth soccer players in the country, pushing me to be the greatest I can be on the soccer field. I don’t have a most memorable moment with Penn Fusion because my whole career has been so much fun. We have been an exremely successful club team over my time with them, winning five state cups in a row, two regional championships, and going to the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series twice, receiving third place one of those two times.

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

A: Before every game, the team, along with the coaches, discusses what strategies we will use and what weaknesses we want to exploit for our opponent. We do most of our mental preparation there where we get fired up and think about our roles in the upcoming game. After that, for warm ups on the field, we do the same thing for every game, a long stretch, possession games, and then shooting. Then, just before the game, we huddle up and put our arms around each other and Coach Knox and Coach Hark gives us one more little pep talk to get our heads straight and to get our energy up.

Q: You wear uniform jersey No. 2 for EA soccer. Is there a reason you chose that number?

A: I wear No. 2 becuase, first, I prefer small numbers, and second, becuase I use to wear that number when I played basketball. I had to quit [basketball]; however, because playing for Penn Fusion is a big committment and takes up much of my time. Basketball is my favorite sport along with soccer so wearing No. 2 represents my past with basketball.

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

A: Although it may be a little cliché, Lionel Messi is my favorite soccer player, and I try to emulate his game. He has an amazing range of passes he showcases every game along with his incredible dribbling skills. It seems like Messi never does any flashy moves like rainbows or scissors because he uses his speed and agility to his advantage, whereas doing these flashy moves may slow him down because he is already quicker than everyone else on the field. Although I don’t have Messi’s quickness, that is how I view myself on the field.

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

A: My biggest soccer mentors are my club soccer coach Mark Thomas and my dad. Coach Mark deserves almost all the credit regarding my touch and dribbling as he developed my technical ability over the past 7-8 years. Coach Mark always keeps me up to date about how I am playing and what I can do differently and what I can work on. He was one of the few people I called for advice before I verbally committed to Davidson. My dad also is a big mentor because, although he never played soccer, he understands the tactical side of soccer. He helps me understand where I want the ball at specific times, who I want to give the ball to and what I should do with the ball in tough positions. I also owe a lot to Coach Knox and Coach Hark, my coaches at EA, because in addition to my athletic style of play, they helped me learn how to play as a leader. Hopefully I can finish my EA soccer career with an Inter Ac chamipionship because Coach Knox and Coach Hark deserve it.

Q: Why did you choose Davidson – what other college were in the running? What do you think you might like to major in? Is there a career path that particularly interests you at the present time?

A: I chose Davidson for a variety of reasons. Davidson is a great academic school, so being able to play Divison 1 soccer while attending one of the best academic schools in the country will be an amazing experience that I believe will put me in the best position for success in the future. Besides Davidson, the schools that I strongly considered for college soccer were Washington University in St. Louis, High Point, University of Mary Washington, and Virginia Tech. I plan on majoring in finance at Davidson, as well as minoring in computer science.  Davidson is just a half hour from Charlotte, a major financial center, with many banking institutions located there. Hopefully, I can land an internship in Charlotte during my time at Davidson and then continue my career there after I graduate.

Q: Do you participate in any other sports or extracurricular activities at EA? What sparked your interest in each of these activities?

A: In the past I played lacrosse, basketball, and track for EA, but I am undecided at the moment on whether or not I will play any of these sports during my senior year. I joined the astronomy club last year which was fun because we talked about a lot of very intriguing hypotheticals and theories about space and extraterrestrial life.

Fun facts – Quinn Dudek

Favorite book: Liar’s Poker.

Favorite author: Michael Lewis.

Favorite TV show: Game of Thrones.

Favorite movie: The Big Short.

Favorite athlete: Kyrie Irving.

Favorite pre-game pump-up song: X by 21 Savage.

Favorite team: Philadelphia Eagles.

Favorite place to visit: Avalon, N.J.

Favorite pre-game meal: Peanut  butter and jelly sandwich.

Favorite color: Orange.

Person I most admire: “My Dad because he sets the perfect example for me as the hardest-working person I know. He is relentless with his work ethic and provides everything I need in terms of support, guidance and feedback.”

Birth date: Oct. 1, 1998 in West Chester.

Family members: Parents Colleen and Rich, brothers Clay, Tristan and Brock.

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

HERSHEY >> Daniel Boone’s dream of making the District 3 Class AAA boys’ soccer final was doused Monday night at Hersheypark Stadium by one of the strongest squads in the state.

Lower Dauphin, owners of a 22-0 record coming into the match, delivered the alarm bell with a 5-0 semifinal win over the Blazers at Hersheypark Stadium.

LD (23-0) will face Gettysburg, 4-0 winners over Fleetwood, for the AAA title on Thursday, back at Hersheypark Stadium. Boone (13-8) has already clinched its first-ever PIAA berth, by way of making the semifinals, and will rest up for that.

Monday night’s contest was a competitive match for nearly 60 minutes. The unbeaten Falcons got a first-half marker from midfielder Ryan Becher at 7:28, off a feed from Nick Iagnemma, for a 1-0 lead. But Boone held a tight backline and entered the break with an equal number of shots on target, 2-apiece.

“We worked so hard for 60 minutes and I don’t think the score reflects the effort,” Boone head coach Matt Kade said. “So it’s unfortunate to walk away with a five-goal defeat. I thought the first 60 was some of the best, most complete soccer we’ve played all year.”

All that changed when senior centerback and co-captain Matt Lambert picked up a knock and had to depart in the 60th minute. With Lambert’s departure — as a key glue guy defensively for the Blazers — LD found space in the final third down the stretch and cashed in with four goals.

“He’s our glue back there, vocally and physically, Kade said of Lambert, “just about everything. So as soon as he came off, we had to make soome changes, pull another starting defender off due to being banged up a bit. And it just kind of fell apart at that point. Once they got two (goals), we kind of put our heads down and that was that.”

The pressure for LD was released when forward Jackson Becher converted a long strike mere seconds after having one wiped out by an offsides call. Timmy Townsend found Becher from about 20 yards out and the junior beat Boone goalie Stephen Williams clean to the right post at 59:46.

Townsend got in on the act four minutes later, with a putback of a PK carom for a 3-0 lead at 63:55. Williams made a brilliant initial save with a parry but had no chance on the follow-up.

With the lead at three goals, LD notably relaxed and had its way with Boone the rest of the match, freelancing while dominating possession. The Falcons fired 10 seocnd-half shots at Williams, who stopped six.

Townsend corralled his second at 69:01, then Blake Cassel closed out the scoring moments later at 70:03. Josiah Ramirez assisted on both.

“The first half was very back-and-forth,” LD head coach Gerry Lynch said. “The last 15 minutes or so of the half we were under pressure a bit. The second half, we started taking more control and more possession and i think we wore them down a little bit. We were moving the ball, finding gaps and dominate the midfield.

“I think the guys were a lot more composed in the second half and we went back to more of what we’ve been doing.”

The Boone attack which worked so well last week against Manheim Central in the quarterfinals — running balls through the center defense — was locked down by the Falcons. Boone could manage just one shot on goal after the break.

District 3 Class AAA semifinal

at Hersheypark Stadium

Lower Dauphin 5, Daniel Boone 0 

LD – Ryan Becher (Nick Iagnemma), 7:28

LD – Jackson Becher (Timmy Townsend), 59:46

LD – Townsend, 63:55

LD – Townsend (Josiah Ramirez), 69:01

LD – Blake Cassel (Ramirez), 70:03

Shots

LD 12, DB 3

Corners

LD 7, DB 3

Saves

LD (Brady Wilson) 3, DB (Stephen Williams) 7

The pairing of Quinn Dudek and Ramon Gallegos keeps on working for Episcopal Academy.

Dudek twice set up Gallegos for goals, and Nate Ekpo added a goal and a helper as the Churchmen downed Germantown Academy, 4-0, in Inter-Ac play.

Spencer Higgins also scored, and Matt Freese and AJ Marcucci made one save each in the shutout for EA (11-5-1 overall, 6-2-1 league).

Also in the Inter-Ac:

Haverford School 2, Malvern Prep 1 >> Second-half goals by Parker Gravina and Josh Ridenhour helped the Fords overturn a halftime deficit.

Nick Pippis and Griffin Wada collected assists, and Will Baltrus made four saves for Haverford (6-9-4, 3-5-1).

EAST WHITELAND >> With everything riding on the ball, spotted 12 yards out from the net, the Faith Christian Academy boys soccer team looked to someone to take charge.

As he has done all season, Blake Meyers embraced the moment. Faith’s senior captain stepped up to take a penalty kick with 8:40 left in a tie game against a Plumstead Christian team that had haunted FCA in years past.

Meyers embraced the moment, stepped up to the spot and buried it, lifting FCA to a 2-1 win over its nemesis in the District 1-A boys soccer title game at Great Valley on Tuesday. Meyers’ kick was also a historic one, as the Lions won their first ever district title and are going to their first-ever PIAA playoffs.

“Some teams will come in and there’s some drama, but there was nothing with this team,” Meyers said. “That was what was different than any other team that’s gone through this school. No other team was able to accomplish this goal.”

Plumstead knocked out Faith last year and two years ago, ended the Lions season in the district semifinals on penalty kicks. Three years ago, New Hope-Solebury defeated the Lions in the championship. Meyers was there for all three of them.

For the Lions, it was as baffling as it was frustrating. FCA has dominated the regular season meetings, including this year, but it couldn’t get by the Panthers in the postseason.

Plumstead started out on fire led by the technical quality of Justin Brautigam. Brautigam shredded his way up the left flank, often overlapping with Connor White, and put a tremendous amount of pressure on Faith.

But his sixth-minute strike for a goal would come off the opposite flank. Left far too open on the right, Brautigam zeroed in and ripped a laser to the far post that had no chance of being saved.

“We came out knowing we had beaten them 3-1 the last match and they didn’t have too much offensively but credit to them,” FCA coach Ryan Clymer said. “They came out and worked the ball really, really well and caught us off guard. Thankfully it was a goal in the first 10 minutes and not later in the match. I think it woke us up.”

About five minutes later he threaded a great ball to White that ended with a shot wide.

To the Lions’ credit, they didn’t break again and settled enough to start playing defense on their right side. Up top, Kazuya Hirano seemed poised to make something happen after he moved out of his center attacking midfield role.

He did when a flicked on header landed in 50/50 territory in the box. Hirano went to ground, getting enough power behind his slide to push the ball under Panthers keeper Artie Micheel to level the score with 14:25 left.

Hirano’s goal was his 28th of the season, the ongoing payoff of a lot of work in the offseason and early weeks of the campaign that tuned all his talent into goals.

“I didn’t have the confidence to score but as I played along with the team and got to know everyone on the team and how they play, I learned where they would pass and where to make the runs at the best time,” Hirano said. “I gained my confidence throughout the season and all the guys backed me up so I could shoot as many times as I could and lead to the goals.”

The goal really got Faith back into it and the Lions looked the better team to head into the break. FCA didn’t have as much technical play across the board as Plumstead, but its big guys like Heys Huber and Michael Pearson wore down the Panthers. Pearson is a big body in the midfield, but he also makes a lot happen and Meyers said Pearson was as integral as any other guy on the field.

The early second half felt like a waiting game for Brautigam or Hirano to do something. Brautigam was guilty of trying to do too much, looking to dribble by five or six men in the box. He also wasn’t able to latch on to the ball as easily as Faith made him work harder and harder.

Hirano didn’t over-exert himself and when the time came for him to impact the game, he did.

“Two minutes after he got put up top, he scored,” Clymer said. “That’s the type of player he is. He’s quick, he’s dynamic, he’s great with the ball, he’s technical and he has a nose for the net. He didn’t have it last year, he only had six to eight goals last year so we worked on that. Who can stop him? Only him and he showed that tonight.”

About four minutes after Meyers had slammed a shot off the crossbar, a Faith player ripped a shot that Micheel saved but failed to corral. With the ball bouncing around, the keeper out of position and the net gaping, Hirano appeared in open space with the ball coming his way.

He never got a shot off, instead getting tangled up with a defender. Hirano said the Plumstead player pulled his shirt and the two went to the ground, denying a goal scoring opportunity and giving Faith a penalty kick with 8:40 on the clock.

“A lot of guys were hesitant to take it and it’s one of those things where someone has to be confident and take it,” Meyers said. “I figured someone has to do it. I’ve led the team all year, so why stop now?”

Meyers stepped up, delivered and will have a chance to keep leading his team next week in states.

PLUMSTEAD CHRISTIAN 1 0 – 1
FAITH CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 1 1 – 2
Goals: P – Luke Brautigam 6’; FCA – Kazuya Hirano (Enrique Ansorena) 26’, Blake Meyers (PK) 81’.

HERSHEY>> Kutztown simply could not find a way through.

Camp Hill held the Cougars to just one shot on goal for 80 minutes — and a soft one at that — while potting a pair at the other end to beat Kutztown 2-0 Wednesday evening in the District 3 Class A  championship match at Hersheypark Stadium.

The Lions (20-2) claimed gold they were denied here a year ago in a similar spot by Tulpehocken. Kutztown (15-5-1), silver in hand, gets set for the PIAA tournament.

Kutztown’s attack was shuttered by a stout Camp Hill midfield and backline. Space was hard to come by and most of the probes ended in frustration. The top-seeded Lions rolled through the Class A tournament scoring 18 goals while conceding none.

“We knew going in that they had only given up nine goals all season, so we had our work cut out for us,” Kutztown head coach Ian Moreland said. “They’re a very strong team. We had 80 minutes and we gave it our all.”

Camp Hill carried possession and scoring chances from the start. The Lions finally broke through at 23:13, when Noah Resuta switched control with his feet off a feed from Chris Poole and fired a rocket from 15 yards out that beat Kutztown goalie Brady Tucker clean to the lower far post for a 1-0 lead.

The Lions doubled the advantage nine minutes after the break. Chris Poole served a high, slicing ball from nearly 40 yards out on target. Tucker went up for the save and got his mitts on it but couldn’t corral it. Andrew Sponic was there to head the loose ball past Tucker and into the back of the net at 49:02.

A second goal in hand, the Lions redoubled their efforts on the defense front and saw it through.

“Our guys worked hard, especially the midfielders, to get behind the ball and help our defenders out,” Camp Hill head coach Justin Sheaffer said. “They’ve been doing that all year and I’m glad they were able to do it one more time on this big stage.”

Kutztown was able to stay with Camp Hill for long stretches Wednesday night — remember, this is a Lions squad that savaged Millersburg 11-0 in Saturday’s semifinal — but a lack of possession and quality scoring chances weighted the result in favor of the Mid-Penn Conference’s top small school.

“You have to tip your hat to Kutztown,” Shaeffer said. “They locked us down defensively. We were fortunate to net that one with Resuta getting in behind them, and the second one, it was nice to get that; had it stayed 1-0 I think they were going to be more dangerous. We did what we had to do.”

Camp Hill outshot Kutztown 6-1, with corners going the Cougars’ way at 4-3.

District 3 Class A championship

at Hersheypark Stadium

Camp Hill 2, Kutztown 0

CH – Noah Resuta (Chris Poole), 23:13

CH – Andrew Sponic (Colin Daly), 49:02

Shots

CH 6, K 1

Corners

CH 3, K 4

Saves

CH (Noah Smeriglio) 1, K (Brady Tucker) 4

D

LANGHORNE – Facing No. 7 seed Lower Merion in a District 1 Class 4A consolation matchup at Harry Franks Stadium, Neshaminy got the ball headed downhill early with junior Vince Hosephros taking a nifty pass from senior Dan Grinrod and putting it into the back of the net just three minutes into the contest.

Hosephros fed classmate Jack McCourt midway through the half, giving the sixth-seeded Redskins an early 2-0 triumph on their way to a 3-1 victory over the Aces

Neshaminy advances to host No. 8 CB East for the fifth and final berth in states on Saturday back at Heartbreak Ridge. Lower Merion’s season ends at 15-4-2. The Patriots advanced with a 2-0 triumph over No. 4 Pennsbury.

Some controversy erupted with two minutes remaining in the first half on a free kick for the Aces. Lined up for the kick just outside the 18 was LM sophomore Tim O’Hare, who booted the ball into the right side of the Skins’ net for an apparent goal.

The strike was waved off however, with game officials saying an Aces player asked for 10 yards and the referee was counting off the distance off when Holtzman kicked the ball into the back of the net. With time winding down under 20 seconds, LM senior Ryan Tillman rushed the ensuing set piece and banged it off a Neshaminy defender.

Five minutes into the second half, the Skins were called for taking down O’Hare in the far right-hand corner of the box. LM senior David Novacich made good on the penalty kick, turning what looked like it might be a runaway for Neshaminy into a horse race.

To their credit, the Skins got the ball going in the other direction in the final 20 with junior Matt Leonhaouser, getting on the other end of a corner kick from Grinrod with two minutes left in the contest.

Neshaminy 3, Lower Merion 1

(Nov. 2 at Neshaminy)

NESHAMINY          2 1 – 3

LOWER MERION   0 1 – 1

First-Half Goals: N – Vince Hosephros, from Dan Grinrod, fourth minute, Jack McCourt, from Hosephros, 21st minute; LM – none.

Second-Half Goals: LM – David Novacich on penalty kick; N – Matt Leonhaouser, form Grinrod.

BENSALEM >> Momentum meant nothing.

Holy Ghost Prep must have felt hard done to have come up empty over the first 30 minutes of Wednesday’s District 1-AAA boys soccer semifinal against Pottsgrove.

The Firebirds got their reward in the second half, just in time for the Falcons to grab control and ultimately force overtime.

Instead of a reward for their stretch of dominance, all Pottsgrove got was emptiness.

An overtime that was one-way traffic in favor of the Falcons was turned upside-down on the first time the Firebirds entered into the Pottsgrove half when a cross from the right ran through to free Brendan Eagen and the junior drilled his effort to lift No. 1 seed Holy Ghost Prep over No. 4 Pottsgrove, 2-1, to advance to the District 1-AAA final and clinch a return to the PIAA Championships.

Holy Ghost Prep’s Brendan Eagen scoring the winning goal past Pottsgrove goalkeeper Liam Abdalla during their District 1-AAA boys soccer semifinal Wednesday. (Austin Hertzog – Digital First Media)

Despite dominating most of the second half – Tyler Rolando equalized from a Will Kaiser corner kick with 9:41 in regulation to cancel out George Barbe’s sharp cross that forced a Pottsgrove own goal early in the second half – and pinning back HGP in overtime, Pottsgrove’s season is done.

It’s a reversal of fortunes after the Falcons knocked out HGP in the semifinals last year and went on to win the 1-AA title and reach states.

That history didn’t drive Holy Ghost Wednesday. But it didn’t hurt the satisfaction of moving on to face Radnor (a 1-0 overtime winner over Bishop Shanahan) in Saturday’s final.

A Holy Ghost defender goes to ground and takes down Pottsgrove’s Germann Larmond during their District 1-AAA boys soccer semifinal Wednesday. (Austin Hertzog – Digital First Media)

“Our goal wasn’t to beat Pottsgrove; we’re looking for that district final and states and they were just the team in the way,” HGP keeper Harry Scuron said. “I think we’re going to be hard to be stopped. We showed a lot of heart.”

Having felt the championship feeling in 2015, the premature exit will crush the senior-centric Falcons (15-6-1), led by Rolando, Kaiser, goalkeeper Liam Abdalla, forwards Germann Larmond and Nate Yuchimiuk and defenders Jared Krieger and Nik Curnew.

“It’s hard. They worked hard together,” Pottsgrove coach Jay Witkowski said. “The expectations were higher than we achieved this year. We come away with no championships this year which is disappointing. This is a team that should have won a championship.”

The Falcons will feel the sting even more with at least three penalty kick decisions that didn’t go their way. Larmond was taken down in the box but not given a penalty in the lead-up to Rolando’s score.

He was also cleaned out in the final seconds of regulation by HGP’s last defender, but the clock ran out and the Falcons never got a free kick away.

Pottsgrove’s Tyler Rolando (3) and Holy Ghost Prep’s Connor Fife battle for a header during their District 1-AAA boys soccer semifinal Wednesday. (Austin Hertzog – Digital First Media)

Larmond then had the trifecta when referees ignored a clear penalty on the right edge of the box that left the threatening forward out with a knee injury eight minutes into the 15-minute first overtime.

Unreal no penalty on Larmond! 8 into OT. Refs are just unwilling to call one. It was clear pic.twitter.com/S7fMTNE9P7

— Austin Hertzog (@AustinHertzog) November 2, 2016

Five minutes later, Nkosi Graham, a bright spot in the attacking third for HGP all day, got an outlet down the right side and played across for Eagen for the game-winner.

Witkowski wasn’t ruing the final sequence postgame, he was left regretting his team being in overtime in the first place.

“You put yourself in a bad spot, you’ve got to deal with it. We put ourselves there by not playing our game,” Witkowski said. “First half was awful, second half we do a little better then overtime we dominate. The guys in the back did a good job denying them chances but we didn’t play well enough early and it came back to haunt us. Our season’s over.”

Holy Ghost Prep’s George Barbe (20) celebrates with teammates after creating the team’s opening goal against Pottsgrove during their District 1-AAA boys soccer semifinal Wednesday. (Austin Hertzog – Digital First Media)

Holy Ghost Prep’s isn’t. The Firebirds are back in the PIAA Championships, which they were AA champions of in 2013 and 2014.

Now they have a resilient performance when they needed it most in their pocket.

“It was tough. It was a good game, it took a lot but we’ll need that in states and the district final. Our team has a lot of (resiliency),” Scuron said.

NOTES >> Scuron made six saves to two for Abdalla … Pottgrove led in shots on goal 7-3 and the teams were even in corners 7-7.

RADNOR >> Head coach Joe Caruolo described it as “chaos.” A mixture of Radnor and Bishop Shanahan players surrounded the net, making it difficult for Eagles goalie Austin Coron to find the ball.

Out of the pile sprinted Radnor’s Ryan Peter, who kicked home the game-winning goal to propel the Raiders to 1-0 victory in overtime to advance to the PIAA District 1 Class AAA title game.

With the win, Radnor also clinched its first state playoff appearance since 2004. For Caruolo, his Radnor team scored because of their ability to handle that “chaos” in front of the net.

Radnor’s Ryan Peter (11) collides with Bishop Shanahan’s John George in overtime. Peter would score the game-winning goal in Radnor’s 1-0 triumph in the District 1 Class 3A semifinal to earn a state playoff berth. (Digital First Media/Pete Bannan)

“I saw the chaos and the scrum then a moment of composure. It was a simple pass with a moment of composure,” Caruolo said. “We found a moment of clarity and we finished one of our only chances.”

Bobby Kirsch fed the ball to Peter Miller, who made a timely pass to Peter for the winning assist. In a game where they did not have many opportunities, particularly in the second half and overtime, Radnor (12-7-1) was able to cash in when it mattered most.

The player who continually put the Raiders in position to score against Bishop Shanahan (12-8) was senior midfielder Andrew Boujoukos. Boujoukos was playing in place of Jack Miller, who was out after picking up a red card in the team’s win against Phoenixville last week. Miller gave Boujoukos, who had the first shot on goal 1 minute, 21 seconds into the game, some much needed advice before the game.

“His number one thing to me was to just stop on the ball and the field will open up,” Boujoukos said. “I just felt like I was able to find our wide guys and able to make plays just by stopping the ball.”

Boujoukos made two strong throw-ins on corner attempts, one of which nearly scored on a header from Cal Henson but Coron secured one of his seven saves.

The chances were few for Radnor but Shanahan had a couple of opportunities to win the game. Matthew Ziegler put a shot on goal nine minutes into the first half that Radnor goalie Ben Toomey (six saves) lost but regained before the ball could roll into the net. In the second half, Harrison Coron took the ball deep down the baseline and crossed it in front of the net but Radnor’s defense recovered and cleared it. Eagles head coach James Kavalik knew his team had their chances but didn’t make them count.

“Any time the ball got down the flank and got into the middle, our guys missed our mark,” Kavalik said. “Radnor’s defense stepped up and stopped us from getting any quality shots on goal (late).”

Radnor now shifts its focus to No. 1 seed Holy Ghost Prep. Radnor has beaten its share of good teams during this run and Caruolo has seen his team continually accept the challenge of making plays when they needed to.

“At the end of the day, to see the intangibles in (how) this team pulls out wins against good teams it makes you emotional as a coach,” Caruolo said. “To see them step up to that challenge makes you speechless in the end.”

TREDYFFRIN >> For the first 40 minutes of the PIAA District 1-AAAA boys soccer championship semifinal Wednesday, No. 5 seed North Penn battled undefeated Conestoga to a scoreless draw at Teamer Field.

But it was a different story in the second half. Just 45 seconds into the second half, Conestoga broke the ice with a goal by senior midfielder Blaise Milanek, and followed it up with a tally by senior forward Mason Miller 14 minutes later.

North Penn rallied for a goal by senior defender Noah Kwortnik with 10:06 left, but the visitors could do no more and lost, 2-1. Conestoga advances to the district championship final Saturday.

North Penn #18 Nate Baxter (18) and Conestoga Mike McCarthy (99) collide in the late minutes of the first half of their District 1-AAAA semifinal at Teamer Field Conestoga High School on Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2016 (Pete Bannan/Digital First Media).

North Penn head coach Paul Duddy said, “I thought Conestoga had the advantage for the first 10-12 minutes of the first half, then we played them pretty much even the rest of the half. But in the second half, they dominated us.

“We made a mistake on the far side early in the second half (leading to the goal by Milanek), and you can’t make mistakes against a team like Conestoga – that’s why they’re 21-0. Conestoga is very good on set pieces, they defend well and they’re fast. They’re very good everywhere. We have 3-4 pretty dangerous attacking players, and Conestoga did a good job of shutting them down.”

Duddy noted, “In addition to scoring our one goal, Noah Kwortnik played well defensively, and (senior) Mike Kohler had his moments (of standout play) tonight.”

The fact that Conestoga scored in the opening minute of the second half wasn’t by accident.

Conestoga head coach David Zimmerman said, “For the first five minutes of each half, we try to put the pressure on our opponent, try to keep the ball in their territory. When you start a game, players might be a little nervous, the touch might not be there, and mistakes can be made. Those mistakes are amplified if you make them in your own territory, so we try to particularly push the ball (into opposing) territory the first few minutes of a half.

“North Penn is a tough team, and they didn’t give up. When they scored to make it 2-1, I told our wings to get back, and with less than five minutes left, we tried to play in the corners. I thought we did a good job of limiting their chances at the end of the game.”

Conestoga 2, North Penn 1
North Penn     0     1    –    1
Conestoga      0     2     –    2
Conestoga goals: Milanek, Miller.
North Penn goal: Kwortnik.

Top Photo:  North Penn Eric Szilagyi (16) and #24 Jack Johnston (24) handle a header as Conestoga Logan Schwartz (2) and Blaise Milanek (13) watch in the first half of their District 1-AAAA semifinal at Teamer Field Conestoga High School on Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2016. (Pete Bannan/Digital First Media)

PETE BANNAN-DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Conestoga’s Blaise Milanek and North Penn’s Mike Kohler collide on a header in the first half of their DIstrict 1 PIAA semi-final at Teamer Field Conestoga High School Wednesday evening.

Tredyffrin – When Conestoga midfielder Blaise Milanek fired home a goal at the beginning of the second half to break a scoreless tie and put the Pioneers ahead for good in the PIAA District One 4A boys’ soccer championship semifinal Wednesday evening, Conestoga head coach David Zimmerman thought it was fitting that the scoring combination was the senior trio of defender Gabe Harms to forward Mason Miller to Milanek.
“They’re known as the Three Amigos – all three of them played on the varsity as freshmen, they play on the same club team, and they’ve been the core of our team the last three years,” said Zimmerman. “And this win was their last soccer game for Conestoga on Teamer Field.”
In front of packed house at Teamer Field, Milanek scored 45 seconds into the second half, then 14 minutes later Miller tallied give the hosts a 2-0 lead. North Penn rallied for a goal by senior defender Noah Kwortnik with 10:06 left, but the visitors could do no more and the Pioneers (21-0) won, 2-1, to advance to the District One championship final.

To view a photo gallery from this district semifinal click here
The championship final, against No. 2 seed West Chester Henderson (19-1-1), will be played Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at Great Valley High School. Henderson’s only loss this season was a 2-1 defeat against Conestoga Sept. 6.
For the first 40 minutes of Wednesday’s district semifinal, No. 5 seed North Penn battled undefeated Conestoga to a scoreless draw, and the score was 0-0 at halftime.
North Penn head coach Paul Duddy said, “I thought Conestoga had the advantage for the first 10-12 minutes of the first half, then we played them pretty much even the rest of the half. But in the second half, they dominated us.”
Conestoga put the pressure on North Penn right after halftime, which led to Milanek’s goal 45 seconds into the second half.
Zimmerman said, “For the first five minutes of each half, we try to put the pressure on our opponent, try to keep the ball in their territory. When you start a game, players might be a little nervous, their touch might not be there, and mistakes can be made. Those mistakes are amplified if you make them in your own territory, so we try to particularly push the ball [deep into opposing] territory the first few minutes of a half.”
Miller, who was the middleman in the first score, echoed his coach: “The first five minutes, we try to keep up the pressure, keep the ball up on their end. When Gabe [Harms] brought the ball up, I could see that there were two guys on him, I called for the ball, and he passed it to me. I saw Blaise coming over toward the goal, and passed it to him, and he put it in.”
Milanek said, “We always try to start the half with the pressure up for the first five minutes. It was a set piece – Gabe passed the ball down the line to Mason, and then [Mason] and I made eye contact, and he got it to me.”
Duddy said, “We made a mistake on the far side early in the second half [leading to the goal by Milanek], and you can’t make mistakes against a team like Conestoga – that’s why they’re 21-0. Conestoga is very good on set pieces, they defend well and they’re fast. They’re very good everywhere.”
Conestoga’s second goal came when Miller worked his way from the right corner into the middle, where he saw an opening and fired it in to give the hosts a 2-0 lead with 25:10 to play.
The Pioneers continued their sharp passing and ball control well into the second half, and appeared the have the game in hand when North Penn worked the ball deep into Conestoga territory and senior defender Noah Kwortnik chipped in a goal to make it 2-1 with 10:06 left.

Duddy noted, “In addition to scoring our one goal, Noah played well defensively, and [senior] Mike Kohler had his moments [of standout play] tonight.”

Trailing 2-1 with 10 minutes to play, the visitors could do no more.
Zimmerman said, “North Penn is a tough team, and they didn’t give up. When they scored to make it 2-1, I told our wings to get back, and with less than five minutes left, we tried to play in the corners. I thought we did a good job of limiting their chances at the end of the game.”
Duddy said, “We have 3-4 pretty dangerous attacking players, and Conestoga did a good job of shutting them down.”

WEST CHESTER >> With skill, speed and pressure, West Chester Henderson slowly turned the screws on Council Rock North until the vise was so tight, the Indians’ dreams of reaching the District 1 4A boys soccer final were squeezed out by halftime.

The Warriors received goals from five different players in an impressive display of offensive soccer to post a dominant 5-0 win in the semifinals of the district tournament.

Fourth-seeded Henderson improved to 19-1-1 and will face top-seeded Conestoga in a highly-anticipated final at Great Valley High School on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. The Warriors will make their first appearance in a District 1 final since they won it all in 2004. They will be looking for revenge as the Pioneers gave Henderson its only loss of the season.

“It feels amazing,” said senior Frank DeRosa of reaching the district final. “We wanted to come out to play hard, and play physical. To get the two early goals was great, then to get three more, I don’t think even we thought we get that many off a good team like Council Rock.

“Being in a district final is a great accomplishment in and of itself, we want to go out and make another statement and beat Conestoga.”

The first 10-to-15 minutes were evenly played as both teams probed the defenses in search of the first real good scoring chance.

The Warriors slowly started to see more of the possession and began spending more time in Rock North’s end.

Henderson’s pressure paid off with 18:59 left as Richie Schlentz let loose a throw in from the right sideline that traveled abourt 40 yards into the box. The ball flicked off De Rosa in the mass of bodies, and got past goalie Anthony Caruso for a 1-0 lead.

“This team is capable of great things when they put it all together,” said Henderson coach Sean Ryan. “To win 5-0 against a team like Council Rock North shows what we’re capable of and how we need to keep pushing Saturday and beyond.”

Schlentz’s throw-ins were a constant source of worry for the Indians’ defense.

“We obviously run plays off of it,” said Schlentz. “I try to throw it as high as I can to get it into the box and let my teammates handle their buisness.”

One of Rock North’s best chances came soon after the restart as Seamus Crockett brought down a long ball, beating the defense, but fired over the top of the net.

The lead stood the Warriors again worked down the right side as Kevin Kiefer raced to the end line, then sent a cross that Thomas Caufield latched onto the end of, rifiling a shot inside the left post from about 25 yards out to take a 2-0 advantage with 7:20 left.

“That was a great play by Kevin Kiefer,” said Ryan. “He didn’t give up on the play, drove to the end line, found Tom, who had a great finish.”

The goal of the game came three minutes into the second half. DeRosa drove in a low ball off a corner. An unmarked Jared Matthias dove and directed a header into the net for a 3-0 lead and any hopes of a comeback was rendered just about moot.

Zach Roberts scored off a header with 33 minutes left, then Schlentz capped the scoring with a shot that went past DeRosa and squeezed into the net.

The Warriors held a convincing 18-4 advantage in shots as their pressure didn’t give the Indians a whole lot of time on the ball.

Now, they can concentrate on Conestoga, and the chance to bring another district title to the the Ches-Mont League.

“We have a tough opponent on Saturday who we know well and I’m sure it’s going to be a battle,” said Ryan. “Nobody’s beaten Conestoga this year, and there’s a reason for that, they’re a very good team. We excited to be there, but we’re not just happy to be there. We want to go and win on Saturday.”

W.C. Henderson 5, Council Rock North 0
Council Rock North    0    0 – 0
W.C. Henderson    2    3 – 5
W.C. Henderson goals: Caufield, DeRosa, Matthias, Roberts, Schlentz .
Goalie saves:  Caruso (CRN) 4, Mancinelli (CRN) 0; McSwain (WCH) 2.

LOWER MORELAND >> The only thing Lower Moreland boys soccer coach Matt Crouch was really concerned about heading into Wednesday’s District 1/12 regional Class AA semifinal matchup with Philadelphia Academy Charter was the 10-day layoff his team had in between games.

The Lions quelled those concerns early as Bryce Horn gave them the lead 3:05 into the game. The sophomore forward took a pass from Devon Asplundh, took a couple touches at the top of the box, and buried a near-post shot.

“I made a nice move, I saw the goalie, it just came right off me,” Horn said of the goal. “I haven’t been able to shoot the ball the last couple of game, it felt good to hit the ball.”

Less than seven minutes later Zach Firko found a ball in the box and got on one to give Lower Moreland a two-goal advantage just less than 10 minutes into the game.

“I was honestly worried how we would start this game due to the 10-day layover we had,” Crouch said. “I didn’t know who was going to show up and even for me personally that first goal allowed me to see a little bit clearer as well.”

After achieving the desired quick start it was looking for Lower Moreland never looked back putting in three first-half goals as it closed out the Chargers for a 4-0 win to move on to the regional championship game.

It was another tally by Horn that put the finishing touches on the Lower Moreland win as he put the fourth goal in off a bouncing ball that was deflected around off of a corner kick.

“I think Matt (Turetsky) headed the ball toward the net, everyone was in there, all of us hungry for a goal and I found that ball (and) put it in the net,” Horn said.

Defensively the Lions were never legitimately threatened as the midfield of the Lions took care of most of the dangerous plays. Lower Moreland keeper Fred Shub didn’t even have to make a save on the game.

“Our midfield, there’s two (groups) of them, and I feel that when the second group comes in often times we even get stronger,” Crouch said. “I feel like the six of them is a big reason why the ball was shut down early.”

The Lions take on Lansdale Catholic in the regional final. Lower Moreland doesn’t know that much about the Crusaders but Crouch likes it that way and doesn’t intend on studying up too much on their next opponent.

“My preference at this point is to not really dig and not to get to know too much about them,” Crouch said. “If that sounds counterintuitive, maybe it is but the mystery of the unknown for them right now is keeping them on their toes.”

PHILADELPHIA >> Consider it a business trip of sorts for Archbishop Wood.

The Vikings boys soccer team traveled to Northeast High School Thursday evening needing a win to advance to the PIAA tournament. Wood was heavily favored to beat Franklin Towne Charter in the District 12-AAA final, but they couldn’t just show up and win.

So, the Vikings handled business and made it a successful trip with a thorough 6-0 win over the Warriors.

“We take no one lightly at this point in the year,” Wood coach Hugh Kelly said. “With the weather conditions, it could have been a blowing monsoon or something but it held off for us. We were pretty effective but it’s tough, you don’t know a lot about your opponents.”

Wood had been idle since falling to La Salle in a penalty kick shootout in the Philadelphia Catholic League semifinals last week, but the Vikings had been training hard to stay sharp. The longer a team like Franklin Towne sticks around, the more tense the game gets, so Wood was committed to getting out fast.

The Vikings did just that when Chris Baker punched in an assist from RJ Liszewksi not even eight minutes into the contest. Wood also added two goals by Mike Smith, the second assisted by Baker, before the half as it put a firm control on the match.

Franklin Towne was totally shut down on the offensive end, not getting a shot on goal until the last few minutes and at times unable to even advance the ball past midfield.

“It was important in the beginning to put one away because a lot of games this year we saved it until late in the second half against some weaker teams,” Baker said. “It was good for us to get one early.”

Baker said he and his teammates kept their focus for the entire match and they didn’t want to ease off the pressure or get sloppy. Even though they were dominating, Franklin Towne only needed one mistake to get back in the game.

That mistake never materialized and even as an ominous, large black cloud rolled in, the rain never fell. Wood did keeping scoring however, with Ryan Miller, Jake Maier and Justin Getz all putting away a goal in the second half.

“We tried to keep everything forward, we didn’t want to mess around in the back,” Maier, a defender, said. “We didn’t want anything stupid that would lead to a turnover and then a goal for them. We just wanted to keep pushing everything forward.”

The PIAA’s expansion helped the Vikings as they stayed in AAA while La Salle, Roman Catholic and Father Judge all jumped up to the new AAAA. Wood will face District 3 runner-up Gettysburg in the first round of the state tournament Tuesday at a place and time yet to be determined.

Wood goes into the state bracket as a tested team, both in its league and against a grueling non-league slate. The Vikings really rounded into form the last four weeks and will look to keep it going as they gear up for the “second season” in states.

“As much as the Catholic League helps, all our non-league games, the teams we played are mostly in Suburban One and that’ll help us a little bit,” Kelly said. “We get to start all over again tomorrow.”

PHILADELPHIA >> La Salle senior midfielder Mike D’Angelo is no stranger to big goals and big moments.

Thursday night he had two really big goals in two really big moments as the Explorers bested a very good Northeast team 2-1 in the District 12-AAAA boys soccer final, held at Northeast.

“You see his ability when he hits it on a restart where he can wrap it in and he just finds a way on a head ball,” La Salle coach Tom McCaffrey said. “He’s scored some huge goals this year and we expect him to compete for every head ball.”

Northeast, the defending District 12 champion, brought a lot of pace and shiftiness to the field. The Vikings looked good when they were able to get the ball to the flanks and make long runs up the field.

It was a physical battle on both sides in the first half, with La Salle being on the receiving end of a few more of the whistled fouls.

“The Public League teams always have a lot of speed and we knew this team would have a lot of dribblers and we knew we could get countered, but we have a strong back four,” D’Angelo said.

One of those fouls was called when a Northeast player had both hands wrapped around Spencer Patton’s waist about 25 yards out. The call set up Mike D’Angelo for a free kick and the senior midfielder worked more of his wizardry.

Somehow, D’Angelo spotted his kick around a three-man wall, two guys on the post and Northeast’s big keeper Sebastian Gimeno with 22:43 left in the half.

“Once you see a lot of guys in the wall, you know the keeper’s vision is going to be obstructed,” D’Angelo said. “You put it over and hope he doesn’t see it until late and doesn’t have time to react to it.”

Northeast came back about two minutes later on one of those runs and it got a good rip at net. Brett Werner went down to make the first save but it caromed off his hands where late runner Jose Ferman pounced and hammered home to level the score.

In the second half, Northeast got to play with a strong wind at its back and that really got the Vikings going. Northeast put a lot of pressure on La Salle, but keeper Brett Werner was able to make enough plays to calm things down and let the back line adjust.

Up top, Northeast was doing a good job of keeping La Salle’s offense in check, preventing shots and getting clears when it needed to. Instead of getting frustrated, the Explorers kept pushing.

“We kept going at them,” midfielder JP Pluck said. “We needed to get more numbers up the field.”

La Salle got a corner kick with about 5:30 left and the service by Chris Metzler was a dart to the far post. There, D’Angelo got up and headed it in with 5:16 left for the winner.

“It was right at the back post,” D’Angelo said. “We stack some guys back there, win any 50/50 ball and hope it goes in. I just tried to head it toward the goal and see what happened.”

The win sends La Salle to states for the first time in the careers of any player currently on the roster. After winning the PCL title last weekend, they want to continue this run.

“It means more work but we’re happy to keep playing,” Pluck said. “We’ll keep doing our thing and hope it pays off.”

NEWTOWN >> Noah Saba had never put a corner kick service directly into the net in a game before.

So when he saw Lower Moreland’s goalkeeper off his line in the second half of the District 1/12 Class AA regional final, the Lansdale Catholic senior captain went for it. Saba’s curling service tucked neatly inside the far post for an Olimpico, a fine cap to a solid afternoon.

LC controlled the game and won its third straight game by topping the Lions 2-1 Saturday afternoon at Council Rock North.

Lower Moreland’s Zach Firko and Lansdale Catholic’s Matt McDonald battle for possession during the District 1-/12 Class AA regional final on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016. (Bob Raines/Digital First Media)

“Josh (Yurastis) and I, we go to Christopher Dock’s field and practice free kicks and things like that,” Saba said. “It paid off today.”

The first half saw few chances either way and LC continued its trend of not being able to score when it had the ball right in front of the net. Yurastis pushed a shot wide with an open net and Saba twice fired high on balls in the box.

But, LC was generating the chances. Neither team had to win the game, as both were already in states, but a victory would assure a much shorter trip on Tuesday.

LC was also hoping to stay hot since falling to Roman Catholic in overtime during the Philadelphia Catholic League quarterfinals.

“I’m very proud of the boys today, their intensity was really strong and they were very determined to play our game,” LC coach Joe Wilson said. “We kept pulling them in to play a short possession game. The plays were being built up but when got in the 18, (Lower Moreland) kept finding a way to get the ball from us.”

The Lions had just one shot at the half and had trouble against the many taller players LC had across the formation.

LC wasn’t discouraged by a lack of a goal at half and started the second half by generating set piece chances. The Crusaders’ second corner kick of the half would pay off, and do a little to convince Wilson the bad luck he believes has encircled his team may have be lifting.

Lower Moreland’s  Derek Mitchell dribbles up field with Lansdale Catholic’s Matthew Noti keeping pace during the District 1/12 Class AA final on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016. (Bob Raines/Digital First Media)

Yurastis found central defender Ryan Crosby, who fired toward net. Crosby’s take hit a Lower Moreland defender and shot into the net for a Lions own goal with 36:29 left.

“That’s the first time all year (Crosby) got all the way up there,” Wilson said. “Maybe he is the luck we’re looking for.”

Saba followed with his Olimpico 11 minutes later and from there, the Crusaders were able to keep Lower Moreland in check and see out the contest.

“We kept pressing and kept going hard,” Saba said. “We knew our defense was not going to let in a goal this game.”

LC will face Biglerville, the Class AA runner-up out of District 3, on Tuesday. Lower Moreland will face the District 3 champ, Tulpehocken.

After running the gauntlet of PCL teams, almost all bigger schools, the Crusaders have found a niche playing other AA competition. In the state tournament for the fourth straight year, the Crusaders have a lot of confidence heading into the last leg of the campaign.

“We are playing our best soccer all year,” Saba said. “We should be a feared team going into states because the last three years of experience and we feel like this is our year to do something.”

Top Photo: Lansdale Catholic’s Matthew Noti jumps in front of Lower Moreland’s Matt Turetsky during the District 1/12 Class AA final on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016. (Bob Raines/Digital First Media)