Abington fell to top-seeded Conestoga 2-1 in Saturday’s District 1 4A final. Photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of photos: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f131331739
District 1 4A final
#1 CONESTOGA 2, #6 ABINGTON 1
For some teams, the mere sight of “Conestoga” adorning the front of a black and maroon striped kit ends a match before it begins.
With dynamic players all over the formation, size and physicality in all the places it matters and a pedigree earned through success at the league, district and state level year after year, the Pioneers have a definite aura about them. 
Abington stepped onto the field Saturday looking to topple the giant.
The Ghosts more than accounted themselves well, forcing the top seed to score a late goal to break a 1-1 tie and add an even later insurance tally to win a compelling district title game at Spring-Ford High School.
“We knew it was going to come to whoever scored the second goal was going to win thegame,” Abington senior captain Braden Delgado said. “They happened to do it with 10 minutes left. It kind of broke some of our spirit, but I think we still worked hard for each other. The third goal was because we had to push up to score.
“This gives us some confidence, that’s for sure. We know we can play with them. We dominated them in parts of the game. It happens.”
No matter the year, the Pioneers always seem to have one big guy who can seemingly throw the ball from one touchline of the field to the other. This year, that's senior Westin Fryberger and he had an early chance to show off that cannon throw deep in Abington's defensive third.
Fryberger sent a rocket from the right flank to the middle of the box, and amidst the mass of bodies, a Pioneers player got a head on the ball for an apparent goal. However, the official on the line blew the play dead, citing the fact the ball had been thrown over the goal line before any other player touched, which by rule gives the opposing team a goal kick.
The early scare having passed, the Ghosts defense settled in now knowing what it was up against.
“Our defense played extremely well,” Abington coach Randy Garber said. “They’re a big, strong, aggressive team. They rely on restarts a great deal. With their throw-ins and corner kids, they’re very dangerous.”
Abington had played every second of its playoff run thus far on its home field, a grass playing surface that certainly plays differently than an artificial field like Spring-Ford’s. The perception may not say it, but the Ghosts are a very technical side and they put that to use on Saturday on the smoother turf.
Four minutes after Conestoga thought it had scored a goal, the Ghosts actually did. Abington, which didn't hesitate to go at the Pioneers, generated a build-up that led to a shot on goal which Conestoga keeper Ryan Carella parried, but not far enough.
Brady Hartman was there to slam the free-ball rebound in for a goal that seemed to stun the Central League's top side.
The Ghosts' lead wasn’t fated to last in what became a frantic opening 10 minutes. With the keeper opting to keep the ball on his foot, Kole Wintersteen charged in, taking the ball and slotting home the equalizer.
“We score a goal and give a goal like that away – it’s hard to take, but it happens in the game,” Garber said. “It’s part of the game. We had chances. He made some great saves later on in the game. It is what it is.”
If not for Justin Waterfall’s efforts the rest of the game, it doesn’t take Conestoga until the 67th minute to score again. Even after they did, the Ghosts keeper made a stunning save to keep it 2-1 and didn’t back down from the Conestoga forwards buzzing around his area.
Getting a goal back to even the score 1-1 seemed to energize the Pioneers, who took five corners in the first half and came in waves for the next 20 minutes. However, Abington kept holding defensively, someone getting a head or a foot in to at least send the ball out of danger for a spell to recover and do it again.
Center backs Jose Rosario Martinez and Daniel Oliveira were at the forefront, jumping with and often winning the ball over Conestoga's imposing lineup. The Ghosts defenders also wouldn't back down, several times dispelling notions from Ryan Zellefrow - Conestoga's senior forward signed with the Portland Timbers Academy - who wanted to drive the ball and finish every time he touched it.
Early in the second half, things went the opposite way. Abington was on the front foot, generating four corners of its own and senior Brian O'Neill calling Carella into action to make a dramatic leaping save when he unleashed a swerving ball off the left side of the box following a reset off a free kick.
Delgado, committed to Ithaca, forced a save with 21 minutes to go. Shortly after, the crafty winger found a sliver of space and ripped a shot that had the power but drifted wide of the mark, an opportunity he and his teammates knew might have been the moment.
“Late in the second half, Delgado had a real good look about 12 yards out,” Garber said. “If he
buried that – he probably wishes he had it back, we could have gone up 2-1.”
It wasn’t their only chance. Peter Clearly hit the side panel - but on the outside - of the net in the second half, O’Neill hit the upper part of the goal on a free kick before halftime and a couple long drives in the desperate final push were on line until they sailed high or wide.
“The coaches told me to keep taking the players on – and that chance, I beat a player, but my
finish wasn’t the best. It could have been better,” Delgado said. “I would love to have it back.”
The Pioneers took their first lead with 13 minutes to go. Zellefrow was able to get down the left side and slipped a ball across the box that Wintersteen made a dummy run over as he back-heel flicked the ball on for an open shot. While the intended recipient slipped, the ball's path took it right to Cole Frederick, who blasted it with his right foot into the back of the net.
Pushing for an equalizer, Abington threw numbers up late in the second half. It also left them more open to counters on the back end and with enough opportunities to make runs the other way, the Pioneers were likely to put one away.
Wintersteen and Zellefrow got that chance in the final minutes, the two seniors working a run up the field with Wintersteen making a late pass into his teammate's path for the finish and 1:28 showing on the board.
“Twenty-two is a handful, and he creates the opportunities for them,” Garber said, referring to Zellefrow’s uniform number. “That’s pretty much what happened.”
Had Abington found a way to win, it still would have felt like a pyrrhic victory. As it was, the day extracted a heavy toll as the Ghosts lost three players in Oscar Hoffman, Kyle Sheridan and Hartman to injury throughout the course of the 80 minutes, all of them high-minute contributors that also impacted their ability to sub late in the game.
With a quick turnaround to Tuesday’s PIAA first round, Garber was dreading the prospect of facing the next foe at far from full strength.
“I feel bad because I think I lost three starters – two on concussions, and Oscar is done for the
season because he’s had bad shoulders before. They’re not going to play Tuesday,” Garber said. “The only good thing is we’re home, so we’ll see what happens.”
Abington’s playoff run brought a select, but dedicated group of fans who made themselves heard at every home game and were out in force on Saturday. They’ll get another chance to rally for the boys on Tuesday, with Abington’s high placement in the district granting them a first round home date against District 3 runner-up Manheim Township.
As the No. 7 seed at the start of districts, Abington’s players talked about the stars aligning for them during the run to the final. The day wasn’t theirs, but they’d done enough to show they belonged on the same field.
“It’s really tough – it’s definitely sad, but I’m proud of us and I’m grateful for the opportunity,” Delgado said. “We always said this was our goal, but never had the expectation to make it. We just always wanted to work towards it, and we worked. We are a family, we all love each other, and we stayed together. I’m just proud of how far we came.”
Abington 1-0 1
Conestoga 1-2 3
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