Central Bucks East will face Abington in Saturday’s District One AAA soccer game. To view photos of the CB East/Souderton and Abington/Pennsbury games, please visit the Photo Gallery.
Patriots Prevail 1-0 over Souderton
By: Ben Winderman
Equilibrium, in some ways, seemed to characterize Thursday’s semifinal matchup between Central Bucks East and Souderton: Strong goal keeping, organized defending, and a marquee striker, but in a few essential categories, the Patriots demonstrated an edge. Most visibly that edge came in the form of freshman attacker Evan Vare, who tallied the game’s only goal early in the second half. Vare, whose older brother Ryan expertly anchors East’s back line, took a square pass from Ben Marks in the 49th minute and buried a shot passed Tyler Afflerbach.
“It was a surgical finish,” said longtime coach Mike Gorni. “It was about midseason that we decided to give the freshman (Vare) a shot; since then he’s scored seven goals.”
None were bigger than tonight’s game winner.
Vare complimented Marks harmoniously all night, as the attacking tandem used a direct approach to find seams in the Indians’ defense. As is the case with most Souderton teams, there weren’t many.
Jeff Wolf, the Indians’ steadiest back, stymied many Patriot advances, but in the end, one goal was all East needed to advance.
Throughout the evening, players on both sides shined, and in the 31st minute, even the sun did too, albeit briefly. With five minutes remaining in the first half, Souderton’s Wilson Gonzalez brilliantly settled a ball to his chest, drew a crowd of East defenders, and found Elijah Pizzo square to his right, but Pizzo’s far post shot skidded wide of the target. The half ended 0-0 with East having a bit more pressure but nothing to show for it.
After East scored in the 49th minute, the Indians’ intensity escalated, but time and time again, the Patriots interrupted Souderton’s flow.
“Our transitional midfield game was strong,” explained Gorni. “We’d like to play down the sides more, but with Vare and Marks playing effectively, it’s important simply to get them the ball.”
Several times Brock Weiss and Kyle Clow played that role, Weiss especially sacrificing his body in the process.
Another player who stood out for East especially down the stretch was Ryan Gleason. The junior midfielder won several balls in the air, thwarting Souderton’s ability to execute restarts and throw-ins. In the game’s closing moments, Wolf, who Coach Tom Quintois had moved up into the attack, made an impressive run down the right flank and crossed a ball into East’s box. Gleason rose to win the head ball and send the Patriots to the finals. Sure-handed goalkeeping by Jacob Nesteruk, with Souderton’s Trey Ziegler in his face, closed the door completely, and the final whistle sounded victory for East.
“I thought we were the better team tonight,” said Gorni. “That wasn’t the case last time we played them, but tonight we deserved this result.”
The Patriots will face Abington, a 2-1 victor over Pennsbury, on Saturday night for the District One title at Souderton (8 p.m.).
Gorni emphasized the importance of States over districts but then smiled and conceded, “For this team to be in this game (the district final) - it’s awesome.”
East already holds a 1-0 win over the Ghosts this season but as Abington coach Randy Garber explained, “This time the stakes are much higher.”
Souderton will face Pennsbury for third place in the district, a game pivotal for state playoff match-ups. “Mike (Gorni) and I are the oldest of friends,” said Garber. “Whatever the result, we will have a laugh together and it will be fun.”
The genuine approach of these two legends will make it fun for all those fortunate enough to be involved.
Abington Overcomes The Falcons 2-1
A tale of two games: CB East vs. Souderton equaled organized defending, limited chances, flawless goalkeeping highlighted by pin point distribution; fast forward to Thursday’s second semifinal game.Pennsbury vs. Abington: imaginative restarts, athletic playmaking, sometimes frantic/sometimes hesitant defending, and opportunistic finishing.
Abington senior Kyle Rocks opened the scoring in the eighth minute with a left-footed bent ball off a restart into the side panel.
“Danny (Sheppard) was supposed to take that, but I saw what the keeper was giving us on the far post so I told Kyle to hit it,” explained Abington midfielder Chris Tracey.
So Sheppard ran over the ball and Rocks hit the target.
For Abington fans the celebration was on, but the Falcons were far from quieted. Coach Tom Stoddart brought in three subs in the 22nd minute, and six minutes later, they connected as Stephen Tomaszewski crossed the ball to a wide open Sam Uprichard who knotted the game.
Abington responded with pressure of its own: A nifty short corner, a couple of long throws, and finally a slippery ball that found its way through the Pennsbury defense to an opportunistic Kurt Howard, who toe poked the Ghosts to a 2-1 halftime advantage.
Ten minutes into the second half, Sheppard had the opportunity to give the Ghosts a two-goal cushion when he was fed through on a breakaway by Rocks, but senior Falcon defender Ben Immordino heroically tackled the ball at the last moment. Later,Immordino saved an Abington shot off the line, preserving his team’s chance to knot the game.
“He’s a senior captain,” said Stoddart. “We’re used to those kind of plays from Ben.
“I thought we were better between the 18’s,” continued Stoddard, “but they were better in the boxes.
At least we don’t have to deal with Danny Sheppard anymore,” joked the Pennsbury coach.
As the final whistle approached,Pennsbury’s urgency increased. The Falcons brought center backs Enid Curevac and Will Brennan up on Brendan Cooper’s throws, but Abington’s stopper-back Alex Pritz and the rest of his defense held their ground.
Pennsbury’s right back Matt Chapuis won a corner kick in the 78th minute, but it was Abington’s striker Sheppard who won a big defensive head ball for the Ghosts.
“We practice that,” Sheppard confirmed.
Chris Tracey played with the energy of 10 men in the end challenging every ball.
In the final seconds, Falcon midfielder Ross Dugan cracked a left footed volley toward Abington’s goal keeper Austin Brotman, but it sailed wide and the Ghosts’ celebration erupted.
For all four semifinalists, more soccer awaits - practice today and the finals and third place game on Saturday night at Souderton (6 and 8 p.m.). At stake is the District One title, seeding for the state tournament, and the euphoria that champions know.
All four teams and their coaches deserve that joy.
“We’re definitely peaking at the right time,” said Abington coach Randy Garber, whose 19th-seeded Ghosts will take on CB East. “This is a senior group and they’re hitting their stride.”
For Garber, the final is a reunion with his old friend Mike Gorni. For soccer, it is an opportunity to admire two strong, fundamental high school teams.
When asked what the difference may be this time (East won the 1st meeting 1-0) Garber replied, “The stakes are much higher.”
#5 Downingtown West 3, #6 Neshaminy 2
After falling to Abington in a district quarterfinal game, the Redskins had one last chance to make a run at earning a state title berth, but they couldn’t get past the Whippets in Thursday’s playback game. Downingtown West held a 2-0 lead at the half after scoring in the 14th minute and also with 14 seconds remaining in the first half. However, the ‘Skins took control of the ball in the second half and upped their level of play. They found the net in the 68th minute when Nick Tucci capitalized on a loose ball in front of the net and slipped it by a very talented Zach Steffen in goal for West. The Whippets answered five minutes later making it a 3-1 game with only eight minutes remaining. The Redskins kept charging, and Cody Minnick took a shot that rebounded off the crossbar and was finished by Austin Transue in the 76th minute. The Redskins had a few opportunities to score the equalizer but could not get the ball past Steffen.
Coach Tom Foley acknowledged that four days without practice may have affected his team’s play.
“We weren’t super prepared to play,” he said. “It was a long layoff and it really hurt us. It’s a good lesson - you can’t dig a hole for yourself in playoffs.”
Despite Thursday’s outcome, Foley is thrilled with the season his team has had. The Redskins closed the year with an overall record of 14-5-2 and claimed the National Conference championship, exceeding his expectations.
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Foley said. “We learned how to play harder and faster. We won the league and our league is very tough.”
Foley is looking to defend his league championship next season and helping his young players learn from their experiences.
“The future looks bright for us,” he said.
#1 WC Rustin 3, #7 North Penn 2 (2 OT)
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