PW, North Penn and Pennsbury were winners in first round District One AAA action. To view photos of the PW/Abington and North Penn/CB West games, please visit the Photo Gallery.
#7 NORTH PENN 1, #26 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 0 (OT)
The Knights advance/ The Bucks arrive
By Ben Winderman
With so much talk over the last few days, endless emails, tweets, postings, and roastings: numbers, points, multipliers, algorithms, weak divisions, coach decisions, predictions, cancelations, explanations, play-ins, flip-flops, buys and ties…Thursday did arrive and brought a Bucks squad that must have forgotten North Penn had scored nine goals on them in their previous two matches.
Originally seeded 28th in the tournament and eventually 26th, no one had apparently explained to these men in black that the seventh-seeded Knights were not only among the elite teams in the field but also fueled with memories of last year’s first round failure vs. Ridley and hungry to host a West team they had handled and dismantled two weeks ago to the day.
Two weeks is a long time.
Rain forced the game from North Penn’s cozy grass to its terrible turf, and wind blew away all the numbers that didn’t matter; the records, scores, seeds, and statistics. At 3:00 pm, the only digits left were the ones blazed on the backs of players’ jerseys, Knight blue and Buck gold, eleven on each side, huddled together, sharing words that are not ours to know.
Back to numbers: For North Penn senior captain #3 Drew McMenamin and for CB West senior captain #3 Conrad Urffer. Both players deserve a moment of recognition. McMenamin provides immeasurable value for the Knights, exuding leadership and displaying athleticism and skill. In the first half with his team on the attack, North Penn’s celebrated center back consistently timed his steps to prevent the Bucks from finding a way out of their end, but again and again West’s #3 Conrad Urffer effectively hid NP’s target – senior Matt Ammendola, forcing McMenamin to explore a less dangerous option. Urffer established for West a dominant force in the midfield whose elevated play over the last week and a half strengthened his squad significantly. All game he won head balls authoritatively, and eclipsing passing lanes with his ominous shadow, Urffer jockeyed North Penn players into detours that fellow West midfielders Nick Marella, Nick DiPietro, and Joel Acaster blockaded effectively.
However. his counterpart, Brad Deckel of North Penn, showed excellence in the air as well, which drew praise from his coach Paul Duddy.
"Our central midfielder (#6 Deckel), played really well,” the Knights’ coach said. “He had a great game, and he won every head ball he was close to. It's a way more important part of the game than people realize. He won balls and set a tone and he's a senior captain."
For Duddy, it has always been about the players, and his crew this season has the pace to pressure and the patience to possess.
Undeterred and unthreatened, North Penn applied consistent pressure throughout the first half but rarely penetrated deep into West territory with possession. Momentarily, it looked as if Knight midfielder #8 Mike Kohler would solve West’s compact sentries with a long range shot, but the sophomore’s atomic blast struck the crossbar above West GK Daniell Merritt and was efficiently cleared from danger.
Kohler repeated his bombardment twice more with the wind, but both blasts flew just over the target. When NP’s senior striker Kevin McKenna did find space with the dribble, McMenamin’s counterpart, #17 Junior Sam Winderman was there with an emphatic tackle which interrupted the Knight’s best looking break.
With only minutes remaining in the first half, CB West pushed the home side back and recorded what resembled their first shot, but NP Keeper Jordan Katz snatched the bouncing ball, and quickly, the Knights resumed their occupation of West turf.
An urgency to score was evident as NP midfielders Brad Deckel and Nicholas Miller connected with one-touch passes and got the ball to Mike Kohler on the right flank, but Kohler’s attempt from a hard angle was deflected by the heroic hand of West Keeper Merritt. On the ensuing corner kick, West captain Jason Douple out-muscled a cluster of Knights, ensuring his team’s scoreless survival against the wind.
Second-year CB West coach Stefan Szygiel had indeed prepared his team well.
The Bucks conceded space on the flanks and either allowed for the long-range shot or used the sideline as an extra defender. Prior to the CB East game, Szygiel moved junior Brady Boylan to center back and midfielder Bryan VanEekelen to left back where the dynamic senior captain found a place to settle in.
As the second half began, it was clear that the visitors had weathered the wind and were ready to create chances of their own. With VanEekelen timing runs up the left and eventually coordinating play with freshman Tarin Morris and junior Jack Tilley, and Jason Douple charging hard up the right, linking play with Nick Marella and Acaster, the Bucks began to threaten.
“I think we played great,” said Szyygiel. “It was an even game, and if we would have won, I would have said the North Penn played great.”
That looked like a possibility as the second half progressed. The Bucks began to locate striker Brandon Morris, who in the 56th minute ran onto a ball with NP’s McMenamin’s to his right running stride for stride. It was the Knights’ back who reached the bouncing ball first, but his attempted clearance deflected off Morris’ face and the West striker was in for a go.
Senior Kyle Shue, came to help his partner Drew McMenamin, but Morris swung his left foot and the ball looked ticketed for the far post panel. Instead, the low shot struck the inside of the post and bounced fortuitously back into Jordan Katz hands.
"Central Bucks West played us very well,” said Duddy. “It was a very even game, and they could've just as easily won. They hit the post twice in the second half and the wind affected the game, no doubt, but it affected both teams. They had a great game plan coming in and they executed. I just feel fortunate that we won."
Look for North Penn to turn that good fortune into fortitude and advance deep in these district playoffs. With Ammandola and McKenna hungry for the ball and Miller and Decklan able to find their feet, NP’s second round opponent better prepare. With McMenamin patrolling the middle and Kohler playing direct the 7th seed might be six rungs higher two weeks from today.
With time winding down in the first overtime and the wind once again at the home team’s back, the Knights’ final flurry began. Having dodged a West opportunity which began with a Morris throw-in, a Jack Tilley flick, and a far post almost, North Penn’s poise and stick-to-it-ness won the day.
Delayed by the defense of juniors Boylan and Winderman, who alternately blocked a Colin Jerome head ball off the line and a Kevin McKenna bean from 18, senior Matt Ammendola found McKenna with a quick throw-in, and McKenna played an elegant ball through to a sophomore blazed with the #8 on the run.
As Coach Duddy described it, "Mike (Kohler) was very composed on the goal. He got the ball, made a couple moves and got his head up to see where the keeper was and knocked it by him. He is a tremendous player, especially for a tenth grader."
That 10th grader and his teammates will host 10th seeded West Chester Rustin Saturday in the second round. Blazed with blue numbers, buoyed by their willingness to wait, and liberated from the fear of first round loss coach Duddy and his players have the tactics and toughness of an excellent team; who today beat an excellent team, with gold numbers blazed on black.
#5 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 3, #28 ABINGTON 1
By Dave Conard for SOL Sports
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH—This just in: a couple of hundred student fans rushed onto the turf at Colonials Field to celebrate a Plymouth Whitemarsh’s PIAA District One playoff victory over Abington on Thursday night.
That statement generally speaking would not “stop the presses” of the school newspaper or even likely raise any eyebrows, unless you finish that sentence with the fact that it was a boys’ soccer 3-1 win over the Ghosts that had propelled the PW faithful into jubilation, signaling a major culture shift in school history.
“We want to be known as soccer school, we love it and the student body has gotten behind us all season long,” said junior Skyler Goldstein, who got the Colonials on the board with a shot just inside the six just five minutes into the tilt. “We are going to relish this win, but know we have a lot of work to do. We don't want to just win a game or two, we want to go all the way.”
From the opening tip, the Colonials exerted their physical presence on the road weary Abington squad, who travelled to Ches-Mont powerhouse Downington West's lair Wednesday night emerging from the rain soaked turf with a 2-1 win and an invite to the big dance known as the PIAA district playoffs.
“It would be a tough task for any team,” said Abington head coach Randy Garber. “To go down there last night and get a great result, then to have to come into Plymouth Whitemarsh with little time for preparation is tough enough, but this P-W team is very fast and very physical and really took it to us from the outset.'
Plymouth Whitemarsh senior captains Cam Johnson and Dominic Wlodarczyk posted their first playoff tallies of the season to fuel a 3-0 first half that was not as close as the score would have indicated.
“It's amazing to see the fan support for these young men, they have worked extremely hard and dedicated themselves to build this soccer program, and it great to see that effort being recognized by the student body,” said P-W head coach Devon Landgraff.
“They are playing with a bit of a chip on their shoulders right now, we don't want to win a game or two, they really feel they are capable of winning the district. We knew they had a tough game last night, so our plan was to be aggressive and attack early”
The Colonials (16-2-0) did just that – to the tune of a 10-1 shooting advantage in the first half, flourishing offensively with multiple scoring opportunities from close range that – had it not been for the sensational play of Sam Wells in net -would more than likely ended any hopes of a second half uprising by the Ghosts.
Abington (9-8-3) which has been riddled with injuries all season long, withstood the Colonials’ early onslaught, and instead of packing it in as many may have, the Ghosts dug deep to equal the offensive pressure being applied by the hosts in the second stanza, having several quality scoring chances before junior Matt Bachmann found the back of the net closing the gap to 3-1.
“Our guys have done a great job responding to adversity all season,” added Garber. Sam (Wells) has done an admirable job in goal and had a chance now to see some very good competition, gaining valuable experience for next year. I am very proud of the effort they pout forth tonight against an aggressive physical team like P-W.”
The Colonials will host 21st-seeded Lower Merion – an upset winner over Boyertown – in a second round district contest Saturday.
“This is a soccer school now,” said Goldstein. “We like seeing all the big ‘soccer’ teams up there and know that we can play with any of them, we can't wait to play again Saturday right her at home. This is just the start of a new age in Plymouth-Whitemarsh soccer.”
Abington 0 1 –1
Plymouth-Whitemarsh 3 0 –3
PW- Skyler from Reina
PW- Johnson from Ensslin (throw in)
PW-Wlodarczyk from Betterly
AB-Bachmann from Burns
#17 PENNSBURY 1, #16 RADNOR 0
Pennsbury's entire game plan was switched in an instant, as the district re-did the power rankings and changed the Falcons' first round playoff game from a home match to one on the road.
And when it came time to play, Pennsbury made sure to take control of the momentum in just another instant.
Just 35 seconds into the contest, junior Willem McCullough found senior Keion Randolph, who finished and helped Pennsbury to a 1-0 win over host Radnor in a District 1 Class AAA first round playoff.
Willem won the ball on the end line and then immediately sent a pass to Randolph, who buried it home past the Radnor goalkeeper.
"Keion has been spectacular for us," Pennsbury coach Tom Stoddart said. "The hardest part about the playoffs is getting in and tonight was no different. Radnor had a big crowd, and they possessed the ball well. They played extremely well and were very difficult throughout, but we just made that early goal hold up."
With Randolph giving Pennsbury (13-4-2) all the offense it would need, senior goalkeeper Eric Gagliardi did his thing in net, stopping all nine shots that came his way en route to the shutout.
In front of him, Pennsbury's center-backs did a fine job as Justin Chapuis, Matt Frank and Tyler Williams all stood strong on defense.
"Those guys were solid under a lot of pressure," Stoddart said.
After originally being told they would be hosting their first postseason game, the Falcons looked forward to the opportunity, but made sure to prepare properly for the unexpected road contest.
"We control all we can control,” Stoddart said. “It definitely made tonight's game much more difficult than it would've been at home, however, coming through it, it's going to make us more experienced as we continue on the road through the rest of the playoffs."
The Falcons' next road test might be the hardest of the season, as Pennsbury will head to Unionville to face the district's top seed on Saturday.
"I think if we play the way we're capable of, we'll be in the game," Stoddart said. "If you're in the game in the playoffs, you'll always have a chance to win. We'll start looking at them tomorrow."
Pennsbury 1-0 1
Radnor0-0 0
About the Author
