CB East defeated Conestoga 2-1 in a PIAA Class AAA semifinal on Tuesday to earn a spot in Saturday’s state title game in Hershey. To view photos of Tuesday’s game, please visit the Photo Gallery.
Beating Central Bucks East has proven to be a tall task for opponents this fall.
One way to all but assure it won’t happen is to allow the Patriots to control play and create corner kicks and opportunities.
Tuesday night, with a spot in Saturday’s PIAA Class AAA state championship game on the line, that’s exactly what happened as CB East controlled play early in the second half and cashed in with goals by juniors Edgar Mauge and Joey Bowen four minutes apart to defeat Conestoga, 2-1, in a semifinal play at Souderton Area High School.
“In the first half, we had a lot of opportunities to score,” Bowen said. “Coach (Mike Gorni) just pointed that out and said our defense needed to step it up a little bit, and make sure they don’t get through us.
“We just had to work really hard and go forward, and go to the goal.”
After a first half in which both teams had good scoring chances but couldn’t cash in, East went to work early in the second.
“I think we were just connecting,” said Gorni, whose team will play Seneca Valley in the state championship game in Hershey on Saturday night (6:30 p.m.).
“I think we worked a little bit harder for the 50-50 balls,” the Patriots’ coach continued. “We put them under stress by not allowing them to deliver the long ball from the back. When we shut that down, they gave up a few of the extra restarts.”
Mauge’s goal came 10 minutes into the half off a corner kick from Brian Gilligan, the team’s fourth since the start of the half. Bowen followed four minutes later off another feed from Gilligan.
“Gilligan served the ball in from the right side, and Joey made a great run – just a really great headball and got it past the keeper,” Gorni said.
“They were phenomenal serves,” Mauge said. “Every day in practice we work on our corners. We work on getting our services right, and it’s paying off.”
To win as many games as it has, and to score as many goals as it has, East has to be a good team off of the corner kick, whether coming from Gillgan or Justin Chomik.
“Having so many corner kicks, we obviously get better at taking corner kicks and finishing them,” Bowen said. “We practice them a lot. The team just works on it all the time, so naturally, it’s something we’re always trying to get better at.”
A handball in the 66thminute opened the door just a crack for Conestoga (21-2-1), as Danny Leiser made it 2-1 and then the Patriots – just as they had when they played the Pioneers in the District One championship game 10 days earlier – survived some anxious moments down the stretch before finally putting the game away.
“It was a little bit of a chore just because after they got the goal they obviously had some momentum and a lot of energy, but no good shots really materialized,” Gorni said. “It was a great game. It’s two very good teams.”
Tuesday’s state semifinal win was an advertisement for the depth of this year’s Patriot squad.
“We received goals from two non-starters,” Gorni said. “I think that’s been the most understated and underrated thing about our entire playoff run at this point.
“Evan (Vare) was scoring a ton earlier, and people are giving him attention. He’s still getting his goals and assists, but Edgar Mauge got the winning goal against Hershey, and he had the first goal tonight. Joey Bowen got the winning goal tonight. (Alex) Parasky has been scoring, (Andrew) Walters has scored. Andrew Zach had the first goal against Conestoga the first time around, so we have about 10 people who are now scoring goals.”
Beating a talented Conestoga team – whose only loss was to East in the district title game – for the second time was no easy task.
“To beat Conestoga a second time was a massive effort, it really was,” Gorni said. “We’ve played difficult teams the whole year, and you expect that in the playoffs, but just think – we needed to beat North Penn just to get to the district final four. Then we had to beat Henderson, which we did handily and then Conestoga.
“Cumberland Valley was excellent, and we really opened up against them. Then we had to come back against Conestoga and win a tight, hard fought game again.”
Now, it's on to Hershey, where the East program last was in 2010 when it lost to Hempfield in the state championship game.
“It’s awesome,” said sophomore defender Will Eisold. “This is my sophomore year. Coach is always saying, ‘We might not ever get here again,’ let alone have a maybe undefeated season all the way. It’s amazing.”
In a season that has seen the Patriots live out the ‘one game at a time’ philosophy, just one win separates the squad from the ultimate prize.
“We set up the same way every single year, and that is obviously taking game by game, which everyone is getting tired of hearing by now, but it’s no less true just because we say it often,” Gorni said. “With that in mind, we basically set our minds to winning the league title, to getting to the district final four, to winning the district title and getting to states and then ultimately always the state title. We’ve never had a state title as we’re looking at that at the beginning of the year. We set up stepping stones, and it’s part of an overall objective, but it’s the last one.”
The Patriots – ranked eighth in the country in the latest NSCAA/USA Today poll – take a 25-0 record into Saturday’s state title game.
“This obviously is a special trip,” Gorni said. “You’re talking about not only getting there but getting there without a blemish – a schedule that included us having to play North Penn three times, a schedule that had us playing Conestoga twice in a 10-day period.
“We’re delighted with where we are and extremely happy, and we just want to go in and make sure we give a really good effort and are playing at our best on Saturday. That’s our desire at this point.”
Conestoga 0-1 1
Central Bucks East 0-2 2
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