Jarrad Saffren recaps Tuesday’s opening round District One Tournament boys soccer games.
By Jarrad Saffren
The District One boys soccer playoffs started Tuesday.
Five Suburban One League 4A teams played first round games. One 3A team—Upper Moreland—played a play-in game.
The SOL six went 4-2. Two winners—Upper Dublin and Central Bucks West—set up second round matchups against SOL teams that earned byes in the first round. Upper Dublin will play Central Bucks East Thursday. CB West will play Pennsbury.
Tuesday’s results and recaps are below.
CLASS 4A
No. 17 Abington 2, No. 16 Downingtown West 0
Abington went on the road and dominated a higher seed.
“We really did have a good opponent. But today we were really working as a team. We did some great things. We had control for most of the game,” Abington senior Juan Castillo said. “We’ve been lacking communication. Today we stepped it up on that. We talked a lot more. Our playmaking was cleaner. And everybody was playing hard on another level because it was the first playoff game.”
Sophomore Sean Touey scored in the second half to make it 1-0 Ghosts. Later, with five minutes left, Castillo rocketed the ball off the post and in.
“A kid made a great run down the line and crossed it with his left foot. I was hanging at the top of the D. The ball took a weird bounce and went through two players. I saw it to my left. No one was marking me,” Castillo said. “I took a chance and volleyed outside the D. That really sealed the game.”
Abington keeper Nick Brownholtz earned the shutout.
The Ghosts (12-6) play undefeated top seed Conestoga in the second round Thursday at seven.
Castillo is surprised they even got this far. Abington lost nine starters from a 16-5 2015 team.
“We didn’t expect to work as a team that fast,” Castillo said. “But a lot of young kids stepped up. For myself and the seniors, it couldn’t be our last game. The young kids really stepped up and worked hard.”
Touey is one those “young kids.” He has scored in eight straight games. Freshman left winger Nevins Baer is another.
“He’s a great addition with a lot of natural skill,” Castillo said.
Midfielders Blair Barber (junior), Jack Failing (sophomore) and Reece Gibbs (freshman) are three more. They replaced three seniors. “Who were great,” Castillo said. “But these guys really control the midfield.”
Abington 0-2 2
Downingtown West 0-0 0
No. 13 Central Bucks West 2, No. 20 Haverford High 1
Central Bucks West scored the game-winner with less than 10 minutes left.
“It was a real good one and two touch interchange between Tarin Morris and Sean Burke,” CB West coach Stefan Szygiel said. “It was coming. Tarin was getting on the ball a lot in the second half. He was breaking down the back line. Burke had a lot of chances tonight and couldn’t finish. They went two v. two. Tarin played to Sean. Sean played it back and Tarin finished.”
Morris and Burke have been doing that all season.
“It’s been an important duo,” Szygiel said. “Sean’s been really good up top. Tarin is our engine out of the midfield.”
Senior Marcos Urffer scored CB West’s first goal.
“He had a great game,” Szygiel said. “We really needed his senior leadership and playoff experience tonight.”
The Bucks reached the District One Class 3A second round in 2015. But only four Bucks entered Tuesday’s game with playoff experience. Szygiel started eight underclassmen.
“We were an old team last year,” the Bucks’ coach said. “I gave the young guys the keys to castle at the beginning of the season and said, ‘Take your lumps, get the experience. It will benefit us next year and the year after.’”
And this year.
One Bucks baby—sophomore goalkeeper Dylan Smith—is actually not such a baby. Smith started every game as a freshman, including both district playoff games. The rising star had another stellar game Tuesday, making four saves.
“Dylan was good. He wasn’t tested too much,” Szygiel said. “Haverford’s goal in the first half was a great shot. It kind of caught Dylan off guard. It was a really nice half volley. He didn’t have any Dylan-esque big saves. He just did his job, managed the game and got us the win.”
CB West (10-7-2) went 9-7-2 in the regular season. The Bucks actually finished behind a team that missed the playoffs—Central Bucks South—in the Suburban One League Continental Conference. But none of that matters. The playoff lights are on.
“We always play a little better come playoff time. That’s the mentality with CB West guys, even when I went to West,” Szygiel said. “We are grinders. Now we are in bonus time and have to play a very tough Pennsbury team on Thursday.”
CB West’s second round game against the Falcons starts at three. Pennsbury is the No. 4 seed. So a West win would be a major upset.
“We’ve been more dynamic in the offensive third in the second half of the season. It’s a better style of soccer. It’s more fun to watch,” Szygiel said. “We’ll have to keep doing that against Pennsbury.”
Central Bucks West 1-1 2
Haverford High 1-0 1
No. 9 Upper Dublin 3, No. 24 Penncrest 0
Upper Dublin advanced to the second round of the district playoffs for the second straight year.
Anthony Wisdo scored two goals. He has 17 in 2016. Wisdo also assisted on Max Adams’ goal.
“He really did have a big game. He’s a great player. That’s really the bottom line,” Upper Dublin coach Derek Priest said. “He performs well not just when we win 6-0 or 5-2. He scores in important games for us.”
Colin Muth assisted on Wisdo’s second goal.
Upper Dublin keeper Jason Stone made nine saves.
“There was pressure on both sides,” Priest said. “In the first half, the score was fairly even. In the second half, we dominated more. There were lots of chances for both teams.”
Penncrest had two breakaways, one-on-one chances to get on the board. But Stone saved both shots.
Upper Dublin was only up 1-0 when Stone made the saves.
“It was probably his best game because it’s the most important game we’ve played this year,” Priest said. “He’s been outstanding for us all year and proved it again tonight.”
Upper Dublin (15-2-2) plays eighth seed and defending state champion CB East in the second round Thursday.
“I am really looking forward to that. It’s obviously going to be really tough,” Priest said. “CB East has been a power in Suburban One for a long time. They lost a lot of guys, but they are still the defending state champs.”
Upper Dublin lost to Abington in the second round last year.
Upper Dublin 1-2 3
Penncrest 0-0 0
No. 10 Wissahickon 2, No. 23 Garnet Valley 0
Wissahickon improved to 11-1-1 in its last 13 games. But the Trojans did not play their best game.
“We weren’t as good as we’ve been recently. It was a playoff game and some guys weren’t as comfortable as they’ve been,” Wissahickon coach Stuart Malcolm said. “Plus the other team had seven seniors. We didn’t get into a flow like we’ve been but we battled and got the win.”
Joe Maiale scored in the first half. Tom McHale scored in the second half. David Goldstein had an assist.
“It was a scrappy game. We created more chances. They weren’t fortunate to get a goal and we managed to get a couple,” Malcolm said. “But they gave us a good battle.”
Wissahickon keeper Brad Schwartz made four saves.
Wissahickon has already advanced further than it did last season. The 2015 Trojans lost in the first round to Downingtown West.
The 2016 Trojans play No. 7 seed Lower Merion in the second round Thursday.
“They’ve had a great season. But we are playing well. We’ll go down there and hopefully keep it going,” Malcolm said. “We’ll talk about how we played today and sort things out for Thursday.”
Wissahickon 1-1 2
Garnet Valley 0-0 0
No. 22 Owen J. Roberts 4, No. 11 Hatboro-Horsham 1
Hatboro-Horsham went 0-2-1 to end the season. The stretch cost the Hatters an SOL American title and a first round playoff win.
“The goals dried up. Maybe we relied a little too much on Danny Bateman to bail us out,” Hatboro-Horsham coach Kyle McGrath said. “He played well the last few games but didn’t get on the score sheet. That’s why we lost the last two games.”
The Hatters still finished 12-4-3, made their first playoff appearance since 2011 and hosted a playoff game for the first time since 2002.
“It was disappointing to end the season like that,” McGrath said. “But big picture we can say the season was a success with the amount of wins we got in the league.”
Hatboro-Horsham fell behind 2-0 in the first 20 minutes.
“We were a little bit shellshocked,” McGrath said. “We were caught off guard by the atmosphere.”
Joe LaRouche scored with five minutes left in the half to make it 2-1.
“We had the momentum going into halftime,” McGrath said.
But Owen J. Roberts scored on a penalty kick minutes into the second half. Then the Wildcats scored again on a counterattack halfway through the second.
“That took the air out of our sales you could say,” McGrath said.
Owen J. Roberts 2-2 4
Hatboro-Horsham 1-0 1
CLASS 3A
No. 9 Marple Newtown 2, No. 8 Upper Moreland 0
Upper Moreland coach Dan Mannella is not like other soccer coaches. He sits calmly on the bench instead of pacing the sidelines like a hyperactive madman.
But at halftime Tuesday, Mannella stood up and got loud.
“It’s right here for you guys,” he said to his players. “This game is yours to win.”
It was. Upper Moreland and Marple Newtown were knotted at nil, even though the Tigers had outshot the Golden Bears 10-2.
UM keeper Ryan Varela made seven saves in the first half.
“They had some good shots,” Varela said. “I realized this might be my last game playing for this team and I just wanted to make it count.”
It was Varela’s last game. The Golden Bears could not take advantage of their opportunity.
Varela did not even get a chance to finish his last start. Mannella stuck to the strategy he has used all season: Playing senior Brennan Coleman in the second half.
“I always think about it,” Mannella said. “But those guys have been splitting a lot of time. I don’t think it’s fair to give one a whole game in the only playoff game of their careers.”
Coleman played well in the second half, making three saves.
“Both goalies played really well,” Mannella said. “The goals were on two very good shots that I don’t think any goalkeeper would have saved.”
Marple Newtown took a 1-0 lead in the 51st minute. Rajbir Lohat booted the ball over UM defenders down the right side. Adam Azab settled the ball, surged into the box and blazed it over Coleman’s outstretched fingers.
The Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the 69th minute. Marco Mesoraca raced in and curved the ball over Coleman’s outstretched fingers.
Coleman said the wind—which was blowing against the Tigers—aided the goals.
“It was hard to judge balls,” Coleman said. “The wind made balls die and dip when they needed to.”
Marple Newtown will play No. 1 seed Holy Ghost Prep in a district quarterfinal Thursday. Upper Moreland is eliminated.
But the Golden Bears made progress this season. They went 0-13-4 in 2014. They won six games in 2015 and seven in 2016. UM also made its first playoff appearance since 2010.
“I liked it,” Coleman said, smiling, of the playoffs.
“It’s a big accomplishment,” Varela said. “It stinks that we lost but the accomplishment is still something to keep your head up on. Coach Mannella came in our junior year and changed this program a lot.”
Marple Newtown 0-2 2
Upper Moreland 0-0 0
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