Central Bucks South defeated Manheim Township 1-0 to earn the program’s first ever trip to the PIAA Class 4A state title game on Saturday. (Team photo provided by Central Bucks South) Check back for a gallery of Keith Clemens’ game photos…CLICK HERE.
#1-4 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 1, #3-2 MANHEIM TOWNSHIP 0
It was a night they’ll remember for a lifetime – that cold November night the Titans turned Spring-Ford High School’s Coach McNelly Stadium into their personal stage, making history with their win over Manheim Township to earn a trip to Hershey and the state championship game.
The Titans – after finishing second to Pennridge in the conference standings and then enduring a heartbreaking defeat in PKs to that same Ram squad in the district semifinals – were celebrating at last, chanting “Hershey, Hershey, Hershey” and tossing Hershey kisses to their ecstatic fans.
It was definitely worth the wait.
“You have no idea what this means to us,” Brooke Steigerwalt said. “It’s crazy.”
It was the sophomore forward who was there to finish what teammate Aleksa Peev started, scoring the game winner with just 3:39 remaining in regulation when Peev’s shot from the right side ricocheted off the far post.
“I thought Aleksa’s (shot) was in, but when it hit off the crossbar, I just scrambled to find the ball and just put it in,” Steigerwalt said. “I saw the goalie bobble it.
“It was just crazy. I didn’t really care who scored – I was just so happy that we scored.”
Peev – like most in the stands – thought her shot had crossed the goal line.
“When I hit it, I thought it was over the line and popped out,” she said. “I turned around actually because I thought it was a goal.”
The Titans’ junior forward went on to recount the sequence leading up to the game winner that ensured the Titans a spot in the school’s history.
“It developed in the middle of the field, and they were able to play it on to me,” Peev said. “I was able to beat two players down the sideline and hit it far post.
“It did hit the post, there was a scramble in the box, and it went in. It was absolutely amazing. It’s the farthest we’ve ever gone, and it’s a big accomplishment for us.”
While the South fans celebrated, the Titans had to take care of the not-so-little-matter of closing out the game.
“I turned to Margot (Centofanti) and said, ‘What just happened?’” senior captain Courtney Taylor said of Steigerwalt’s game winner. “It didn’t seem real.
“I couldn’t believe it, and I just started screaming, but I knew there was still a couple of minutes left, so we couldn’t let up because we know the Pennridge (quarterfinal state) game ended in one second.”
A key to the win was once again the ability of the Titans’ defense to prevent any really dangerous offensive threats as they effectively silenced a pair of Blue Streak 20-goal scorers in Cashlin Copley and Brianna Bracero.
“Since we’ve been playing together basically forever, we’re so confident in each other,” Taylor said. “We always know where our next step is going to be, and I think that’s a huge part of the win.
“They really can knock the ball around in the middle with their two key players, but once our defense stepped in, I think we prevented that.”
From the outset, the Titans played their game.
“Actually, we matched up very well,” South coach Betsy Bullock said. “They were a very, very good team, but they played a similar style to our own.
“They played possession soccer, they worked for a shot, and they played very well defensively. They were really a mirror image of us. However, I think we had a little more pressure in the second half, and I think that’s what the difference was – we high pressured them more in the second half, and their defenders backed off and that gave us a little bit of space.”
In a battle of two teams who make a living playing possession soccer, it was the Titans who had the better of play.
“Coming into this game, we had a ton of energy, and we knew that we had to play our game – pass the ball around them and keep it away from some of their key players,” Taylor said. “I think in their third, we really possessed the ball and knocked it around them, and that’s how we got all our chances. We didn’t let them get into our head.”
“We knew coming into it that it was going to be a really hard game,” Steigerwalt added. “We knew they had some good players, but we knew if we played our best we would pull out the win.”
Central Bucks South (19-5-1, 9-2-1 SOL) will face District 7 runner-up Canon McMillan – a 4-1 winner over District 3 champion Cumberand Valley – in Saturday’s title game at Hersheypark Stadium (4 p.m.)
“We’re more than thrilled,” Bullock said. “This is the first year in school history for girls’ soccer to get this far, and I couldn’t be more delighted.
“This is such a great group of athletes, and they’re playing so well together. I’m very proud of them.”
Manheim Township 0-0 0
Central Bucks South 0-1 1
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