Council Rock North fell to top-seeded Conestoga 2-0 in Saturday’s District One 4A title game. Wissahickon came up just short in its bid for the fifth and final state berth.
#1-1 CONESTOGA 2, #1-19 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0
They didn’t win a district title, but the silver medals didn’t look too bad to the 19th-seeded Indians, who found their stride and did not allow a goal in the postseason until Saturday night’s title game at Great Valley against nationally-ranked Conestoga.
“It came down to our Senior Night (game) getting into the tournament,” senior captain Justin Scharf said. “It was special that we made this run.
“Look, we have some humility going into the state tournament. We made some mistakes, we’re going to identify them, and we’re not going to make them when it really matters. That’s how we see this.
“It was good that we faced a team like Conestoga before we play in the state tournament when we face other district champs and district finalists.”
If some were surprised to see the Indians in the title game, the players were not in that number.
“Obviously, coming in as the 19 seed, maybe some teams didn’t think we’d get here, but throughout the locker room and throughout the guys on the team, there was a belief that we were going to go as far as we wanted to,” senior captain Conor O’Donnell said. “It was always in our control, no matter what seed we had.
“We made a good run, and we still have plenty to go, so we’re going to get back to work. Nothing changed. We ran into a good team. We’ve played good teams throughout the tournament. We just have to bounce back.”
The Pioneers came out on the attack and got on the board eight minutes in when Chris Donovan capped a textbook passing sequence with teammate Julian Niggeman with a goal that turned out to be the game winner. Later in the half, Donovan got behind the Indians’ defense for a goal that gave the Pioneers a 2-0 lead that stood until the final horn.
“We saw the standard,” Scharf said. “Unfortunately, (we) conceded an early goal, but we’ve come back from getting scored on.
“Maybe 10 minutes after we got scored on, we started to pick it up, and we got together at halftime. We came out with a good attitude.”
The Indians came close to breaking up the Pioneers’ shutout bid late in the contest, but Conor O’Donnell’s shot was deflected out of harm’s way by a diving Luke Smith.
“I thought I had it,” O’Donnell said. “We got into the flow of the game.
“In the beginning, obviously, they’re a good team, so it’s hard to get into a rhythm. Once we got into a rhythm, we started to play better.”
Rock North isn’t the only team Donovan has victimized. The Drexel commit has nine goals in four postseason games.
“All year we didn’t face a team that combined well through their attacking four players, specifically Chris Donovan,” Scharf said. “Obviously, we knew who he was coming into the game. We’re rivals for club soccer, so that was cool playing against him again.
“He dropped into the midfield and found good pockets of space that we haven’t seen, but we look at it in a positive way. We made a mistake now when it didn’t count – this was a pride game, and hopefully, we’ll see them back in states.”
Saturday’s loss snapped a seven-game winning streak for Rock North that came on the heels of an eight-game stretch that saw the Indians go 3-4-1.
“We hit a tough spot in our season, but we all got together – the seniors took charge,” O’Donnell said. “We knew we had to get the job done.”
Council Rock North (15-7-1, 10-1-1 SOL) will face District 12 runner-up Northeast in Tuesday’s opening round of the PIAA Class 4A Tournament at Harry S Truman High School (7 p.m.).
“Not bad for a team that wasn’t supposed to be in the tournament the last week of the season,” said assistant coach Rob Flanagan, the acting head coach in the absence of Joe Stackhouse (family wedding). “We upset a lot of people along the way.
“(Conestoga) didn’t show any weaknesses. Usually we can find either a right back or left back to attack. They moved the ball well. They’re a very good team. It’s the reason they were ranked so high in the nation.”
Council Rock North 0-0 0
Conestoga 2-0 2
Third place game
#1-13 KENNETT 2, #1-7 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 1
The Bucks – resting several of their regulars – trailed 1-0 at halftime and fell behind 2-0 before Kevin Snavely scored with 9:41 remaining in the contest for the 2-1 final.
Central Bucks West (16-6, 9-3 SOL) will face the District 12 champion La Salle in Tuesday’s opening round of the PIAA 4A Tournament.
Kennett 1-1 2
Central Bucks West 0-1 1
Fifth place game
#1-9 PERKIOMEN VALLEY 1, #1-11 WISSAHICKON 0
The Trojans’ bid for the fifth and final state berth fell just short. Brian Love scored in the 71st minute to propel the Vikings to the hard-fought win.
Wissahickon closed out its season with a 15-2-2 record overall (10-2-2 SOL).
Wissahickon 0-0 0
Perkiomen Valley 0-1 1
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