CR North, Pennridge & Hatboro-Horsham were winners in Tuesday's opening round of the District One 4A Tournament. CR North/Wissahickon photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. CLICK HERE to link to the SOS photo galleries.
#1-11 Pennridge 2, #1-22 Neshaminy 0
Officially, this one was a PIAA District One Class 4A first-round playoff game although there was more to it than that.
“It was the Suburban One League Continental Conference against the Suburban One League National Conference,” Pennridge coach Pete Valimont said. “So you knew that neither team was going to roll over in this one.”
Neither did in what turned out to be a hard-fought victory for the Rams.
“It was a very physical game,” Valimont said. “Neshaminy, which has a really young team, had a fearless attitude and really did a good job.
“For the first 20 minutes or so they really came at us and almost got on the board. We had a lot of chances, and fortunately, we were able to bury two of them and we get to move on.”
The win moved the Rams (13-4-2, 6-4-2 SOL) into Thursday’s second round against fellow Suburban One League Continental Conference foe Central Bucks West at War Memorial Field (5:30 p.m.)
The Bucks, who are seeded sixth in the tournament, had a first-round bye.West won both of the regular-season meetings against the Rams, with each coming by one goal.
“I’m sure both of us would rather play other teams in the district, but these are the cards that have been dealt,” Valimont said. “My guys asked me after the game tonight if we needed to watch film of West and I said probably not because we know them so well and they know us so well.
“They have playoff experience and Dylan Smith, their goalie, is arguably the best in the state. We know that we have to be ready to go.”
The loss ended the season for Neshaminy (10-8-1, 8-4 SOL).
“We played pretty well in the first half, but we didn’t take advantage of the chances we had,” Neshaminy coach Tom Foley said. “And, our Achilles heel came up again when they scored off a set piece. That has hurt us all season. Pennridge is a physical group and we kind of stopped doing in the second half what had made us successful in the first half.
“But, it was a good learning experience for the kids, and, overall, I’m happy with the way we played. I feel bad for our seniors, but this was very good experience for our younger players.”
Host Pennridge, which hadn’t won a home district game since 2010 (a 3-2 win over Downingtown East), grabbed a 1-0 lead with 15 minutes left in the first half when senior Matt Stevenson, off the aforementioned set piece, found senior Nick Dunn, who headed the ball home.
“Nick Dunn is not one of our bigger players, but he made a fantastic run and buried the header,” Valimont said. “It was a bang-bang play and it felt good to get the lead because Neshaminy was applying really good pressure.
“Our guys were ready, but there were a lot of nerves. None of our seniors played in the district game in 2015 (Pennridge’s last first-round playoff win, a triumph in penalty kicks over Boyertown).
“This was a new atmosphere for all of them as far as the elimination factor goes and they came through.”
The Rams picked up a crucial insurance goal with 13 minutes left in regulation as Stevenson, again, picked up the assist on a feed to sophomore Ben Scary.
“It was great to see an underclassmen find the back of the net,” Valimont said. “And Matt Stevenson was just fantastic. He got a little banged up, but it’s no secret he’s a marked player. Everybody knows he’s a big part of our team and he did a great job.”
Pennridge continued its season-long use of a two-goalie system as seniors Ryan Mayhew and Matt Sheldon split time in earning the shutout.
“Ryan made a big-time save in the first 20 minutes of the game to keep them off the board,” Valimont said. “If they score at that point, you never know what will happen.
“And Matt in the second half was in control and came up with some tight 50-50 balls that he had to get and did.”
Valimont also praised the play of senior Aidan Link and freshman Aidan Castle along with defender Ashton Smith and sophomore center back Ryan Cook.
Neshaminy opened the game with five sophomore and two junior starters and added another sophomore into the lineup to begin the second half.
“And we had two freshmen get in the game,” Foley said. “This is the youngest team I’ve coached by far and there’s a lot of optimism about next year. And our junior varsity also had a really good season, so that will help us next season, too.
“We missed the (district) playoffs last year and this game will be invaluable for our kids. They got a feel of what it is like. There was a lot of physical play and they know they have to get stronger.
Foley was pleased with the play of senior Mike Thomas, sophomore Gavin Rowan, senior Christian Rodgers and junior Ramir Cofield.
“All of those guys played well,” Foley said. “And our defense played pretty well and did a good job limiting Pennridge’s opportunities. Mike Alberran, Alex Daeche, Lou Salmi and Ian Swinski all played well. We were without senior Kais Jawawgeh, who got hurt in the last week and a half and I felt bad for him.
“He kept trying to come back, but he just couldn’t play.”
The top five finishers in the tournament qualify for the PIAA state event.
Neshaminy 0-0 0
Pennridge 1-1 2
#1-19 Hatboro-Horsham 0, #1-14 Perk Valley 0 (4-3 PKs)
Hatboro-Horsham, according to coach Kyle McGrath, had not taken a penalty kick during the regular season, so it would be easy to understand if they were a bit unnerved when Tuesday’s win-or-go-home district opener came down to PKs.
That wasn’t the case. The Hatters calmly converted four of five, edging the Vikings in a nail biter.
“This year has been unique because we haven’t had any penalty kicks in the run of play,” McGrath said. “So this was our first PK experience this year.
“We started working on them last week when we realized we were going to be in a position to make playoffs. At practice, we picked out the guys we thought could hit them and they practiced a bunch. Then it’s just about stepping up and striking the ball with confidence.
“We weren’t sure of our lineup. Midway through the second overtime, we had an idea of our top seven guys. We just needed to put them in order. None of the guys really hesitated and four of our five PKs were fantastic in side netting and not giving the goal keeper much of a chance.”
The Hatters connected on their first four PKs with junior Matt Harmon, senior Andrew Hurrell, junior JD Mallinder and sophomore Jake Weiss all converting. The Vikings saw their third PK attempt hit the post, and the Hatters led 4-3 heading into the final kick. Ryan Coyle’s kick hit the post, and it all came down to one kick.
Goalie Zach Kim took care of that one, delivering a clutch save to preserve the heartstopping win.
“The PK before that – he was close,” McGrath said of Kim. “He went the right way and got a fingertip to it, and the guys on my bench actually thought he saved it, but it kind of snuck in. I could tell that he was having some confidence. He guessed the right way and made a great save, just smothered the ball, and the whole group just erupted in celebration and dogpiled on him at the top of the 18.
“I’m just super happy for the guys because PKs are obviously nerveracking. I just tell them, ‘Put the ball on target and strike it with pace. If the keeper saves it, then the keeper saves it, but give yourself an opportunity by hitting the target,’ and we did that very well tonight. It was awesome for the boys – they worked so hard for 110 minutes.
For the Hatters, Tuesday’s win was their first in district play in 10 years.
“We’ve had really good years the last two years, but we’ve lost our first playoff game. For this group to battle back from where they were at the halfway point to advance and win the first playoff game in 10 years was awesome,” said McGrath, whose team was 3-5-1 after nine games.
For 110 minutes on Tuesday night, the two teams battled.
“I thought we started the game extremely well,” McGrath said. “The first 25-30 minutes we were playing in their end of the field a lot, trading some opportunities but just not connecting on that final pass or final shot.
“Towards the tail end of the first half and the beginning of the second half, they were kind of in control. They have a kid who can launch the ball on a long throw, so it’s always dangerous.
“Overtime is just a battle of attrition. They were better the first overtime period, we were better the second overtime period. We actually missed an open header at the back corner of the six in the second overtime, but we were able to persevere and come through in the shootout.”
The fact that the game was a defensive battle did not come as a surprise.
“All the information we got on them was that they were very good defensively, and that was true,” McGrath said. “Their field is a challenge as well – it’s a high school football stadium, and it’s very small, and even their coach admitted that. We weren’t able to play pretty soccer, but we defended extremely well tonight. To advance on PKs is obviously super exciting for the guys. It made the hour bus ride home very enjoyable. I’m so happy for the boys.”
McGrath lauded the stellar effort of his defenders.
“My back four obviously defended and defended,” the Hatters’ coach said of Vince Buccafari, Fran Moio, Michael Cordero and Jake Weiss. “JD Mallinder was awesome. He’s been a real leader this year as one of our captains.
“My forwards worked hard. Perk Valley is very good defensively, and we weren’t able to generate much. Definitely credit to my back four, my center midfielders and Zach Kim in goal.”
Hatboro-Horsham (11-7-1, 8-5-1 SOL) will travel to third-seeded North Penn for a second round game Thursday at 7 p.m.
“We’ll have a light practice tomorrow and then we’ll bounce back Thursday hopefully and give North Penn our best shot,” McGrath said.
Hatboro-Horsham 0-0-0-0 0
Perk Valley 0-0-0-0 0
#1-16 Council Rock North 2, #1-17 Wissahickon 0
The Indians notched their 10th shutout of the season and scored a goal in each half to earn the opening round win.
“We had control, and we probably should have had two other goals,” coach Joe Stackhouse said. “They switched keepers at halftime. Each of their keepers made point-blank saves, gorgeous saves. Otherwise, we would have had four, maybe five goals.”
Justin Pagliughi scored off a rebound to break a scoreless tie midway through the second half. With less than three minutes remaining, Vinny Colon converted a penalty kick for the 2-0 final.
“Wissahickon isn’t a bad club, but I think we’re just starting to hit our stride right now,” Stackhouse said. “Over the course of the year, we only averaged about a goal and a half a game. The last three games of the year we averaged three.
“I think we have the defensive end of the field sown up pretty well, so now we’re concentrating our practice time toward evaluating how we can exploit the other teams better.”
The Indians’ coach credited the strong play of his defenders in the shutout – Zach Saifer, Jeremy Smithline, Ryan Sirota and Spencer Berman.
“If our goalie had to make one hard save, that was about it,” Stackhouse said.. “They denied any opportunity at all for them to get untracked.”
Council Rock North (14-4-1, 11-0-1 SOL) will travel to top-seeded Conestoga for a rematch of last year’s district title game on Thursday (7 p.m.). The Pioneers won that game 2-0.
“You know what – if we are able to pull it off, we knock the big guy out of the ring early,” Stackhouse said. “You have to meet them somewhere. Who knows – why not us? It’s been a weird year anyway.”
Wissahickon closed out its season with a 10-7-2 record (9-3-2 overall).
Wissahickon 0-0 0
Council Rock North 1-1 2
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