North Penn & CB West notched wins and advanced to Saturday’s quarterfinal round of the PIAA District One 4A Tournament. (CB West file photos courtesy of Marge Bullock http://www.margebullock.com )
#1-1 NORTH PENN 5, #3-3 WILSON 3
The Knights opened up a 5-1 lead before the Bulldogs scored a pair of late goals, and any thoughts there might be a letdown for the district champions in Tuesday’s opener were put to rest in a hurry as the Knights scored a pair of goals in the opening eight minutes and never looked back.
“You always see or hear where teams win the district and then lose the next game,” coach Paul Duddy said. “I was real pleased with our kids and their approach to the game and their strength and mentality.”
Four minutes into the game, Roman Illovsky scored with a Carter Houlihan assist, and it was 2-0 when Mike Chaffee – in his return after being sidelined with mono during the district playoffs – found the net with an assist from Josh Jones.
“The whole team went crazy when he scored,” Duddy said. “There was still a lot of game time left, but everybody was pulling for him. That was great to get him back. He just adds another element to our lineup when he’s in.”
The Bulldogs cut that lead in half with a goal, but with 10 seconds remaining in the half, Jones scored with a Jamie Stewart assist to send the Knights into halftime with a 3-1 lead.
In the second half, Jones (Ryan Stewart assist) scored on a header, and then it was Houlihan scoring with a Chaffee assist. Both – according to Duddy – were spectacular goals.
“We had two really, really good high school goals,” the Knights’ coach said. “One was Josh Jones on a header. It was a serve, and he just absolutely nailed a header into the upper 90 side panel. It was just great technique to be able to do that.
“Our last goal – Carter Houlihan won a ball in the back and had a lot of space because they were pushed up, so he had yards in front of him. Being the player he is and as smart as he is, he probably dribbled it to at least midfield on the left side. There was a defender, and Carter hit it to (Mike) Chaffee, who was on the right side, and he hit it back to Carter. Carter hit back to Chaffee, and Carter got the finish. I’ll be anxious to see that one on film. They were pushed up so it was a classic counterattack.”
In a rematch of the District One 4A semifinal, North Penn (22-1, 11-1 SOL) will face Conestoga, the fourth place team out of District One, in Saturday’s quarterfinal round.
“We’ll take tomorrow and enjoy it a little bit and rest,” Duddy said. “The guys are beat up – it’s a long season at this point, but it’s been a great season so far.
“I think the whole team’s attitude is – ‘We’re going to keep on going,’ so that’s great.”
Wilson 1-2 3
North Penn 3-2 5
#1-5 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 1, #3-1 CENTRAL DAUPHIN 0 (2 OTs)
The Bucks’ magic carpet ride through the postseason continued on Tuesday night when – thanks to a Jimi Leder goal in the second overtime – they notched perhaps their most improbable win in what has been an improbable journey, sending the District 3 champions home for the season and bringing to an abrupt halt the Rams’ 20-game winning streak.
But what is improbable to the rest of the world is apparently pretty normal stuff for a West squad that simply refuses to let its season end.
“Tonight was bend don’t break, and we bent a lot,” coach Stefan Szygiel said. “It’s a credit to Central Dauphin. We had them scouted. We saw them a couple of times, and we were very prepared.
“They were absolutely excellent and not just technically – they were high school good. They knew when to put us on our heels, they knew when to knock the ball around to try and pry us out defensively, which is why I’m even more proud of us because I think we just held our ground, we dug our heels in and we said, ‘We know you’re going to get some chances, but we’re going to continue to defend collectively. That’s all we can do, and that’s what has gotten us this far and what we rely on.
“That kind of togetherness that they have is what’s unique and special about them. They’re willing to put in any level of dirty work. They don’t care – they’ll do it, regardless of what the other opponent looks like.”
The players – according to Szygiel – have a singular focus, and that is on the game plan.
“We make adjustments,” the Bucks’ coach said. “I think my coaching staff is absolutely fantastic with that. We pick up on little things we need to, we just hope the adjustments we make work and that the players are bought in.
“For weeks now, everyone is completely bought in. You don’t start to turn the corner with results unless you have a completely bought-in group, and right now we have that, and it will stay that way.”
Leder’s game-winner came five minutes into the second overtime.
“We were able to put on a little bit of pressure – they had pretty much all the ball tonight, but we knew that,” Szygiel said. “We were at Hersheypark Stadium, so we were playing in a venue they’d already played in, so our familiarity with that field is low.
“Game plan-wise again, we had to stick to our guns with that, just dig in our heels, just trust each other, just defend together – we’ll get chances, and this chance happened to be the one that went. It was definitely a special one. It was a ball played in and they cleared it. James Lutz played it right back in, Alan Zlotin got a flick on it, and Jimi Leder from about 30-35 out hit a half volley, and it was a beauty.
“We rely on Alan and Jimi statistically, we rely on James in the midfield and in the defensive area to win balls for us and be a soldier.”
A postseason of one long road trip after another will include the longest trip yet on Saturday when Central Bucks West (12-7-5, 5-4-3 SOL) will take on District 7 runner-up Mount Lebanon.
“We’re getting a nice tour of the state,” Szygiel said. “It’s all good. The more time we can spend together – that’s all this group wants to do. They just want to keep playing, so they’re going to find every way possible.
“Tonight that was bend a lot don’t break. Their skills players had a great night. They were misfiring a little bit in front of goal. My keeper (Ryan Van Pelt) was excellent again. My back line held strong. We defended a ton, and that’s fine. We’re willing to put in that shift.”
Van Pelt recorded eight saves to earn his 11th clean sheet, and anchoring the defense in front of Van Pelt were Bailey Moyer, Vincent Cavanaugh, Jayden Morris, Cole Young and Conor O’Brien.
“Do I think we had our best performance tonight?” Szygiel asked. “No, absolutely not, but I think we held our ground, and in tight games, which it was, that’s what you have to do. You have to hold your ground and just continue to believe that when you get your chances – and we had way less chances than they did tonight.
“They’re extremely talented. They didn’t win District 3 for no reason, didn’t go on a 20-game unbeaten streak. We also knew them from last year.”
Last year, West captured the District One 4A title and Central Dauphin, the third place team from District 3, sent the Bucks home for the season with a 2-1 overtime win.
“This year it was the flip,” Szygiel said. “For us, we’re like – wouldn’t it be great if we could find a way to win this game and maybe make the guys from 2018 who graduated feel like we closed the circle.
“All that being said, it’s done and over with. We got the result tonight, and we’re happy to move on Saturday and the next one. We do have to play better Saturday. I’m proud of the defensive shifts we put in tonight, but our transition has to be better. We have to be better in the offensive third. This group knows that, and I think they’re going to take that as a challenge, and they’re going to show that Saturday they can generate more going forward as well.
“We got out-chanced, and that’s how I measure any game. I measure quality scoring chances – to me, nothing else matters. They had more quality scoring chances than we did. They had a post, we had a post. We were in there, but they absolutely had more quality chances. It didn’t break their way tonight.”
Szgiel congratulated Central Dauphin on a remarkable season.
“What they did, the streak they went on, winning District 3 – I think they’ll feel they should have come away with it tonight, and I understand that,” the Bucks’ coach said. “We felt that way last year. Sometimes this is how it goes. All credit to them once again and that team and that program. That’s back-to-back state appearances for them, that’s a District 3 title – they’re making a lot of noise right now, and that’s a credit to their coaching staff.”
Central Bucks West 0-0-0-1 1
Central Dauphin 0-0-0-0 0
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