Upper Moreland advanced to the PIAA Class 3A state semifinal as a result of Saturday’s win over Archbishop Ryan. Photos provided courtesy of Kathy Leister Photography. Check back for a gallery of photos.
#1-1 UPPER MORELAND 1, #12-1 ARCHBISHOP RYAN 0 (2 OTs)
Senior midfielder Mateo Infante turned a Logan Taylor pass into the game-winner with just over 11 minutes remaining in the second overtime of Saturday’s PIAA 3A quarterfinal contest. It was UM’s fourth straight one-goal thriller.
“It was another nail biter, another W,” UM coach Justin Allegra said after his team continued to make history.
The sequence leading up to Infante’s game-winner all began with what Allegra described as a “flubbed” free kick from 25-30 yards out by the Golden Bears.
“They countered it, we wind up finally getting the ball back and pushing it,” the Golden Bears’ coach said. “Logan Taylor got the ball around the 30 and played an awesome ball through to Mateo down the line. He beat one of the defenders, and I could see it from the bench, and I’m like ‘There’s no way he’s going to miss this.’
“He beats the defender, he gets in the box, he’s on the left-hand side, he shoots it with his right foot, curls it in the top right corner. It was just crazy. I never felt so happy for these guys.”
Saturday’s win was a testament to the Golden Bears’ stamina.
“I didn’t make one sub,” Allegra said. “I just knew we were the more fit team, and I think that’s what it really came down to. I stress to these guys – you might not have the most talent, but we’re going to be fit and we’re going to outwork everybody.
“That’s pretty much the way it was. We had our chances early. Mike Kane had a golden opportunity on a breakaway. Their goalie did a great job, and he put it over the net.”
The Golden Bears found a way to keep Ryan’s offense under wraps.
“They’ve got the weapons,” Allegra said. “They’ve got the two guys up top that played really well. It was unfortunate that their one guy, (Tim) Cliggett, got hurt. We shut them down and they played great defense and shut our two forwards down.
“I told our guys – it’s going to come down to the midfield, and I feel we have the better midfield, and we controlled the midfield. It was won through our midfield. Mateo Infante time and time again – I thought he was the best player on the field, and he’s probably one of the best players in our league.
“Mateo played amazing today, and Logan Taylor has just been a force in the midfield, winning all the 50-50 balls, winning all the head balls. He hasn’t really gotten the recognition because he doesn’t score that much, but he’s just sound in the midfield. He and Mateo in the midfield just control everything.”
The game itself was evenly matched.
“ I told our guys – ‘It’s going to be a game that you’ve never played before. You’re going to get banged around, and we’ve got to outwork them,’” Allegra said in reference to the PCL’s physical style of play. “We outworked them. It was going to come down to that one goal and whoever scored it first.”
Saturday’s win comes on the heels of UM’s district title win over Pottsgrove.
“They’re just dialed in,” Allegra said of his players. “We’re not giving up a lot of goals, we’re not giving up a lot of chances. Our defense is solid, our goalie is solid. I just feel that when we match up against a lot of other teams we just have the better midfield.”
Anchoring UM’s defense in Saturday’s shutout was the back line of Greg Wiley, Mike Soroka, Josh Henderson and Travis Slear as well as sophomore goalie Aaron Snyder.
“We put Mike Soroka on (Sidiki) Fofana, and he just man marked him the entire game,” Allegra said. “Then you have Josh Henderson who’s literally a Swiss army knife. He’s going to win every head ball, he’s going to run everybody down, and he throws about 30-40 yards.
“Then I have Travis Slear who is just the all-around player. He started up top for us, and now I have him in the back. I needed to find a place for him on the field, and I’m lucky that he’s actually able to play defense and play it well and then pushes the attack.
“Greg Wiley knows his role, and he’s a sound defender. He doesn’t have all the foot skills, but he’s an athlete and he has all the other intangibles that make him a great player. We have our four guys along the back and we’re just sound.’”
Upper Moreland (10-2, 6-2 SOL) will face Northern High School in Tuesday’s PIAA 3A state semifinal game. Northern is from Dillsburg in York County. The Golden Bears had never advanced beyond the Sweet 16 prior to this season.
Our guys have bought into my system – it’s playing simple and knowing where you are on the field, and these guys have bought into it since day one,” Allegra said. I’m playing the most simple system possible, and they’re responding at the most important times. It’s just a great group of guys. Everybody’s bought in, nobody’s better than anybody else. We’re all one team, we’re all one family, and that’s how I coach them up.
“For us to play in the quarters and be going to the semis – for such a small school that we are, the entire team is on such a high everywhere from the training staff all the way down to the last man on the bench. I’m so proud of these guys to be able to coach them.”
Archbishop Ryan 0-0-0-0 0
Upper Moreland 0-0-0-1 1
About the Author
