Abington defeated District 11 champion Emmaus in double overtime to advance to Saturday’s state quarterfinals. CR South and North Penn saw their seasons come to an end Tuesday.
CLASS 4A
#1-3 ABINGTON 2, #11-1 EMMAUS 1 (2OT)
Thiago Lage is a difference maker on the soccer pitch.
The Abington senior has proven that time and time again over the course of the season, and in Tuesday night’s state opener, Lage was once again creating his magic, scoring the golden goal with 4:48 remaining in the second overtime to propel the Ghosts to the hard-fought win.
“Thiago’s goal was something special,” Abington coach Randy Garber said. “There was less than five minutes to go in the game, and I’m thinking, ‘If we go into penalty kicks, this is not going to be good’ only because these guys had played so hard. To go into penalty kicks is not deserving.
“(Thiago) just got the ball 20-25 yards out and got into the box. I’ve got to look at it again on replay. I bet he beat four players before he shot the ball. It happened so fast. If someone had it in their hands, they couldn’t have thrown it in a better spot. It was on the far panel, and it was hit like a bullet.”
In a state playoff meeting two years ago, the Ghosts sent Emmaus home for the season as well, winning that one 4-0. Tuesday’s rematch was played on the Hornets’ home turf.
“It was a long drive, and the game should never have gone as long as it did, but we make it interesting every time,” Garber said.
Steven Fajardo stunned the Hornets when he found the net five minutes into the contest to give the Ghosts an early 1-0 lead.
“He’s one of the kids that was injured all year, and finally, he’s getting back into somewhat fitness,” Garber said. “That (goal) kind of set the tone right away, and I think they were shocked that he scored as quickly as he did.
“I don’t know who served the ball into the box or where it came from. He just turned around and hit a great left-footed shot into the far corner. Everyone was pretty shocked to see him do that because he’s been out for so long. It was like – wow, what a good goal.”
Despite controlling play in the opening half, the Ghosts led by just a 1-0 score at halftime.
“I don’t know if they had any shots on the run of play in the first half,” Garber said of the Hornets. “The only thing they were dangerous on is every time we fouled someone – they could bring numbers up and they threw everyone in the box, hoping for a mistake.”
That 1-0 lead stood until the 68th minute when Jaedan Amato scored the equalizer.
“We gave away a corner, and the ball came across and we didn’t play it out,” Garber said. “It ended up on the floor, and somebody toe-punted it in the back of the net. They started playing, and we got the game taken away from us for a while.
“Midway through the second half, on our corner, Oscar Hoffman hit a header that hit the crossbar and came out instead of going in or else it would have been 2-0.”
Deadlocked 1-1 at the end of regulation, the game went into overtime and then a second overtime.
“The two overtime periods – neither team looked like they wanted to score,” Garber said. “Neither team had a whole bunch of chances, and I’m thinking to myself, ‘This could go down to penalty kicks, and you know what – they could steal this game from us.’ If we walked away and got beat, they would have been so disappointed.”
The Ghosts’ coach lauded the efforts of several players in the big win.
“Drew Paxson did a nice job in the back – he’s just as steady as steady can be, and he was definitely a standout,” Garber said. “Oscar Hoffman – if he headed one ball, he headed 25 balls. He was absolutely amazing in the midfield.
“Liam Hartman was sick the whole entire game. He just gutted it out because he felt so bad. Kevin Kretschman did a nice job in goal.”
Abington (19-3-1, 13-2-1 SOL) will take on District 12 champion La Salle in a quarterfinal contest Saturday.
Abington 1-0-0-1 2
Emmaus 0-1-0-0 1
#12-1 LA SALLE 1, #1-4 COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 0
The Explorers found the back of the net midway through the second half, and that one goal proved to be the difference in Tuesday’s state opener.
“We had some very good looks to take this one to overtime, but we couldn’t find the finishing touch,” Rock South coach Alan Nicholl said. “At the end of the day, the better team won, but we worked hard and thought we were good value for a goal.
“Josh Nikolaevsky and Stepan Kovalev must have served a dozen balls each into dangerous areas, but we just couldn’t connect the last touch.”
The Golden Hawks’ coach paid tribute to his senior class who had just played their final high school soccer game.
“My defense left it all on the field, keeping Lasalle’s #11 (Seth Michalak) in check – he’s the most dangerous player we’ve seen this year, and Isaac Burenga had his best game of his career,” Nicholl said. “I will genuinely miss these seniors.
“They made this a very special year, and with 20 years coaching under my belt, I can honestly say they are the hardest working group I’ve ever coached. Burenga, Kovalev, Nikolaevsky, Hagan, Aquino, Cohen, Barry, Lenoir, Pumo, Walters, Rowland, and Velter have left a proud and impactful legacy and I am privileged to call myself their coach.”
Council Rock South (9-6-1 SOL) closed out its season with a 10-7-1 record.
Council Rock North 0-0 0
La Salle 0-1 1
#3-1 CENTRAL DAUPHIN 4, #1-5 NORTH PENN 1
Central Dauphin got on the scoreboard midway through the first half on a goal by Ethan Flickinger. The Rams took that 1-0 lead into halftime. Back-to-back goals by the Rams seconds apart gave the District 3 Champions a 3-0 lead before Alex Stewart scored the Knights’ lone goal.
North Penn (13-3 SOL) closed out its season with a 17-6 record.
North Penn 0-1 1
Central Dauphin 1-3 4
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