Abington saw its successful soccer season come to an end on Saturday. Abington/La Salle photos provided courtesy of Keith Clemens Photography. CLICK HERE for a gallery of photos.
CLASS 4A Quarterfinal
#1-12 LA SALLE 5, #1-3 ABINGTON 1
The sun shone and the conditions were pleasant as the Ghosts walked off the field after Saturday’s season-ending loss at North Penn High School. It was a far cry from the torrential rain and high winds of a storm that struck without warning early in the first half and sent fans running for cover.
The highly regarded Explorers – playing with the gusty wind at their backs in the first half – turned a 1-1 tie into a 4-1 halftime lead on their way to the convincing win.
“It stunk,” Abington senior Jimmy Marino said of the inclement weather. “It was so cold. It was probably the worst conditions I ever played in. It also cost us three goals obviously – the wind and also the (goal) off (our keeper’s) hands.
“Overall, we had a really good season. If we hadn‘t played in this weather, obviously it would be a different game hopefully. We were kind of in shock. It was beautiful for the girls’ game, and then it just came down. It was – ‘Oh, here we go.’”
The game started an hour later than scheduled after the girls’ state quarterfinal pitting Pennridge against Conestoga was decided in penalty kicks.
Before any signs of the impending storm, the Explorers – or more specifically Seth Michalak – served notice that they would be a force to contend with as Michalak scored on a laser shot into the far post just 22 seconds into the game.
“The conditions were definitely poor and hurt us a little bit but giving up a goal in the first minute of the game definitely hurt us,” Abington coach Randy Garber said. “We weren’t ready for it.”
The Ghosts responded with a goal of their own less than three minutes later when Liam Hartman headed Luke O’Donnell’s free kick into the back of the net. Michalak broke that tie five minutes later with a picture-perfect goal on a free kick just outside the box.
Michalak’s third goal on a free kick through the Ghosts’ wall from almost the same spot upped the Explorers’ lead to 3-1, and Conor Clair’s unassisted goal with nine minutes remaining in the opening half sent La Salle into halftime with a commanding 4-1 lead.
Clair scored his second goal with just over 10 minutes remaining in regulation, closing out the scoring for both sides.
When it was over, Garber had nothing but praise for the Explorers but couldn’t help wondering what might have been if the Explorers’ two goals on free kicks had been taken in better conditions.
“The wind was blowing, and it was unlucky for us,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “They’re a very good team, they’re going to do well the rest of the tournament. I take nothing away from them. We had a good year. We just didn’t play well today.”
Despite the disappointing outcome, it didn’t take long for Marino to put the season in perspective.
“It’s been the best four years of my life,” Marino said. “With my boys – it was awesome, just to bring the whole community out here.
“All the pasta parties we had, hanging out after the games, hanging out after the practices and in school obviously too – just saying ‘hi’ to each other in the hallways. It was awesome. That helped us because the past three years we didn’t really have that bond with our teammates, but this year was a different story. It wasn’t even the senior class – the whole entire team was together.”
“This was an excellent group, it was a fun group,” Garber said. “They won a lot of games. For the 28 years that I’ve been here, it’s been a special group of guys that just believed in each other and trusted each other and played some good soccer along the way.
“We just ran into a very good team today, and they were better than us today in all facets. They scored some good goals, and we just weren’t ready for as much offense as they had. We thought possibly a mistake or mishandled ball would be the difference, but six goals scored – that’s a lot of goals for a state game, so I wish them all the best.”
Abington captured the SOL Liberty Division title with a 13-2-1 record and closed out its successful season with a 19-4-1 record overall.
Abington 1-0 1
La Salle 4-1 5
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