Abington & Springfield Twp were winners in District 1 4A quarterfinal action Saturday. Abington/Downingtown West photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of photos. CLICK HERE to go directly to Suburban One Sports’ BOYS’ SOCCER GALLERIES.
District 1 4A quarterfinals
#6 SPRINGFIELD TWP 3, #3 OWEN J ROBERTS 0
Springfield Twp – with the smallest enrollment of the 50 schools in District 1 4A – kept its magical postseason run alive. The Spartans surprised even themselves with a win that vaulted the team into the district semis and also guaranteed the Spartans a coveted berth in the PIAA 6A State Tournament.
The surprise is not that the Spartans are doing well – they’ve boasted a highly successful soccer program in recent years under coach Dan Meder. The surprise is that the Spartans are leaving their mark in this their second year in the large school division despite their small enrollment.
“I said to my guys after the game today – ‘I can’t believe I’m going to say this to you, but you just qualified for 4A states,’” Meder said. “I’m extremely proud of these guys. These couple of seasons have been amazing.”
Also, unlikely was the Spartans’ three-goal outburst in Saturday’s quarterfinal at a point in the tournament when goals are typically hard to come by.
“Sometimes that’s just soccer, sometimes it just happens like that,” Meder said. “In a game that maybe could have gone either way, we ended up winning 3-0.”
Five minutes into the second half, Nate Lewis scored on the rebound of a goalie save of a shot by Harry Bates. That turned out to be the game-winner. Eight minutes later, Patrick Schugsta scored with a Bates assist, and Bates closed out the scoring when he connected on a penalty kick.
Interestingly, while Springfield Twp’s boys’ soccer team will be competing in the 4A district semis on Wednesday, the school’s girls’ team will be playing for a district title at the Class 2A level on Tuesday.
“I’m really proud of the girls too because they deserve it,” Meder said. “Their coach is only in his second year, and he’s doing an outstanding job with them.”
Scoring summary
First half – No score
Second half
Nate Lewis (S), 45th minute
Patrick Schugsta (S) assisted by Harry Bates, 53rd minute
Harry Bates (S) Penalty kick, 57th minute
Springfield Twp coach Dan Meder:
–On the game: “The first half was a great game – they had chances, we had chances. They’re a good team. They have some really good players. In fact, they’re a well-balanced team. They’ve got good players in every position. I thought they were really good.
“In the second half, Harry (Bates) got loose a little bit and took a good shot, and Nate Lewis got the rebound and put it in the net. They almost tied it – they had a good chance, and Daniel Caruso dug it out before it crossed the goal line. It kept us in it one more time.
“Patrick Schugsta got our second goal, and that was assisted by Harry Bates 13 minutes into the second half, and then Harry Bates was awarded a penalty kick for the third goal, and that was 17 minutes into the second half.”
Props: “These last two games – our keepers have both played very, very well. We’ve been playing two goalies – Josh Garbarini played the first half, and Robin Kester played the second.
“Roman Corcoran, one of our captains, plays in the midfield, and he’s just a workhorse for us. He’s always doing stuff that we need done. He doesn’t get a lot of shoutouts and a lot of points, but he’s been outstanding.
“Brendan Noonan, Will McLaughlin, Daniel Caruso, Dillon Gray played well on defense, and Eden Ha was a midfielder and attacker and played really well. Adam DiBattista played really well. It’s a total team win. Every kid who played – Jake Gibson, who came off the bench, was excellent. He was a defensive game changer for us, just making sure nothing was dangerous the other way. He totally locked things up back there.
“Harry (Bates) was terrific. Everyone knows the stats. He scores goals, he has assists, but he has a really high soccer IQ. He knows the game, and he puts himself in good position. He wants to make adjustments, and he’ll do anything we need him to do. He’s a terrific, terrific player.”
Up next: Springfield Twp will host #7 Abington in a District 1 4A semifinal contest Wednesday (7pm).
Springfield Twp 0-3 3
Owen J Roberts 0-0 0
#7 ABINGTON 2, #15 DOWNINGTOWN WEST 0
The Ghosts scored a goal in each half on their way to an important win that not only vaulted Abington into the District 1 4A semifinals but also punched the Ghosts’ ticket to the PIAA 4A State Tournament.
“It was a beautiful morning for soccer. We had a nice crowd today, and they saw a good game,” Abington coach Randy
Garber said.
Sam Arruda scored the only goal the Ghosts would need 25 minutes into the first half. In the second half, Jaza Vasquez added an insurance goal. George Hooven had the clean sheet in goal.
Scoring summary
First half
Sam Arruba (A) assisted by Sean Westmoreland
Second half
Jaza Pasquez (A) assisted by Cooper Blynt.
Abington coach Randy Garber:
–On the game: “We scored around the 25-minute mark. Sean Westmoreland slipped a ball through to Sam Arruda. They were playing a high defense/off-sides trap defense, and we were offsides about seven times prior to Sean slipping a ball through, and finally, Sam (Arruda) got behind the defense and went one on one. He finished it from about 12 yards out. The goalkeeper came out, and he just beat the goalkeeper and hit a good shot. That 1-0 went into halftime, but we had several chances. They had difficulty with our throw-ins and our corner kicks because we threw them into the mix, and they had trouble getting them out. They knocked the ball around. They didn’t like our field a little bit only because it’s so bumpy and narrow. The ball went out a lot. It was a good goal to get before halftime. If it would have been 0-0 at halftime, it could have been different.
“We told the boys at halftime that they were going to push people forward. George (Hooven), our goalkeeper, had the ball, and he punted the ball probably a good 60 yards. It took a bounce, and they were pushed up a little bit. Cooper (Blynt) went and just redirected the ball, and it put Jaza (Vasquez) 
through behind the defense one on one with the goalkeeper, and he just slotted it home. That was a big goal. It took the wind out of them a little bit. That’s a good Downingtown West team. George, our goalie, had to make more saves today than he did in the previous two games. We beat West 4-0, and he didn’t have to do much. We beat Central Bucks South 1-0, he didn’t have to do much. Today, he had to make some legit saves.
“They pressed a lot, they knocked the ball around. I just couldn’t believe they were seeded 15th. They’re the only ones that weren’t in the top tier and were still playing. They were a legit team – well coached. They were organized. Again, the field, them having them travel a good hour, and probably leaving eight o’clock in the morning isn’t the best situation. It’s crazy how it works out.”
–Props: “George (Hooven), our goalkeeper, again played extremely well. Carter Shannon played well on defense and long throws. He probably threw 20 balls into the mix from distance.
“Owen Gesing did a nice job in the midfield. Sean Westmoreland – every game he is just a ball-winner, and he never runs out of gas. He’s tremendous.
“Kyle Kretschman, our goal scorer all year – we’ve had to bring him back and play in the defense the past couple games. He’s a D1 defender if he wants to. But we use him as a forward because he’s scored probably 15 goals at least in the regular season. He played in the back and did a super job.
“Dennis (Kozyak) played their best forward and did a great job. He did a great job the whole entire frame and kept him quiet. He just marked him and really did a super, super job with him.”
Up next: Abington will travel to #6 Springfield Twp for an All-SOL District 1 4A semifinal contest Wednesday (7pm). The two teams met during the regular season with Abington earning a 3-1 win over the Spartans.
Downingtown West 0-0 0
Abington 1-1 2
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