Abington defeated CB East to capture the school's first ever district crown in soccer. To view photos of the title match, please visit the Photo Gallery.
Abington Claims History – Ghosts Topple Patriots 3-1 for School’s First Ever District Crown.
By Ben Winderman
East vs. Abington: the rematch.
During The National Anthem, players on both sides bounced nervously in the cold. A last huddle, an opening whistle, and now it’s in the player’s feet. The intriguing early matchup was East striker Ben Marks being old fashion man-marked by Abington defender Alex Pritz. Therein lay the game to a certain extent, and aside from a five-minute imposed respite as a result of a second half yellow card, Pritz did a blue collar job.
Early in the match, some nerves resulted in frantic defending and subsequent half chances. Abington’s Ryan Burns crossed a ball in the 13th minute mark that East keeper Jacob Nesteruk bobbled, but senior Ryan Vare cleared his line. East then countered with a Brooke Weiss head ball, but Abington keeper Austin Brotman managed a healthy enough deflection. Abington’s Danny Sheppard hit a low cross that again handcuffed the East GK, but the Ghosts came away empty handed.
Midway through the first half, Abington looked to be the more dangerous side, as Marks and his running mate freshman Evan Vare’s touches were limited. In the 24th minute, Abington attacker Kyle Rocks had a left footed go at net, but Nesteruk smothered it well.
It was shortly thereafter when CB East broke the scoreless tie as a deep corner kick found Marks for the first time with a shred of space. The senior settled the ball, turned, and drove a left footed pass to an open Kyle Clow, who savagely banged it home.
Almost immediately however Abington was awarded a free kick just across midfield. The Ghosts played a diagonal ball on the ground to Steven Dillon, who drove a cross/shot into the box that ultimately skidded into the far panel. A 1-1 tie appeared to be the inevitable halftime score, but then came an unpredictable dagger from the lower seed. A missed East clearance bounced to an opportunistic Abington midfielder Ryan Burns whose head ball goal with 6.4 seconds on the clock gave the Ghosts the midway advantage.
“The team that scores more goals tends to win,” joked coach Randy Garber when the title was won, the first district title in school history.
It was an uncharacteristic half of defending for The Patriots as “routine” plays were made into adventures. They had halftime to settle and 40 minutes to chase the game.
In the 58th minute Abington goalkeeper Austin Brotman prematurely began to slow the game. East began to win goalie punts, gain possession in the midfield, and create chances. The wind picked up behind the Patriots’ backs and Abington’s defending became more desperate. Marks turned on a ball with his left peg from 12 yards out, but he didn’t catch it clean.
Alex Pritz was then cautioned in the 62nd minute for overzealous play, and the absurd five-minute PIAA “Penalty Box” rule was in effect. Coach Garber moved senior Chris Tracy back on Marks, and the Ghosts weathered another spell of pressure. Abington fans articulated a palpable feeling of an injustice and waited for #24 (Pritz) to return. Ghost players struggled with composure and, as a result, committed several reckless fouls, but none of CB East’s restarts could produce the game-tying goal.
In the 69th minute, Abington’s leading scorer Danny Sheppard found space down the left side with the dribble. He cut back to his right and drove a ball across the Patriots’ box. Abington midfielder Kurt Howard anticipated the ball’s path and for the second straight game buried an important goal. It was well earned as Howard had covered massive ground all night on the flank.
“These boys cover a lot of field,” explained Garber. “We didn’t have a good season, but we were able, with hard work, to turn things around.”
For the elated Abington students who chanted Garber’s name and eventually carried their coach into the winning locker room, that hard work was truly appreciated.
For coach Gorni and his East players, there were no heads hanging. They accepted their silver medals with dignity, knowing they will have to travel west on Tuesday but believing the trip will be worth their while. Some unfortunate (non-eastern) PA team is going to draw the Patriots as a first round foe.
“A State title,” Coach Gorni has stated, “is always our ultimate goal.”
Souderton Beats Pennsbury 2-1 to Claim 3rd in District 1
November High School soccer - if you’re playing you must be good. Saturday night’s third place match pitted two of those good squads against one another, and in the end it was the Continental Conference’s fourth place team, the Indians from Souderton who prevailed 2-1. Ironically, in the finals, it would be the National Conference’s fourthplace finisher Abington that would triumph to a district title over their Continental Conference foe, CB East.
Pennsbury actually opened the scoring in the eighth minute when senior Brendan Cooper tallied for the Falcons. But 15 minutes into the second stanza, Souderton equalized as freshman Nate Verso found the twine. Then, to the relief of the shivering crowd, with three and a half minutes left, attacker Wilson Gonzalez played a square ball to Ryan Molyneaux who lifted a one-time ball over the top of the Falcon defense to a streaking Trey Ziegler. Ziegler neatly popped the ball over Pennsbury goalkeeper Spencer McCullough and one bounced it into the net. The goal was a true game winner, built on connected play and pace. For Ziegler and Molyneaux, it was a deserved celebration after a frustrating semifinal. Tonight at the right moment, they clicked.
#2 Pottsgrove 4, #3 Springfield 0
The second-seeded Falcons cruised by the third-seeded Spartans in AA District playoffs on Saturday. Ethan Abdalla and Rushawn Larmond each scored a pair in the victory for the Falcons,, who will move on to Monday’s district title game. Springfield ended their season 9-8-1 overall and 7-6-1 in the American Conference.
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