Neshaminy defeated Pennridge in penalty kicks (4-2) to capture the District One 4A title on Saturday. Photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of photos.
#7 NESHAMINY 0, #12 PENNRIDGE 0 (2 OTs, 4-2 PKs)
In the midst of a jubilant postgame celebration, Trevor Rush had a quiet moment - briefly breaking away from his teammates, taking a knee, crossing himself and then looking skyward.
“This year during the COVID time, my stepfather came down with cancer and he passed away,” Neshaminy’s senior goalkeeper said. “Every game I just do a little prayer to him, make sure he’s on my side, and he helps me get through the game and guides me on the right track.”
Moments earlier, it was Rush – who came up with a crucial save on the Rams’ first PK attempt - converting a penalty kick to give his Redskin squad a 4-2 lead and the emotional victory in Saturday’s District One 4A title game.
“I joke around with my coach all the time – I tell him in practice I’ve got no nerves, and he tells me, ‘It’s probably different in a game,’” Rush said. “I just did what I do in practice, and I pounded it in. I told him I don’t feel anything.”
Rush felt plenty when his PK hit the back of the net, ripping off his goalie shirt as the giddy celebration began in earnest. It was the second ending in what had to be the most bizarre of all endings, this one decidedly different than the first one that saw the Rams celebrating the district title win.
It looked for all the world as though the Rams had won the game when – with 49.2 seconds remaining in the second and final overtime – senior captain Ben Scary buried a penalty kick that broke a scoreless deadlock and had the Rams celebrating the apparent win.
But just as quickly as it began, the celebration ended when the goal was waved off for encroachment after one of the Rams’ players was called for entering the box too soon on the PK.
“I have never experienced that,” Neshaminy senior captain Mike Albarran said. “I didn’t even know that was a thing honestly. That surprised me. From thinking we lost and then thinking that was our second chance – we’re going to come back and win this.”
The two teams played out the final seconds with neither team threatening, and the outcome was decided in penalty kicks.
“We went from thinking ‘Wow, we just lost in the district final on a PK with 40 seconds left in the second overtime’ to ‘We’ve still got a chance,’” Rush said. “I know we have a good group of players to hit PKS, and that’s what it came down to.”
“From zero to hero,” senior captain Cole Jackson said. “You think everything’s down the drain and done with and your senior season is over, and you get a call because a kid makes a mistake and everything changes and you end up winning the game off your goalie making saves and scoring the game-winner. It’s an outcome you never would have thought would happen.”
Pennridge coach Pete Valimont – who led his Rams’ squad to its best finish in program history – certainly didn’t see it coming.
“If you would have told me that’s how it would have ended in regulation and then, unfortunately, with the penalty kicks, it’s not the ending we would have written,” the Rams’ coach said. “But hats off to their guys and hats off to my guys and my seniors. A handful of my seniors have been starting since sophomore year.
“We lost to the state champion (North Penn) last year, and we lost to the district champion this year for what it’s worth. It’s heartwrenching, all those emotions. I’m numb. I don’t want to smile, I don’t want to scream, I don’t want to cry. I’m just sitting here like…I don’t know.”
There’s no denying that having the goal waved off might well have taken its toll on the Rams, who found themselves in a 2-0 hole after Rush came up with a stop of Scary’s PK and the Rams’ second went over the net.
Connecting for the Redskins’ after Gavin Rowan’s PK deflected off the left post were Jason Spencer and Albarran. Pennridge senior Colin Monahan connected to make it 2-1, but Ryan Schoeneman’s successful PK gave the Redskins’ a 3-1 advantage. A successful Carson Hasenmeyer PK made it a 3-2 game, but the Rams’ fate was sealed when Rush delivered the clinching penalty kick in the opening round of five.
“You see it from time to time – the kid was inside the box before the ball was struck,” Neshaminy coach Tom Foley said of the encroachment call. “Someone is looking over us, which is great. I’m sure they’re feeling opposite emotions. They go from jubilation to – oh no, what happened. I’m not 
going to apologize for it. I couldn’t be happier for our kids.”
The district title is the program’s 10th and first since 2006. The Redskins advanced to the district final in 2008 and lost.
“It’s a nice little piece of Neshaminy history,” Foley said. “We have a rich history here. We talk about Neshaminy pride putting the shirt on all the time. They have a chunk of history now.
“Winning District One is the toughest prize you can take home, so I couldn’t be happier for the kids especially in this crappy pandemic thing. It’s something they can never take away from them. It’s a tribute to their hard work.”
All but lost in the shuffle of the bizarre ending was yet another shutout by the Redskins – their 12 in 15 games.
“We’re pretty tough, we haven’t given teams a lot of good chances all year, and it’s a tribute to how hard they work,” Foley said. “Louie (Salmi) and Ryan (Schoeneman) have done a great job on the outside, and Michael (Albarran) and AJ (Rivera) have been tremendous and Ian (Siwinski) when he’s in there when we put Michael up top.”
No one appreciates the efforts of the Redskins’ all but impenetrable back line more than Rush.
“It’s crazy,” the senior captain said. “There’s no other team in the state doing that, and there’s no team with as good of a back line, and there’s nobody I trust as much back there as them.
“They’ve been phenomenal. I can only credit my clean sheets to the hard work they’ve put in. There’s nothing better for me than to step out on the field and see my back line in front of me.”
There weren’t many opportunities to score for either side during regulation and the two overtime periods.
“Communication is our big thing,” Albarran said of the Redskins’ defense. “Everyone who goes back there – we’re all friends, and we’re all talking about the game 24/7. We’re all thinking – how can we prepare for this?”
“You have to credit the guys in practice too because they’re always pushing us,” Jackson said. “Even in drills, kids hop in and push the defenders harder to make sure they’re on task all the time.”
The Rams also threw some serious defense at the Redskins.
“The whole time it felt like they had eight guys on their side in the box whenever we were trying to attack, and the moment they get the ball – they boot it up and they have fast kids running up the wings,” Jackson said.
For the Redskin seniors, capturing a district title has been a goal since they were sophomores.
“We lost to Pennridge (2-0) in the first round of playoffs sophomore year and ever since then – it was a goal to get to this point and even further,” Rush said.
“Every single kid of the team – they always talked about it,” said Rowan, who was kept off the scoreboard for the first time in the district tournament. “Even though the four of us have the captain’s bands on, everyone else is a leader just as much as us, so you can expect anybody on the team to pick up whoever it is when they’re not having their day.”
Emotions ran high after Rush banged home the game-winner in PKs.
“I couldn’t stop smiling,” Jackson said. “It felt surreal.”
“The thing is – no matter if you get minutes or you don’t, everybody is feeling the exact same emotions,” Rowan said. “Everybody is excited to play for this squad.”
“It doesn’t matter how many minutes you get,” Albarran said. “Everyone is excited for everyone. There are no toxic people on the team. We’re all friends.”
On Saturday, both teams experienced the joy of winning the district title – albeit very briefly for the Rams.
“I’ve never experienced the joy of winning with 40 seconds left to then be called back and then just not executing on our penalty kicks,” Valimont said. “It’s none of our guys’ fault. It’s a huge pressure moment they’ve never been in in their life. They made theirs and we missed ours.
“They were a good team, but let’s be honest. We battled them hard, we did a fantastic job. It’s probably the two best divisions in the Suburban One League. One of us had to win, one of us had to lose.”
Foley tipped his hat to the Rams, who closed out their successful season with a 10-6 record.
“I thought we took over a little bit in the second half – we just couldn’t break through,” the Redskins’ coach said. “It’s a tribute to them – they played solid defense, they were very organized.
“They tried double and triple teaming Gavin (Rowan) most of the night. They held him in check. He got free a couple of times but didn’t get great wood on some of the balls, but overall, I thought we played pretty well but were unlucky in the box. That’s really a tribute to the way Pennridge plays.”
Neshaminy (12-1-2, 6-0-2 SOL) is scheduled to host District 11 champion Emmaus in a state semifinal Tuesday.
EXTRA SHOTS: As for the controversial ending that saw Scary’s penalty kick waved off for encroachment and not retaken, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) rule states, “If there is an encroachment by the attacking team and the ball enters the goal, the goal does not count and the kick shall be retaken.” The NFHS governs PIAA play. Intelligencer/Bucks County Courier correspondent Rick Woelfel reported Saturday night that Valimont said he will be filing a protest, although the PIAA and District One do not recognize protests.
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