Visit the photo gallery at the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/.
By Alex Frazier
As Downingtown West’s players packed up and headed toward the exit at West Chester East Tuesday evening, Neshaminy’s seniors were embracing each other and coach Rich Reice.
It was the last time they would play together, thanks to the Whippets who took control from the first whistle and ultimately dominated play to end the Redskins’ season, 4-0, in the PIAA Class AAA state semifinals.
“They’re such a great team,” said senior midfielder Zach Turchi. “They have talent all over the field. We just didn’t have it tonight.”
It was the third time the two teams met. Downingtown won the first meeting in the regular season, 2-0, and then took the district championship from the Redskins, 1-0, in overtime.
“It was not a lack of effort,” said defender Tristan Emig. “Clearly everyone wanted it, but for whatever reason, it wasn’t clicking tonight. And it absolutely was for them. We couldn’t stop them.”
It was the second time the Neshaminy seniors had fallen just shy of their goal. Two years ago Council Rock North knocked them out of the semifinals.
Despite a topsy turvey regular season in which the Redskins finished fifth in the National Conference and entered the district playoffs as the 12th seed, the veteran seniors knew what to do come playoff time, and it was that experience that vaulted them all the way to the state semifinals.
“Having a senior-laden team, we knew what it was all about,” said Emig. “We knew that playoffs is mostly about physical play and beating all the people to the ball. We were more comfortable coming into games.”
Downingtown’s Chris Harmon was a one-man wrecking machine. The senior forward scored three of the Whippets’ four goals and could have had three more if not for the heads-up play of Neshaminy keeper Alex Smith.
“He’s been playing good for us all year,” said Turchi. “He makes big saves and keeps us in games. Sometimes this game we just left him to hang out and dry. There was nothing he could do.”
Neshaminy actually had the first shot. Emig used his rifle arm to lob a throw-in in front of the goal. Turchi got a foot on it, but sent the shot just wide of the left post. That turned out to be the Redskins’ best and only shot of the first half.
Smith, meanwhile, was busy at the other end keeping the game scoreless for the first 40 minutes. In the 28th minute from the right side, Harmon unloaded a long shot that was headed for the upper left corner with plenty of English on it, but Smith stayed with it, leaped and tipped it wide.
Less than a minute later, Joe Sales broke up the left side and went in on Smith one-on-one. Smith got a hand on it and the ball ricocheted off the crossbar. And with seven minutes left, Harmon managed to get off a shot near the endline that Smith grabbed.
The second half didn’t go so well for Neshaminy. Less than two minutes in, Emig made a save on a shot by Sales that got by Smith. Then at the 37:46 mark, Travis Cantrell hit a corner from the right side that landed in front of the goal. Harmon got his foot on it and finished it into the left side.
Twelve minutes later Smith came up big on Harmon once again, deflecting his one-on-one shot wide left. But on the ensuing corner, Cantrell hooked up with Andrew Solimeo on the right post to make it 2-0.
“We usually defend them OK,” said Reice. “One goal is uphill, two is like Mt. Everest against Downingtown.”
The Redskins didn’t panic. After all, they had been down two before and come back.
“Usually when we start facing adversity like that, we tend to step it up,” said Emig.
But this time it didn’t happen.
Neshaminy made a valiant effort to get back into it, but with the defense pushed up, Downingtown took advantage.
The Whippets put the nail in the coffin when a ball got in behind the defense on the left side. Smith came way out hoping to beat Cantrell to it. But Cantrell won the foot race and passed to a wide-open Harmon, who made it 3-0.
Harmon completed his hat trick, converting a throw-in with 11:27 left.
“They came out even harder in the second half,” said Turchi. “We just got caught off guard and they took it us. We had a lot of miscommunication.”
With about eight minutes left, both teams emptied their benches.
“We had to play about as flawless game as we could,” said Reice.
The loss was devastating to the seniors, but they were still able to put the season in perspective.
“The reason we made it this far was because of our hard work and heart,” said Emig. “We played teams that had more skills, more speed and more talent, but I don’t think we played any team that had more heart than us.”
Neshaminy finished its season at 16-17-2.
“It was an awesome ride and we had a great season,” said Turchi. “We’re not going to remember this game. We’re gong to remember all the times we won to get to this game and get back here.”
“Tonight’s hard,” said Emig, “but after tonight, we can look back and realize we beat a great West Chester Henderson team in the playoffs, beat Pennsbury, our cross-town rivals, beat Lower Merion, beat North Catholic, beat Lower Merion again. We beat some really good teams.”
•••
Central Bucks East couldn’t catch a break in the other Class AAA semifinals. For the second year in a row, the Patriots were eliminated by Peters Township, 2-0.
Their old nemesis, lack of finishing, came back to haunt them.
“We missed a couple of clear opportunities in the first half,” said East coach Mike Gorni, “and Christian Brandsteller got behind us once. He’s a jet and he got a semi-breakaway and he finished it, and that was only one of two maybe three opportunities for them in the first half.”
East outplayed Peters significantly in the second half, yet came away empty handed, despite some deep throw-ins and corners.
East outplayed Peters significantly in the second half, yet came away empty handed, despite some deep throw-ins and corners.
“We missed a couple of shots wide. Their keeper made a couple of real good saves and we put a couple over the bar,” said Gorni.
As the clock wound down, East made a push forward and Peters took advantage when Nick Wilcox scored on the Indians’ first shot with about 10 minutes left when he got in behind the defense.
“It was a heartbreaking loss,” said Gorni. “We had many opportunities and we were just not fortunate enough to score the ball. If we had gotten one tonight, we would have been fine.
“Even their coach said, ‘You were the better team,’ and I said, ‘I know. That’s why it’s hard to swallow.’”
East finished its season at 19-4-1.
Downingtown West 4, Neshaminy 0
Goals: Chris Harmon (DW) 3, Andrew Solimeo (DW)
Assists: Travis Cantrell (DW) 3
Shots: Downingtown West 19, Neshaminy 3
Saves: Pat Taylor (DW) 1, Alex Smith (N) 11
Corners: Downingtown West 5, Neshaminy 0
Fouls: Downingtown West 12, Neshaminy 12
Yellow cards: Andrew Solimeo (DW), Kyle Soroka (N)
- Log in to post comments
0
