CR North, North Penn, Abington & CB West were winners in the second round of the District One 4A Tournament on Wednesday. Abington/Downingtown East photos provided courtesy of Kathy Leister Photography; North Penn/Hatboro-Horsham provided by Keith Clemens Photography. CLICK HERE for a gallery of photos.
#1-16 Council Rock North 0, #1-1 Conestoga 0 (5-4 PKs)
Why not us?
Joe Stackhouse posed that question when asked about his team’s second round match against two-time defending state champion Conestoga, and then his team went out and answered that question. Why not us indeed?
The Indians – who fell to Conestoga 2-0 in last year’s district title game – pulled off a stunner, battling the Pioneers to a scoreless tie after two overtimes and then edging the perennial district power in penalty kicks.
“I think the kids were in shock because we just beat the number one team in the state,” Stackhouse said. “To be honest with you, I think we’re a meat and potatoes team. We haven’t been in any of the polls.
“The thing about Conestoga is – people say they’re not the team they were, but they’re a very good team. They only had one loss this year to the Haverford School.”
It was a change in strategy that was the difference in this win.
“You know what – the kids really bought into our game plan,” Stackhouse said. “We played a little bit differently than we normally play.
“We only played with one guy up top. If we had played with our normal two up top, they would have picked us apart. We only played with one up top and we slowed the game down in the middle of the field. To be honest with you, for the first 30 minutes, we were the better team.”
Making that strategy so effective was midfielder Sean Finneyfrock, who was moved to the top.
“Finneyfrock played the game of his life,” Stackhouse said. “By switching up to that one forward, we moved him out of the midfield and put him up top to play long balls too.
“All night he was one-on-three, so basically, his job was to hold the ball for possession until we got help to him. It’s a tactic a lot of teams use. If you have a kid that’s strong on the ball like he is, it works really well.”
The Indians had their opportunities, and in the closing seconds of regulation, the Pioneers saw a shot for the win go just wide left, setting the stage for two 15-minute overtime periods, but 110 minutes could not determine a winner.
“In the first overtime, they had the balance of play, and we were lucky to get out clean,” Stackhouse said. “The second overtime we had the balance of play and then we had a penalty kick with 38 seconds left.
“The kid that committed the foul also got injured on the play, so by the time they got the trainer, took him off at all, it was over three minutes before our kid got a chance to hit the ball. He had too much thought time, and their goalie made a good save on him.”
Then came the dreaded penalty kicks.
“We won the toss, so we decided to go second, Stackhouse said. “They made their first three, (goalie) Andrew (Daries) saved their fourth, and our fifth guy made his.”
Xavier Guerrero, Jeremy Smithline, Sean Finneyfrock and Zach Saifer were perfect on their PKs, and that left it up to Spencer Berman, who buried the game-winner.
“We end every practice in the stadium with penalty kicks,” Stackhouse said. “At the end of the stadium, there’s a grass plot, and if you miss your kick in practice, you have to go sit on what we call the ‘grass of shame,’ and any one of them could be there.
“Especially this year, we spent a lot of time on them knowing the team we were.”
Stackhouse lauded the play of Saifer and Smithline in the middle of the field.
“They just ate up everything,” Stackhouse said. “If Andrew (Daries) had to make two tough saves over the course of the game, that was it.
“We smothered them. Conestoga had real quick guys on each flank side, and (Ryan) Sirota and Berman just shut them down.
“That’s how we laid out the game. We handed them a picture of a field and mapped it out – how we needed to defend and when we gained possession how we needed to attack.”
Stackhouse credited assistants Robbie Flanagan, Brian Hoffman and Steve Sweazy for their roles.
“I don’t make too many decisions on my own,” the Indians’ coach said. “I make subs on the run without asking those guys, but the guys on the sidelines with me – I don’t make too many decisions without consulting with them.”
Council Rock North (15-4-1, 11-0-1 SOL) will travel to ninth-seeded Unionville for a quarterfinal game on Saturday. Unionville defeated eighth-seeded Harriton 4-1.
Council Rock North 0-0-0-0 0
Conestoga 0-0-0-0 0
#1-3 North Penn 4, #1-19 Hatboro-Horsham 0
The Knights pounced on the visiting Hatters early, erupting for four first-half goals on their way to the shutout win.
“We played high pressure, which we normally do, and we had the ball in our end a lot,” North Penn coach Paul Duddy said. “Our possession throughout the game was really good.”
Aidan Jerome (Ryan Stewart assist) put the Knights on the board 11 minutes into the contest.
“There was a ball bouncing around in the box, and Aidan Jerome stepped up and just hit a great shot on not a real easy ball to hit, but he did – he’s a very technical player,” Duddy said. “Hatboro-Horsham came down and put some pressure on us.
“There was a hand ball in the box against us, and they got a PK, and (goalie) Brett Schwengels made a great stop. That would have made it 1-1. If there was a chance Hatboro-Horsham was going to gain the upper edge, it would have been making that tie at 1-1 and then, of course, their confidence would be going through the roof, and we’d be questioning how we could dominate the first third of the game and be tied at one.”
Several minutes later, Jamie Stewart scored on a restart to put the Knights on top 2-0.
“He just cracked a great shot to the other corner, and the keeper didn’t have much of a chance,” Duddy said. “I think the pendulum swung in our favor at that point.”
A pair of goals from Luke McMahon in a four-minute span late in the half made it a 4-0 game. Carter Houlihan assisted on the first and Jared Huzar had an assist on the second.
Duddy acknowledged strong showings of several players.
“As always, Carter Houlihan had a great effort,” the Knights’ coach said. “His assist was pretty incredible. He made a run down the left side, beat a couple of guys and just served a great ball.
“Defensively, it was good to see Brett (Schwengel) and our defenders get a clean sheet.”
Hatboro-Horsham (11-8-1, 8-5-1 SOL) was coming off an opening round win over Perk Valley in penalty kicks.
“Hatboro-Horsham had played a game into OT the other night, and for us to have the bye – of course, we trained, but we had the luxury of having a bye,” Duddy said. “Maybe our legs were a little fresher for sure. Give credit to Hatboro-Horsham. They came out and played, but we were just on top of our game tonight.”
North Penn (18-1, 11-1) will face Central Bucks West in Saturday’s quarterfinal round. The two teams split the regular season meetings.
“The three of us (North Penn, CB West and Pennridge) have been after each other all season long,” Duddy said. “That’s always the nature of the Continental Conference.
“The draw was a little bit unfortunate. They’re a great team, (Stefan Szygiel) is a great coach, and now we see them again.”
Hatboro-Horsham 0-0 0
North Penn 4-0 0
#1-6 Central Bucks West 2, #1-11 Pennridge 1 (OT)
In this one, familiarity did not breed contempt, but more respect.
“We have such a great camaraderie with Pennridge,” CB West coach Stefan Szygiel said.“It took months and months of preparation between Pete (Valimont) and I to make the game happen a few weeks ago at Talen Energy Stadium, which was such a memorable experience for both of our programs, and then to draw each other (in the second round).
“Pete and I are close. It’s hard for either one of us to come out of that, especially with both of us having senior-heavy classes and guys who have been good model citizens for their programs. I’m glad we’re moving on, but I hate that it came at the expense of Pennridge."
This win didn’t come easy for the sixth-seeded Bucks, who beat the Rams twice by one goal each time during the regular season (including the memorable game at Talen Energy Stadium). They did it again in Thursday’s second round tournament game.
This one ended on a penalty kick midway through the first overtime that Colin Burn converted for the win.
“To me, it looked like a total scrum in the box,” Szygiel said. “We had numbers forward, we played a second ball back in. It just looked like a bunch of white jerseys, a bunch of black jerseys, and then one of my players went down.
“I didn’t have a good angle on it. You don’t want to see it go that way. Pete and I both would have wanted to see it won in the run of play, but neither of us have control over that.”
Valimont concurred.
“We were both kind of playing for penalty kicks (in the overtime) and it was kind of a fluke play,” Valimont said. “You don’t want to see it end that way. If it’s a corner kick and we miss a mark and they score it would have been easier to take. But the officials this year have done a great job.
“At the end of day, we had three really good officials working the game and the one thought he saw a foul in the box and West converted it.”
The win moved the Bucks (16-2, 11-1 SOL) into Saturday’s quarterfinals against another familiar foe in No. 3 North Penn (a team West split with during the regular season).
With a win, the Bucks would move to Tuesday’s semifinal round. A loss would send them to the playback portion of the bracket. The top five finishers in the tournament qualify for the PIAA state tournament.
“To play (Pennridge and now North Penn) three times is just how the playoff bracket shook out,” Szygiel said. “Both of us knew this was going to be a bear and whoever came out of it had to play North Penn again.
“Unbelievable, but that’s how the playoff draw shook out, and we embrace it. There’s nothing else you can do. We’ll be ready for them Saturday.”
West took a 1-0 lead to halftime when Jimi Leder found Luke Fuhrman, who knocked it home.
“We were sending numbers forward, we got a ball behind the back line,” Szygiel said. “Jimi Leder got a touch on it and Luke Fuhrman came in and finished it.
"I love how we played in the first half. I think we did 90 percent of what we talk about – the way we want to play, especially in a playoff atmosphere. We scored a nice goal. Defensively, we did a nice job, too.”
The Rams knotted things with about 21 minutes left in the second half when freshman Aidan Castle collected a ball that had deflected off teammate Matt Stevenson.
“In the second half, we came out exactly how we did in the first half,” Szygiel said. “The first 15 minutes we generated a ton of chances, just not finding the back of the net and not getting that final finish and final touch, and sure enough, Pennridge comes the other way, and they tie it up. All credit to them to hang in there. They were able to get numbers forward, they were able to put one away, and now the game changes. All the momentum shifted in their direction after that, and then we had to adjust. There were chances for both teams. The last 10 minutes could have gone either way.”
Regulation ended with the score deadlocked 1-1.
“We just didn’t play very well in the first half and the second half started off the same way,” Valimont said.“But we were able to score on a shot that hit the post and got by (goalie) Dylan Smith, which is never easy.It was a good kick in the pants for us. We started creating more chances and it really became a battle both ways.
“In the overtime, they got the penalty kick and their kid buried it. There was nothing (goalie) Matt Sheldon could do.”
While the loss ended their season, Valimont will remember this group for a long time.
“I’m so proud of my seniors,” the Rams’ coach said. “We had two wins in the (SOL Continental) conference last year and six this year. And 13 wins overall.
“We beat a good Neshaminy team in the first round and our only losses for the season came against North Penn and CB West and those teams are in the district quarterfinals.
“This has been one of my favorite teams and not because of how far we went. This senior class has been great. Forget about soccer, these are just fantastic people.
“Aidan Link and Matt Stevenson. Marco Grenda, Jack Gillespie, Nick Dunn, Jack Taplett. Our two goalies, Matt Sheldon and Ryan Mayhew. I can’t say enough about everybody on the team.”
Szygiel tipped his hat to Stevenson, who has been a fixture in the Rams’ lineup.
“For four years, we’ve watched this kid grow in the league and mature in the league,” the Bucks’ coach said. “He’s going to go on and play college ball. The league is going to miss having a player like that. It’s been great watching him for four years. He’s always been a handful, he’s always been hard to play against.
“He’s the same as the guys in my senior class. These guys have been through a lot together. Neither of us wanted it to end tonight.”
Pennridge closed out it season with a 13-5-2 record (6-4-2 SOL).
Pennridge 0-1-0 – 1
Central Bucks West 1-0-1 – 2
#1-4 Abington 2, #1-13 Downington East 0
The fit is a good one for Abington.
“We have a lot of pieces of the puzzle that you need to have a strong team,” veteran Abington coach Randy Garber said. “We’re really good in a lot of key places and that’s been a big help for us. And the kids work well together.”
That was indeed the case in the second round of the PIAA District One Class 4A tournament as the Ghosts blanked Downingtown East 2-0.
The victory moved the SOL American Conference chamipons (18-1, 13-1 SOL) into Saturday’s quarterfinals against No. 5 Lower Merion, which rallied past No. 12 Owen J. Roberts by a 2-1 score in its second-round matchup.
Saturday’s game will be played on the turf field at Penn State Abington off of Susquehanna Road.
With a win, the Ghosts would move to Tuesday’s semifinal round. A loss would send them to the playback portion of the bracket. The top five finishers in the tournament qualify for the PIAA state tournament.
“The weather is not supposed to be good, but the PIAA wants everybody to play Saturday,” Garber said. “So we’ll do the best we can. Obviously, you’d rather play in nicer conditions, but both teams have to play in it. We’re assured of at least two more games, but, of course, we want to win Saturday and get to the semifinals.”
The Ghosts played on their home grass field against the Cougars in what was an entertaining contest from start to finish.
“It really was a good game to watch,” Garber said. “Our kids enjoyed getting some time off and not playing in (Tuesday’s) the first round.
“That kept us focused on what we needed to do to get ready for a very good Downingtown East team. They’re well coached and organized, but they came a long way to play a 5 o’clock game. It was good to have a home game and I think we took advantage of it. They’re probably more of a turf team, but we were on the grass.
“There was no scoring in the first half and we talked at halftime about how the first goal in the second half could decide the game. That’s how it is in playoff soccer.”
The Ghosts would get that goal about 15 minutes into the second half and it came off a re-start right outside the penalty area.
“(Junior) Nevin Baer was brought down right on the edge of the box, another yard and it would have been a penalty kick for us,” Garber said.“But (senior) Sean Touey took it and just hit a beautiful shot. He couldn’t have thrown it in any better, it was just a stellar shot inside the near post.”
The goal was the 26th of the season for Touey and the 76th of his career.
“Sean just has a knack for scoring goals and that’s rare at this level,” Garber said. “He just does a great job for us.”
Abington, which has reached the district title game three times and won it in 2012, sealed the verdict with about 20 minutes left in regulation by scoring off another restart.
This time, Baer connected with Reese Gibbs, who knocked in a header to make it 2-0.
“That was another really nice goal,” Garber said. “Nevin served a beautiful ball and Reese put it away.“Things got a little sloppy after that. Downingtown East never quit and they pushed people forward, but we’re pretty big and strong in the back and our goalie, (senior) Alex Aycock, did another excellent job. It was his 13th shutout of the season.
“And our defenders are as steady as they come. Liam Campbell and Vincent Carosella, our big stopper back, and Nate Rose all got it done.
“Our whole team played extremely well. We’ll see what happens on Saturday, but I think we’ll be ready to go. This is one of the better teams that I’ve had in a long time.
“We have a great group of seniors and Reese Gibbs and Nevin Baer are Division I players and they’re only juniors. And they come out ready to go for every game and that’s all you can ask for.”
Downingtown East 0-0 – 0
Abington 0-2 – 2
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