Abington advanced to the District 1 4A final while Central Bucks South and Council Rock North both earned berths in the state tournament. Abington/WC Rustin photos courtesy of John Gleeson, and CB South/Boyertown photos courtesy of Tracy Valko. Check back for galleries of both games: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f131331739
District 1 4A semifinal
#6 ABINGTON 2, #7 WEST CHESTER RUSTIN 0
Their celebration – once again shared with their home fans – began the moment the final whistle sounded. For the first time since 2018, the Ghosts are heading to the District 1 4A title game.
“I still haven’t comprehended it,” senior Braeden Brownholtz said. “It hasn’t really hit me yet. Hearing that whistle – it was an amazing feeling. Seeing our bench running out to us, giving us hugs. It’s amazing.”
“It felt amazing,” teammate Daniel Oliveira said. “It’s my third year playing for Abington. Before this, I never even knew what a district final was. Now all I want to do is win this. I’m so excited.”
Tuesday’s win erased memories of last year’s early exit when the Ghosts- the tournament’s fourth seed – had a first round bye and then was sent home after a second round 1-0 loss to Central Bucks East.
“Last year, we went out early, and it was so sad,” Brownholtz said. “We had such high hopes. This year, I didn’t want it to end early.
“Going into all those games, I was so nervous – not talking in the locker room. Now I’m comfortable. I realize – we’re one of the teams to beat. That just has helped me and the team play throughout this tournament.”
According to coach Randy Garber, this year’s squad shares a special camaraderie.
“This is a very tight-knit group,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “They like each other, they play like they like each other. The training the young coaches are giving them – day in and day out the same message – is so positive, and they just bought into it. You can see it on the field, you can see it off the field. It’s the difference.
“It is a special group. We are very fortunate that our defense is extremely strong in the back. We have speed, we have height, and we win a lot of balls, and we have some kids up top that can put the ball in the back of the net, so we’ve got a good combination, and they work hard.”
Less than 10 minutes into the game, Brownholtz scored from 20 yards with an assist from Brian O’Neill.
The senior center mid described the sequence that led to a goal that turned out to be the game-winner.
“The ball was with our right back (Brandon) Escobar,” Brownholtz said. “I saw an opening, so I checked to him. He gave me the ball – I checked my shoulder, saw I could turn. I didn’t have the best touch, but I just went with it.
“Their left back committed to me – I cut in, beat him, and then the center back stepped in. I took a touch past him, and all I heard was ‘Shoot it, shoot it.’ I looked up, I noticed I dragged the goalie near post, and I just slotted it back post. It felt amazing, and it sets the tone. Especially at our place, it’s hard to score on us. Our coach had told us – expect to go up, prepare to go down, and we just played with that.”
There was no overstating the significance of that early goal.
“We knew we wanted to keep the ball in their third of the field offensively,” Garber said. “We talked about shooting the ball from distance and then following it up, especially with the conditions and weather.
“Brownholtz just hit a stellar ball. Many goalkeepers wouldn’t have gotten to that. He hit it in the corner, it was low, it was struck well. Pretty much the ball had eyes and went in the back of the net, but we talked about hitting balls from distance. We talked about getting corner kicks and putting pressure on their defense, and it paid off.”
With 15 minutes remaining in the opening half, the Ghosts turned a corner kick into a goal with Brian O’Neill taking the kick, and Peter Cleary heading it in for a 2-0 lead that held until the final whistle.
“We come here on our field, and we just get it done,” Oliveira said. “It was the energy – we wanted it more than them. We got our goal early, and we just had to hold it. We’re a family, it’s a really big family.”
Once again, the Ghosts’ defense excelled, posting their 10th shutout of the season.
“Shoutout to my brother Jose (Rosario-Martinez), I have Brandon Escobar on the right, Oscar (Hoffmann) and my boy Justin (Waterfall),” said Oliveira. “We’re a big family, we stay together, we do everything together, and we just work for each other, and if we do go down, we go right back up. It feels amazing to get a shutout. It’s a team effort though.”
As for earning a spot in the district title game, Oliveira said the team did not look that far down the road
“Coming into the preseason, we said we were going to take it one step at a time,” Oliveira said “Our first step was win the league –we got that done. Now it’s districts and then we go to states. We thought we’d get it done, we knew we had the capabilities to do it. It’s like a dream come true. We’re actually in there.”
Tuesday’s district semifinal was the fourth straight home game at Schwarzman Stadium.
“We’ve been very, very fortunate that we had some breaks in the fact that we had home games straight through the whole entire district, which is huge,” Garber said. “This is not an easy place to come in and play. We’re probably the only one left that has natural grass.
“It’s like old school – it’s a football field, it’s a little bit narrow, but you play all season to get the home field advantage. In this day and age for whatever reason, no one wants to host playoff games. When you play at home, you have an advantage. No matter what the surface is, but especially in our case, it is huge. They come in and look at the grass and say, ‘Wow, we’re playing on grass.’ These kids are so used to turf. Everywhere they go. Sometimes when they play on grass, it’s a little more difficult.”
The Ghosts’ string of home games will end on Saturday when Abington (20-2, 15-1 SOL) will face top-seeded Conestoga at Spring-Ford High School at 3 p.m. The game is Abington’s first against a higher seed, but the players, according to Oliveira, don’t mind.
“Who doesn’t like an underdog story?” the Ghosts’ junior center back said.
Garber acknowledges that Conestoga has had his team’s number.
“Right now, I think I’m 0-3, 0-4, but it’s always been at their place,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “Hey, they’re a great team. We’ve got to make some adjustments and figure a way to slow their offense down.
“They’ll have their hands full. We’ll come up with a plan. We have plenty of time. We’re going to rest tomorrow and then start on Thursday and figure it out. We have a good young team that does a lot of work. We’re looking forward to it. It’s a good challenge for us.”
West Chester Rustin 0-0 0
Abington 2-0 2
District 1 4A playback games
#12 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 0, #8 LOWER MERION 0 (2 OT, 5-4 PKs)
Penalty kicks are a cruel way to determine a winner in soccer.
Council Rock North, however, has got to almost have a comfort level with them since Tuesday’s contest was their second in five days determined by PKs, the first one sending Central Bucks East home for the season last Thursday and Tuesday’s PKs bringing an end to Lower Merion’s season.
The stakes were high in Tuesday’s playback game with the winner advancing to states and the loser going home for the season.
“When you think about it, my career could end in this game, especially going to penalty kicks,” Rock North senior Michael Pinho said. “But I trust my guys to pull through in any given moment. I’m just sitting there praying.
“It’s scary, I guess that’s a simple way to put it. I got on my knees and said a prayer real quick and huddled around my guys praying. That’s all you can do at that moment.”
The teams were deadlocked 4-4 after the first set of PKs, so it was on to a second set.
“We picked a new five,” Stackhouse said. “Our first guy in the new five – Keertan Palayam- made his. Their second guy got saved by our (goalie), Calvin (Hopkins).”
Hopkins’ save sealed the Aces fate, and the Indians are headed to the PIAA 4A state tournament for the first time since 2017.
“In 2018, it was the same exact scenario,” Stackhouse said. “We went down there to play Lower Merion, and they knocked us out, and they ended up going. We owed them one big time.”
For Pinho, the win was especially gratifying.
“It’s huge – I love it,” the senior defensive back said. “Coming from a kid who didn’t get much playing time in middle school to now being a captain of a state team – it’s great.”
As for the game itself, the Indians had to contend with the Aces packing it in on defense,
“They parked the bus,” Stackhouse said. “We held the ball 70 percent of the game. They definitely lacked the depth we had. They were hanging on just to get to overtime and hanging on to get to penalty kicks.”
Neither team scored in 80 minutes of regulation and two 15-minute overtimes.
“Their keeper made three fantastic saves over the course of the game and overtime – he stoned Logan Adams with 28 seconds left in the second overtime – one-on-one,” Stackhouse said. “We went 17 deep today, and there was a definite better adjustment and approach by the guys coming off the bench today as opposed to Saturday. I think deep down inside both teams knew that we were probably the better team.
“All credit to Lower Merion. They play a very good ball handling game, but the problem was – even in their first 11, they might have lacked a kid or two that could push them over the top. Whereas our first 11, we’re solid, and we went forward and attacked and attacked and attacked. It was frustrating, but our guys knew – fresh legs are coming in behind you, so you’ll get another shot.”
“From a defensive perspective, it’s really frustrating,” Pinho said. “We’re playing an entire game in their half. We can’t score, we’re just waiting.”
Rock North’s stingy defensive unit once again delivered a shutout.
“The key to our defense is definitely communication,” Pinho said. “We always let up no more than four or five shots a game, and we have a great goalkeeper behind us (Calvin Hopkins).”
Tuesday’s game had an early start since Lower Merion doesn’t have lights.
“It was great,” Pinho said. “We got out right after third period. We had a little team meal with the coaches, talked about the game and kept our minds right. Then we headed out for the hour bus ride.”
Stackhouse lauded the play of his team in a game of limited offensive opportunities for both sides.
“They put seven guys in front of the box and hoped to outlet people, and they just couldn’t get it done,” the Indians’ coach said. “Our defensive unit – Mike Pinho, Dom Czacher and Jasper Ring – might be one of the best around. Isaac Morais and David Igval played in a defensive central midfield role, and they both played a fantastic match. David is still banged up, battling an injury, so that’s why he and Isaac Morais shared time.
“Ari Pollack had one (heck) of a game again. I also have to give credit to Jack Randolph – he played a very, very good game for us, probably one of his best games of the year if not the best game of his career. It was a total team effort.”
Making the Indians’ journey to a state berth even more remarkable is the fact that they are doing it without two regulars – junior Zayd Najimi (transfer ineligible) and sophomore Derek Miller (injury).
“Derek Miller, a sophomore who’s going to be a very good player for us, started most of the games this year, and he got a hairline fracture in the Neshaminy game with only two games left in the season, so he hasn’t played,” Stackhouse said. “We’re just deep, and we’re young too. We only lose five guys from this team. Right now, there are only three seniors on the field all the time.”
“Losing two starters was huge for us,” Pinho said. “But our whole mentality every year, especially this year is – next man up. No drop-offs when we sub or people get injured., just have faith in the next guy to come through for our team.”
Council Rock North (16-3-2, 12-2-2 SOL) will host #14 Central Bucks South in Friday’s fifth place game (3:30 p.m.). Both teams are advancing to the state tournament.
Council Rock North 0-0-0-0 0 (5 PKs)
Lower Merion 0-0-0-0 0 (4 PKs)
#14 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 2, #15 BOYERTOWN 0
It’s been 12 years since the Titans advanced to the state tournament, but that streak came to a welcome end with Tuesday’s win over the Bears in a high stakes playback
game with the winner advancing to states and the loser going home.
“I am so happy for these boys,” South coach Kyle Pettican said. “Last year, we had a great first season since I have been here, and we won the division. Unfortunately, we never got to experience states after losing this exact game.
“We were not letting that happen again. To be honest, I thought we dominated most of the match but couldn’t find the net. We hit the bar four times. And the post once.”
The Titans scored the only goal they would need midway through the first half when Nate MacLeod scored off a rebounded shot from Oleksandr Sokol.
The Titans took that 1-0 lead into halftime.
“Sometimes dominating the match is not enough – as we saw against Abington (in a 1-0 loss),” Pettican said. “Therefore, goalkeeper Pat VanLuvanee had to come up big for us on a couple occasions towards the end when they
tried to put the pressure on.
“We sealed the win with four minutes to go when freshman Tyler Jaskelewicz stepped up to the plate and went on a solo run from half, beating a couple defenders and slotted it past the keeper.”
The Titans coach gave big credit to Pat VanLuvanee, Sean Clevenstine, and Tyler Jaskelewicz.
“We are so excited because to my knowledge – our school’s soccer program has only been to states once,” Pettican said. “I could not be happier with this group.”
Central Bucks South (16-4-2, 11-3-2 SOL) will travel to #12 Council Rock North on Friday at 3:30 p.m. for the fifth-place game.
Boyertown 0-0 0
Central Bucks South 1-1 2
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