Council Rock North edged Central Bucks West in PKs to earn a spot in Saturday night’s District One 4A final. Wissahickon remains alive in the battle for a state berth, thanks to its 2-0 upset of second-seeded Lower Merion in a playback game. Jarrad Saffren recaps both games.
By Jarrad Saffren
Three Suburban One League boys’ soccer teams remain in the District One Class 4A playoffs. Two—Central Bucks West and Council Rock North—have clinched PIAA Class 4A tournament spots. They met in a district semifinal on Wednesday night at War Memorial Field.
The third SOL team still alive is Wissahickon, which beat Lower Merion in a playback game on Wednesday. The Trojans can earn the fifth and final District One state tournament spot by winning the playback bracket.
Read about both games, and all possible state tournament scenarios, below.
#19 Council Rock North 0 (3), #7 Central Bucks West 0 (2)
Council Rock North deserved this one.
In regulation and two overtimes, so 110 minutes overall, the Indians outshot the Bucks 20-9, and 15-3 in shots on goal. North even hit the post on one second-half shot.
But West keeper Dylan Smith did what he has been doing for three years: Gave his team a chance to win, making 14 saves, many of the diving and point-blank variety. Smith did all he could. He just couldn’t match his counterpart—North’s Ed Mancinelli—in the shootout.
Mancinelli stopped West’s first, second and fifth shots. Smith blocked North’s second and third attempts. Mancinelli was not cold even after facing so few shots during the run of play.
“Eddie is stone cold to begin with. Sometimes I worry if he’s got a pulse,” said North coach Joe Stackhouse. “So I’m not worried about Eddie.”
With the shootout tied at two, North’s Zach Saifer blasted the ball into the upper right corner of the net. Then, with North up 3-2 and West down to its final shot, Mancinelli leaped and batted the ball away from the net.
The North fans roared and the North players raced down the field to mob their keeper. “Eddie came up big. He played a crazy game. Hats off to him,” Saifer said. “I’m proud of how we played. Connor O’Donnell is a beast in the midfield, and he’s really carried our team.”
Jon Pugh and Jeremy Smithline scored North’s first two goals in the shootout. Bailey Moyer and Kyle Holt scored for CB West.
Going into the shootout, with Smith on his side, West coach Stefan Szygiel thought his team might steal one.
“We don’t play for shootouts, but all the boys take confidence in it,” he said.
“North played better than we did, top to bottom. I would say it was 65 percent them, 35 percent us,” Szygiel added. “They deserved to win it. We just didn’t have Dylan’s back tonight.”
CR North is a possession team, and a hot one, having won four straight district playoff games over higher seeds, allowing no goals during the run of play in those games.
“Eddie has been great all year for us,” Stackhouse said. “And the back four in front of him has played really well.” North’s backline of Ryan Pave, Akash Shah, TJ Grube and Smithline has stifled opponents.
The Indians (15-6-1) will play top seed Conestoga on Saturday night in the district championship. CB West (16-5) will play No. 13 Kennett in the third place game on Saturday.
Council Rock North 0-0-0-0 0 3
Central Bucks West 0-0-0-0 0 2
#11 Wissahickon 2, #2 Lower Merion 0
Wissahickon upset the No. 2 seed and stayed in contention for the fifth and final state tournament spot from District One.
Trey Schwartz scored both Wissahickon goals, and Eddie Fortescue assisted on both. Wissahickon goalkeeper Jun Yuh made four saves. Yuh’s backline of Justin Ryan, Gabe Kessler, Michael Steitz and Matt Om played well in front of him.
“We came in with confidence,” said Wissahickon coach Stuart Malcolm. “And we played very well.”
The Trojans have been hot lately, but they did not play their best game in a 1-0 quarterfinal loss to CR North on Saturday.
“We said to them that they just needed play their game and not worry about the opponent,” Malcolm said. “I think that’s how we were able to beat a higher seed tonight.”
Wissahickon (15-5-2) will play another higher seed—No. 9 Perkiomen Valley—in the fifth place game on Saturday.
“I think we have a good shot,” Malcolm said.
Wissahickon 1-1 2
Lower Merion 0-0 0
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