Springfield Twp notched a decisive win in Tuesday’s PIAA Class 3A opener. In Class 4A, Pennridge was a winner while CB East saw its season end in penalty kicks. Springfield/Lower Dauphin photos provided courtesy of Michael Rice. Check back for a gallery of photos: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f131331739
Class 3A
#1-1 SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 6, #3-4 LOWER DAUPHIN 0
(Player comments courtesy of Andrew Robinson @ADRobinson3)
In a season of firsts, the Spartans made their program’s first ever trip into the state tournament a memorable one, erupting for three first- half goals and never looking back.
“The first three goals – I told them at halftime, they were three beautiful goals,” Springfield coach Dan Meder said. “It’s what they’ve done all year. They’ve attacked teams. Some teams have done a good job of trying to stifle us, but there have been games like this one where everything we do seems to click, and it goes in. We just have a well-balanced group of players, and we have more than 11 this year, which is really rare for Springfield. Sometimes everything you do works.”
The fun started early for the Spartans when senior captain Peter Schmidt scored on a header off a cross by sophomore Nick Hanushchak less than a minute into the game. Midway through the half, Hanushchak turned a cross from Riley Martin into a spectacular goal, connecting on a diving header.
Three minutes later, Hanushchak, who had a hand in all three first-half goals, connected on his second goal, this one with a Nicholas Marino assist that gave the Spartans a 3-0 lead.
“He’s really stepped up in the postseason,” Meder said of Hanushchak. “He was pretty quiet during the early part of the season, but he’s getting better and better as the season keeps going.”
Nine minutes into the second half, Ben Hubley scored with a Martin assist, and when Martin – who finished with a goal and two assists – turned a Vincent Kerper throw-in into a goal, the Spartans led 5-0. With just over six minutes remaining, Hanushchak connected on his third goal to complete his hat trick, giving the Spartans their final margin of victory.
“This is my first year at Springfield and it means a lot to be a part of getting us to where we are,” Hanushchak said. “We just want to keep going and finish out strong.”
Hanushchak’s third goal almost didn’t happen.
“We had a sub up to get him off, and he took a shot right before the sub came in – another beautiful goal,” Meder said. “I don’t think there is a bad goal, but they were all really nice goals.”
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The final score, according to the Spartans’ coach, was not a reflection of the talent level of the Spartans’ opponent.
“We scouted them – we knew they had some good players,” Meder said. “There were a couple kids in the midfield that were very good. We just thought if we did our thing and played our game, we’d be okay, but if we didn’t, if we opened up any doors, they were going to take advantage of that.
“Julian (Casabon-Aznar), our goalkeeper, had to make some important saves for us to keep the game under control. He had six saves, and there have been plenty of games this year where he’s had one save or no saves. They definitely pressed, they didn’t go away. They had some really nice players that were dangerous.”
For the Spartans, the list of firsts continues to grow. The season that included the program’s first division title, then the first district crown and the program’s first trip to the state tournament now includes – thanks to Tuesday’s win – the program’s first win in states.
“I told the team after the game – ‘Everything you guys are doing is a first. Now you have your first state playoff win, so let’s see where this thing goes,’” Meder said. “It’s crazy.”
There’s no mistaking this year’s squad has put its name in the program record books and has set the bar high for future
Spartan squads.
“For me, it means a lot being captain and it being my senior year, last year of high school soccer,” Schmidt said. “It’s a great group of guys, we won the league for the first time ever, we won districts for the first time ever, won the first game of the state playoffs. It’s meant a lot to me personally, I know it’s meant a lot to every single kid on this team and to all our fans, our principal and all the staff and directors at our school.”
The Spartans’ stiff regular season competition, which includes crossover games against some of the district’s top 4A teams, is paying dividends.
“Playing all those teams – they’re all like playoff games,” Meder said.
“It (also) helps that most of us are on high-level, competitive club teams so we know how to play or what the right play is,” Schmidt said. “It also comes down to consistency, we’re doing the same stuff in practice. We’re hitting the long balls, but we’re also doing possession drills, and it shows in the high-level balls we’re playing to each other and in finishing our chances.”
Springfield Township (19-3, 13-3 SOL) will face District 4 champion Selinsgrove in a PIAA quarterfinal contest on Saturday. Selinsgrove defeated District 11 champion Southern Lehigh 3-2 in Tuesday’s opening round.
Lower Dauphin 0-0 0
Springfield Township 3-3 6
Class 4A
#1-4 PENNRIDGE 4, #2-1 ABINGTON HEIGHTS 1
Sparked by a pair of goals from senior Shane Velez, the Rams took an early lead and never looked back on their way to a win that puts the team in the program’s record books – the first ever boys’ soccer squad to win a state playoff game.
“This means a lot, especially for the program since it’s been such a long time,” senior Shane Velez said. “To get the win, it was the first time in Pennridge history, so to be able to put our team that we had as a senior and leave our mark on the school – it was so great, and it was an amazing experience.”
Coach Pete Valimont was a junior on the last Pennridge boys’ soccer team to advance to the state tournament 25 years ago.
“It was a long night, but it was a heck of a night – one we’re not going to forget for a long time, I’m sure,” the Rams’ coach said. “Driving two hours north, staying positive and being able to make history. This is the first time the men’s program at Pennridge School District has ever won a game in states.
“My junior year – the last time we qualified – we lost in the first round to Cumberland Valley, so this had a lot of special meaning behind it. We’re going to enjoy it, live it up tonight, enjoy it a bit tomorrow, but when we get to practice tomorrow, all of our attention and our focus turns to Lower Merion.”
Three minutes into the game, the Rams got on the scoreboard when Troy Thanel scored off an assist from Fernando Columna.
“(Columna) broke down the side of the field, put the ball across, and Troy was on the backside and was able to one-time it into the back of the net,” Valimont said. “So that really opened things up.
“That was one of our first early, early chances to really set the tone, which was fantastic.”
“That (goal) was really big,” Velez said. “It gave us so much momentum, and we were able to keep pushing forward after that. They put their heads down a little because it was so early, so to get that momentum early on, especially at a faraway game where all the fans are mostly theirs, it’s a great momentum shift.”
With eight minutes remaining in the first half, the Rams scored on a corner kick with Shane Velez connecting on a header. Pat Fannon had the assist. The Rams took that 2-0 lead into halftime.
“Size-wise, we were just bigger, so the restarts really worked out for us – we had a lot of chances,” Valimont said.
Seven minutes into the second half, the Rams came up with a huge defensive play.
“They had a ball that came across, and the kid should have scored, but Roman Arcade came out of nowhere to clear it off the line,” Valimont said.
With 25 minutes remaining, Abington Heights scored to make it a 2-1 game.
“It got a little bit tight there,” Valimont said. “But four minutes later, Shane (Velez) hit a rocket. The ball came across and got cleared out. It was between the 20 and 25, and his full volley just absolutely demolished the ball into the back of the net. That was the backbreaker to make it 3-1.”
Velez connected for his third goal to put the game out of reach with 18 minutes remaining to put the Rams on top 4-1.
“Another ball down the sideline – Jared Hess was able to put it across, and Shane was able to be in the right spot at the right time for that one in a scrum,” Valimont said. “With 15 minutes left, we were able to get just about everyone in for the most part.
“We felt really good. Guys played their butts off. CJ (Dimmick) played really well. He made a couple of points blank saves. We always knew he was going to have to make one or two of them. We’d like him not have to make them but obviously feeling great about him back there, knowing he’ll take care of business.”
The keys to the game, according to Velez, were the team’s energy level and effort.
“We came out, and even though we had a two-hour bus ride, we were all buzzing around and ready to play,” Velez said. “We wanted to work hard, and we really wanted to get this win to make history for our school.”
Valimont lauded the play of his defense.
“Tommy McKinney, Andrew Parlee, Jhoa Hernandez and Roman Arcade did a really nice job. Abington Heights had moments where they were dangerous, but overall, we were able to control them,” the Rams’ coach said.
Making the Rams’ postseason run – advancing to the District 1 4A semifinals and earning the program’s first state tournament win– even more impressive is the fact that it came on the heels of a heartbreaking end to the season that saw the SOL Colonial crown the Rams appeared destined to win slip away after back-to-back losses to Central Bucks West and Central Bucks South.
“We knew we had a great bunch of guys put together, and we knew once we started playoffs – it was one game at a time,” Velez said. “You have 80 minutes to go and play. You don’t have to be the best team every single time, but you just have to work the hardest and win in those 80 minutes, so we knew if we grind it out every game, we had a great chance of going far.”
Pennridge (17-7, 11-5 SOL) will face District 1 champion Lower Merion in a quarterfinal game on Saturday.
“We’ve matched up with Lower Merion before in the preseason,” Velez said. “Both us and them have definitely changed tremendously, so it’s going to be a battle, but it’s 80 minutes to grind out. Anything can happen in playoffs.”
“Their coach Nico (Severini) and I are good friends, good soccer buddies,” Valimont said. “He’s got a fantastic program down there. My first teaching job was in Lower Merion – I did my student teaching there. I know the district well. They’ve knocked us out a couple of years in the past in (district) playoffs, so this should be a good game, and for us at least, it’s going to be a lot closer drive.”
Pennridge 2-2 4
Abington Heights 0-1 1
#11-1 PARKLAND 0, 1-5 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 0 (4-3 PKs)
The Patriots battled the District 11 champions to a scoreless tie after regulation, and when overtime could not determine a winner, the game was decided in penalty kicks with Parkland earning the 4-3 win.
It was a heartbreaking ending to a successful season for the Patriots.
“I thought we played extremely well for three-quarters of the game and just couldn’t find the net,” East coach Josh Isaacsohn said. “We had chances and played rock solid defense but simply couldn’t put it away.
“It was amazing season, and I’m very proud of the boys. Their effort and play were rewarded with a run at states. We have a lot to build on in years to come.”
Central Bucks East closed out its season with a 15-7-2 record overall. The Patriots were 10-4-2 in the SOL Colonials.
Central Bucks East 0-0-0-0 0
Parkland 0-0-0-0 0
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