Jarrad Saffren recaps the games featuring SOL boys soccer teams in Tuesday’s PIAA Class 4A opening round. CR North and North Penn advanced to Saturday’s quarterfinal round.
By Jarrad Saffren
Three Suburban One League boys soccer teams made the PIAA Class 4A tournament.
All three played first round state playoff games Tuesday. Two—Council Rock North and North Penn—won. One—Neshaminy—lost.
The results and recaps are below.
CLASS 4A
#1-3 North Penn 1, #12-1 La Salle College 0
Both teams were evenly matched. North Penn just capitalized on a chance. La Salle College never did.
Mike Kohler—as usual—created the chance and capitalized. In the first half, Kohler received the ball on the right side, raced down the goal line, and beat a defender. Another defender sprinted in and took Kohler down.
North Penn was awarded a penalty kick.
“It was the right call,” North Penn coach Paul Duddy said.
Kohler rocketed the ball past the keeper. Neither team scored again.
North Penn played stifling defense. Knights’ goalkeeper Bobby Dean made six saves.
“We played very well defensively. They did, too. It was a defensive game. We had more chances by two or three,” Duddy said. “They put pressure on us and we were able to fend them off. We limited the number of good chances for them. And that’s not easy to do. They are a great team.”
North Penn limited La Salle’s chances by playing clean defense.
“We limited the number of fouls we took, which limited the number of chances they had,” Duddy said.
North Penn had not even made the state playoffs since 2004. The Knights lost in the first round that year.
“It’s been years since we won one,” Duddy said. “I don’t even know how many, to be honest.”
North Penn (18-4) will play District One Class 4A champion West Chester Henderson in a quarterfinal Saturday. West Chester Henderson beat Cumberland Valley 6-2 in the first round.
“West Chester Henderson is a great team,” Duddy said. “I have to go back and look at them. I haven’t thought far ahead. I just want to enjoy tonight and look at it tomorrow.”
North Penn 1-0 1
La Salle College HS 0-0 0
#1-4 Council Rock North 2, #11-1 Emmaus 1 (OT)
Council Rock North advanced to the second round of the state tournament with a dramatic overtime win. Grant Bonas turned a Nikita Ilin pass into the game winner four minutes into OT.
The Indians took an early lead when Eric Levine (Noah Ehlin assist) scored in the third minute, and that 1-0 lead held until the Green Hornets knotted the score in the 51st minute, setting the stage for overtime.
The Indians lost two straight games before Tuesday. They lost 5-0 to West Chester Henderson in a district semifinal and 2-1 to North Penn in the third-place game.
CR North (17-4-2) will play District Three’s No. 2 seed—Elizabethtown—Saturday in a state quarterfinal.
Council Rock North 1-0-1 2
Emmaus 0-1-0 1
#3-1 Hempfield 1, #1-5 Neshaminy 0
Much like in the North Penn-La Salle game, one team—Hempfield—finished a chance. The other—Neshaminy—never did.
“They buried a really good chance with about eight minutes to go,” Neshaminy coach Tom Foley said. “We had two or three good chances that their goaltender made great saves on. That was the story of the game.”
Hempfield did control more possessions.
“They are a pretty good team. They had a lot of possessions,” Foley said. “We defended well. We actually played pretty well.”
Hempfield—like Central Bucks East in the district fifth-place game—focused on stopping Neshaminy’s dynamic midfielder, Dan Grindrod.
“We didn’t get much out of the midfield today. They clogged the midfield,” Foley said. “But we played hard and generated some shots. The little bit better team won tonight. But we gave them a run and created some chances.”
Neshaminy ends 2016 at 16-7. The Redskins will lose four senior starters, including Division I recruit Dylan McDonald (Syracuse University) and Grindrod (West Chester University).
“Those are big shoes to fill. (Keeper) Val (Scarsellatto) is a big loss, too,” Foley said. “But we have some guys coming back. So I’m confident.”
Prolific forwards Jack McCourt, Vince Hosephros and Chase Rider will be back.
“Our goal scorers are coming back,” Foley said.
Neshaminy 0-0 0
Hempfield 0-1 1
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