Council Rock North fell to top-ranked Conestoga in the district title game while Central Bucks East edged archrival Central Bucks South in the consolation game.
District One Class AAA Final
#1 Conestoga 2, #6 Council Rock North 1
Council Rock North players weren't upset so much that they lost the District Final to top-seeded Conestoga as they were upset by the way in which they lost.
The Indians, the sixth seed in the district tournament, had prided themselves on their stingy defense in the last five weeks of the season. But it was a defensive miscommunication with less than five minutes left in regulation that allowed the Pioneers to poke in the go-ahead goal and claim the 2-1 victory and the District One title in Saturday's championship game played at Harriton High School.
Nick Laganelli made the Indians pay for a moment's hesitation, when North goalkeeper Will Terry and defender Billy McConnell waited a split second too long to play a bouncing ball and Laganelli stepped between them and headed it into the net with 4:29 left in regulation.
"It would have been better to lose on a really nice goal," said Indians' senior Ian Fitzsimmons. "But we made a mistake and they just kind of scored on a fluke at the end.
"We hung with them. They're a really good team, they play soccer really well, but we definitely hung in there with them."
The Indians, in fact, held the lead for a good portion of the game. Despite being outshot 7-2 in the first half and 16-4 for the game, North made the most of an offensive restart when Chris Kulczytzky fired in the ball and Alec Neumann slipped through the defense to head it past Conestoga keeper Clarke Fox in the seventh minute. In a tight defensive battle that saw few sustained offensive chances the rest of the first half, the Pioneers started getting some good shots at the net in the second half and scored the equalizer in the 55th minute on a low liner by Danny Gonzalez.
"We had a strategy and we kind of implemented it, but they're good," Fitzsimmons said. "They give you a little space on the ball so you have a little bit of time, but they drop off and defend so well, it's tough to get something going.
"Usually we're pretty confident when we get that early lead. We were going to capitalize and defend. Unfortunately, they were able to get in and get those two goals."
The Indians were held without a shot for a long stretch of the second half, and Terry (nine saves) came up with big stops time and time again until the Pioneers knocked in the game-winner.
"We played 60 good minutes of soccer and 20 bad minutes," said North coach Wendell Beres. "And a team like Conestoga, at this stage of the game, you can't play 20 bad minutes of soccer. They were good.
"I'll take the blame for not having fresh legs at the end of the game, but at the same time, I went with the guys I thought wanted it the most, and unfortunately they ran out of steam a little bit. As long as it doesn't happen on Tuesday (in the first round of the state tournament) we'll be just fine. We had a little bit of a miscommunication, and that doesn't happen much. I'd rather that happen tonight than Tuesday night because we're going to fix that. It's not going to happen again."
Council Rock North, which will take the second seed from District One, will visit District 11 champion Emmaus in Tuesday's opening round of the state tournament at a site and time to be determined.
With the ultimate goal of a state championship now the focus, the Indians will need to brush off the loss and turn their attention toward their next opponent.
"It's good to see them upset, it's good to see them hungry," Beres said. "We won't really know if (this game) is behind them until we see them train on Monday. But this is a great group of kids and the reason they're great is because they don't let this stuff get to them, they use it as motivation going forward, and hopefully they'll use it for Tuesday night's game."
It would seem that -- before their silver medals had time to turn cold in the frigid outside temperatures -- the Indians were doing just that.
"It's really nice to see a team that plays soccer as well as they do, because in states, every team is going to be like that," Fitzsimmons said. "We wish we could have won, but it's preparation for states.
"We're already on to the next game. We'll see them again in three games."
Consolation final:
#2 Central Bucks East 2, #12 Central Bucks South 1 (OT)
Robert Salvo scored his first goal of the season on an assist from Miguel Diaz as Central Bucks East defeated Central Bucks South, 2-1, in overtime of the District One Class AAA Consolation Final Saturday evening at Harriton High School.
"It was really nice for Robert Salvo to get one," said Patriots' coach Mike Gorni. "He's played really hard and done a lot of good work. Sometimes it's a nice thing for a kid like that to get it."
East rallied from a goal down against a resilient South squad that lost goalkeeper Matt Weigner to a red card on a goal-saving takedown outside the box in the first half. As a result of the red card, Weigner was forced to leave the game and the Titans played the rest of the game a man down.
"Our kids stepped up a notch," South coach Don Brady said. "They stepped in, put pressure on them, even got some chances, but it's hard, especially with this level of a game. I'm very proud of the boys."
"I thought South, especially being a man down, played brilliantly," Gorni said. "Their coaches did a really good job of organizing them, and it often happens with 10 guys, they play back a little harder and smarter and they dug in."
South opened the scoring when Michael Serban scored on a corner kick in the 11th minute. East tied it up 11 minutes later when Ben Marks found Sean Jenkins to knot the score.
South was led the rest of the way by the stellar play of Connor Stackhouse, a junior midfielder who stepped between the pipes.
"Connor, whether he's in the middle of the field or in back of our 10, you can see he can play a good ball," Brady said. "He distributes well, calms things down for us. He was very composed, even in that situation."
"Connor Stackhouse was incredible," Gorni added. "He was outstanding. He did a great job, turned away six or seven shots."
By defeating their local rivals, the Patriots claim the third seed from District One. They will visit District 2 champion Abington Heights in a Tuesday game at a time and location to be determined.
"This game was really hard-played, and it's a huge game," Gorni said. "People miss sight of it, but these are two teams in the same school district in the Final Four in the district and final 16 in the state, and they know each other so well.
"Now we go on even territory in preparation, and preparation is really important to us. We know we play Abington Heights, so we're going to be going up the Northeast Extension up there. And we know it's going to be cold."
Central Bucks South will take the fourth seed into the tournament and will visit District 3 champion Central Dauphin on Tuesday, also at a time a place to be determined.
"As long as we keep the same kind of effort and intensity we had today, we always have a chance," Brady said.
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