Two SOL teams advanced to Tuesday’s state semifinal round – the Council Rock North boys’ squad and the Pennridge girls’ team.
PIAA CLASS AAA BOYS TOURNAMENT
Council Rock North 1, Hempfield 0
It may have been a boring afternoon for Will Terry, but that's just fine for the Council Rock North boys’ soccer team. The Indians' goalkeeper may not have seen much action, but that was due to the exemplary defensive effort in front of him, particularly in the midfield, as the District One runner-up Indians topped District 3 runner-up Hempfield in Saturday's state quarterfinal, played at West Chester East High School.
"Our midfield defense shut the door today," Council Rock North coach Wendell Beres said. "That's been our problem, but everyone stepped it up today. I don't think Will Terry touched the ball until about 15 minutes into the second half.
"This was the best game of our year so far."
Beres credited all the Indians who contributed to the midfield effort -- Zach Strauss, Ian Fitzsimmons, Nick Gorman, Alec Greenhalgh, Derek Antonini and Nick Hartwell -- for keeping Hempfield out of the North end. Beres also praised the efforts of the bench.
"This was the first time that we brought guys in off the bench and our level of play didn't drop," Beres said. "The guys came off the bench today and did their jobs."
Alec Neumann scored the lone goal of the afternoon, off a Strauss corner kick in the 13th minute. The defense made it stand.
"(Hempfield is) a good team, but I think we dominated most of the play, at least the first 60 minutes," Beres said. "In the last 20, they started pushing up, and we got a little more defensive.
"The seniors know any game could be their last game and the younger kids know they're getting to be part of something special. They're taking one game at a time, but everyone's hungry and everyone's having a blast out there."
The Indians advance into the state Final Four, where they will experience some deja vu. North will face District One champion Conestoga -- which topped the Indians 2-1 in the district final on Nov. 5. The game will be played at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Harriton High School, the same place the two teams met for the district title.
"We'll be ready," Beres said. "They're a great team. But their win doesn't carry over, and we feel we've got as good of a shot as anyone and we're going to work our tails off. We've got two days to prepare and get ready for them."
Conestoga 1, Central Bucks East 0
In rolling to the District One championship and compiling its 23-0-1 record, few teams have been able to match up with Conestoga thus far.
In Saturday's PIAA Class AAA quarterfinal, Central Bucks East gave the Pioneers all they could handle ... and then some.
The Patriots battled Conestoga stride for stride for 80 minutes, trading quality scoring opportunities and defensive gems throughout regulation. But Conestoga's goal by Andrew Connors off a corner kick with 15:41 remaining in the first half held up as the only goal of the game as the Pioneers held off a determined effort to end the Patriots' season.
"They're a great team, but the reality was today, it was an even first half and they got a very good goal on a strike from the corner," East coach Mike Gorni said. "Anyone who watched this game will tell you we had an awful lot of pressure, and the better of it, in the second half. We had so much of it that they actually ended up countering and they had their best opportunities from the counter."
East opened the game with a couple solid scoring chances, and Conestoga answered with two of their own. Pioneer keeper Clarke Fox (9 saves) and East goalie Jacob Nesteruk (7 saves) came up big early on, and throughout the contest.
"We took a lot of good shots, we just didn't finish," Gorni said. "You have to credit their goalkeeper. He did a great job, but our goalkeeper also did a really good job. Nesty was very good and I think both of them had to come up big in certain moments."
The two keepers were also called upon to make some stops in high-traffic situation, with Nesteruk making several dives to get to the ball before an onrushing Conestoga attacker, and Fox grabbing several passes in the box ahead of charging Central Bucks East forwards.
"We just wanted to play and get the ball in their end, get some restarts or corner kicks because that's what we pride ourselves off of," said East senior Eric Vare. "We definitely had to make some switches with the lineup to get back at them and bring some offense back at them."
East ratcheted up the pressure in the second half. A miscue deep in the Conestoga zone resulted in a flurry of shots from a scrum in the ninth minute of the second half, but Pioneer defenders blocked a pair of shots before clearing it out of harm's way. Ten minutes later, East's Miguel Diaz -- who was a constant thorn in the collective side of the Contestoga defense, used a terrific solo effort to carry the ball along the goal line and got off a shot, but Fox was able to punch it away.
Despite their chances, the Patriots were unable to solve the Conestoga defense. They end the season at 18-4-1.
"After last year where we went to the state finals, it feels like we came up a little short this season," Vare said. "But there's no question in my mind that getting to state quarterfinals again is just great.
At the beginning of the season, I wasn't sure what to expect, but looking back, it was a great season. We did a lot this season, and we played a great game today, we just came up short. But it's really nice as a senior to go out on a high note with a season like we had."
The Patriots began the season with a loss and a tie, and went 18-3 from then on. They collected the Suburban One Continental Conference title, advanced to the District One semifinal, returned to states for the fifth consecutive season, and made it to the state quarterfinals.
All with one of the toughest schedules out there.
"We've been very quiet about it," Gorni said. "But this is now five years in a row that they've made it to the state final eight; they've been in the semifinals and finals. These boys don't know anything else.
"Out of our (23) games, we played 12 teams that were in the top 10 or made the district quarterfinals or better. We obviously could have gotten a better fate today, but that's the way it goes. Conestoga won and they deserved to win. And I'm not going to complain when our kids put in the kind of an effort.
"The kids don't want to lose and that's obvious. We have very, very good players, but we're not sitting there loaded with national-level superstars, so for us it's about how we play together and how much we develop in the offseason and during the season. They play for each other, and when you finish 18-4-1, you can't feel badly about that."
In other games:
State College 1, Central Dauphin 0
Upper St. Clair 3, Cathedral Prep 0
PIAA CLASS AAA GIRLS TOURNAMENT
Pennridge 1, Strath Haven 0
Megan Shenk bent her corner kick perfectly.
The kick, coming in the final minute of the first half, left Shenk's foot in the corner and curved its way into the Strath Haven cage, broke a scoreless tie. It would prove to be all the Rams would need, as they downed Strath Haven 1-0 in Saturday's PIAA Class AAA quarterfinal game played at Souderton Area High School.
"It was an amazing play by Megan Shenk," said Rams' coach Jorge Rodriguez. "What was really important about that game, though, was setting the tone and getting into our rhythm. It was probably not the most exciting game to watch, but we had most of the possession in the game."
With the victory, the Rams have now played four district and two state playoff games and have allowed a single goal (in a 2-1 win over Strath Haven in the district semifinal).
"One of the toughest things for a goalie is to stay mentally sharp and be ready," Rodriguez said. "Ashley (Schoellkopf) has come up with big saves even after long stretches of not being tested.
"And our defense is organized and aggressive. The defense knows how to read the game very well. It's amazing what they're able to do."
With the victory, the District One champion Rams advance to Tuesday's state semifinal round, where they will square off against Owen J. Roberts, the District One fourth seed, at 4:45 p.m. at Harriton High School.
"Owen J. Roberts is a quality team, from goalkeeper to the forwards," Rodriguez said. "And they've got someone as fast and dangerous as anyone we've seen this year.
"We've made such an effort this year to be aware of the other teams' top players. We've seen some of the best players in the state, so we don't think there's anything we can't handle if we play organized and play as a team."
A victory will put the Rams right where they want to be ... in the state championship game.
But they're not looking ahead.
"If you had asked me three or four games ago, I might not have been sure," Rodriguez said. "But they proved me wrong. One of the most important things that has happened during the playoffs is they've really matured. They get ready for every single game. The girls really come out set to play."
Owen J. Roberts 1, Council Rock North 0
When the two teams met Nov. 2 in a District One semifinal matchup, Council Rock North came away with a 3-1 victory. In Saturday's rematch at West Chester East High School, the Wildcats -- the fourth seed out of District One -- earned a measure of revenge, downing District One second seed North, 1-0.
Juliana Provini scored for the Wildcats with 2:22 left in regulation to lift the Wildcats into the state semifinals and end a stellar season for the Indians.
"They're a pretty good team," Council Rock North coach Larry Sullivan said. "We had a couple missed chances. We tried our best. The defense was excellent today, for both teams. We had a couple chances, but they didn't have many either. We slugged it out. And they got a real nice goal at the end."
The Indians were without junior Nicole Moonan, who was away with her club team, and received limited play from Sarah Scheidell and Karina Kovalcik, both of whom went out with injuries.
Sullivan praised the efforts of Lexi Crocker, Nicole Antolino, Sarah Cannon and Adrianna Rosario.
He also commended goalkeeper Helena Gemmell and center backs Kaitlin McNamara and Juliah Wexler.
"Wexler was unbelievable," Sullivan said. "She was magnificent tonight."
The loss ends the Indians' season at 19-4. Under first-year coach Sullivan, the Indians defeated archrivals Council Rock South three times, claimed the Suburban One National Conference title, lost in the District One final in overtime, and advanced to the state quarterfinal round.
"It was the perfect storm," Sullivan said. "They were tired of losing and I hate losing. They had to be disciplined and account for their performances. They were tremendously loyal to me and when it was time to go to work, they did the best they could do. They work hard.
"This year was fun for me. They're kids, so you've got to get on them once in a while. But I had fun. They're a nice group of girls."
In other games:
Peters Township 3, State College 0
Upper St. Clair 2, North Allegheny 1
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