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By Alex Frazier
Bob Shegda had never missed a penalty kick.
So when he stepped to the penalty mark Wednesday evening in the semifinals of the District One playoffs against top-seeded Lower Merion, the Neshaminy senior felt confident.
“I just love the pressure,” he said.
Though he hadn’t missed before, this was his first time in a shootout situation.
The two teams were tied at one through regulation and two 15-minute overtimes.
Teammate Rick Domico scored the first goal and Lower Merion’s Greg Robbins kept the Aces even. Then Zach Turchi missed wide left, and the Aces’ Nick Bibbs fired his shot high to the left.
Next up, Neshaminy ace Kyle Soroka blasted a laser to give the Skins a 2-1 advantage. Lower Merion’s Jordan Wolfe then shot over the crossbar to set the stage for Shegda.
Though Shegda wouldn’t reveal his PK strategy, he beat Lower Merion keeper Justin Corrado to the right to make it 3-1.
“There was a little pressure, but it helped me concentrate and didn’t put me off my game,” he said.
Once again the Aces choked as Julien Aoyama sent his shot over the right side of the crossbar to give No. 12-seeded Neshaminy the unlikely upset over the 16-1-1 Aces.
“It feels amazing,” said Shegda. “After beating the teams that we have, I just knew we could take anybody.”
Neshaminy sweeper Dan Kennedy and the rest of the team stood on the sideline watching their teammates take their turns at the penalty mark.
“Oh my gosh, I was so nervous,” he said. “I hate it so much. It’s the most nerve-racking thing in my life. I’ve been in it before, lost it, won it. I hate it so much. They had some good PK takers I thought.”
The Aces came out strong, showing why they were the No. 1-ranked team in the state and Region III by taking the play, especially in the midfield, away from Neshaminy. Their best chance came when Danny DiLullo sprinted in on goal on a breakaway in the 25th minute, but he fired his shot wide left.
Midway through the first half, Neshaminy picked up its pace and the momentum began to swing.
“The first 15 minutes we weathered the storm,” said coach Rich Reice. “They came out and were flying around a little bit. We seemed to right the ship a little bit and level the playing field. The next 20 minutes we did pretty well and started to feel better about ourselves.”
Lower Merion broke the deadlock early in the second half at the 38:46 mark when Jordan Obrant set up on the left side and fired a 30 yarder that at first appeared as though it would go wide right or over, but ended up floating inside the right post.
“We should have pressured the ball earlier,” said Kennedy. “I didn’t see it coming at all. I thought it was going over.”
“Their goal woke us up,” said Reice. “We played more passionate after that.”
Neshaminy tied the game with 23:41 remaining. The Redskins’ Tristan Emig headed a ball toward the right post, where Domico just beat Corrado to the ball and volleyed it back across the goalmouth to Dan Foley, who finished it into the open left side.
“I just happened to be in the right place at the right time,” he said. “Ricky happened to get a kick over the goalie’s head and I was on the end of it. It actually almost went out. The kick deflected off his (defender’s) leg and still went in. I hit it with enough power.
“That’s happened numerous times this year. We’ve been down two goals, one goal and we’ve been able to keep our composure and come back at them and get wins out of it, and never let down. This goes to show we’re making it pretty far as the 12th seed.”
Ironically, right before Neshaminy scored its goal, Turchi blocked a shot at the left post following a corner that would have been a sure goal.
On the following counter, Neshaminy tied the game.
“The kids are like that,” said Reice. “They’ve been behind and they stick with it. It’s a tribute to them. Once we got that goal, I thought we had the better chances.”
In the second overtime, especially, Neshaminy had two good opportunities to win it. Foley put a header on goal, but Corrado corralled it. With just over two minutes left in the second OT, Soroka hit the right post on a direct kick.
The Redskins’ defensive unit of Kennedy, Emig, Greg Korhonen and keeper Alex Smith played extremely well against a very lethal Lower Merion attack.
“We’re all seniors and it’s our last year, too,” said Kennedy. “So we’re trying to keep it to no goals at all in the back.”
Smith singlehandedly broke up several one-on-one breakaways to keep Neshaminy in the game. One of those came in the second half when he came way out to cut off Wolf, and another in the second overtime when he kicked the ball away from DiLullo.
“Our whole team knew we were a good enough team to come out and if we play our game, we can beat anybody we put our minds to,” said Foley.
After an inconsistent season in which the Redskins lost five games, they have been red hot at the right time.
“This reminds me of sophomore year,” said Shegda. “It’s like a repeat, a shaky season and then in the playoffs we just step it up and ride our momentum through the playoffs. There’s nothing better.”
Neshaminy will play the winner of the Central Bucks East/Downingtown West game on Saturday night at Downingtown West at 8 p.m.
Neshaminy 1, Lower Merion 1
(Neshaminy wins 3-1 on penalty kicks)
Goals: Jordan Obrant (LM), Dan Foley (N)
Assists: Rick Domico (N)
Shots: Lower Merion 10, Neshaminy 11
Saves: Justin Corrado (LM) 5, Alex Smith (N) 6
Corners: Lower Merion 3, Neshaminy 4
Fouls: Lower Merion 13, Neshaminy 16
Yellow cards: Alex Cope (LM), Rick Domico (N)
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