FRANCONIA TWP – Trevor Bishop’s penalty kick had barely hit the back of the net when the celebration began in earnest. The Souderton senior clenched both fists in the air and ran to the sidelines where he was mobbed by ecstatic teammates.
The Indians had not only earned a berth in the district semis but also the PIAA Class AAA State Tournament, thanks to their scintillating 4-1 win in penalty kicks over Pennridge in the District One Class AAA Tournament on Saturday after neither team scored in 110 minutes of field play.
“It’s amazing,” Souderton sophomore Dave Giannini said. “It’s nothing but amazing. It’s the best feeling.”
“There’s nothing like it,” teammate Gary Guldin added. “You have to be there to experience it and hope that you can have that every game.”For the Indians, this is a true rags to riches story.
Roll back the calendar to Oct. 31, 2008.
The only thing the Souderton soccer team was celebrating was the Philadelphia Phillies World Series win. There certainly hadn’t been a whole lot to celebrate during an uncharacteristic three-win season for the Indians.
“It was a tough year,” Giannini said. “The overtime losses, the overtime ties – it was frustrating, but all you can do is look forward to the next time you play, and we did. Now this year we came through.”
No one was the least bit surprised to see Saturday’s game come down to penalty kicks. After all, the two teams had met twice during the regular season – the first ended in a 0-0 tie while the Indians eked out a 1-0 win in the second.
“It’s how we play,” Souderton Tom Quintois said. “We’re not going to give up anything. You see the defense we have, and you see our goalkeeping.
“When you have a guy (Giannini) in goal who has a lot of confidence, everybody in front of you plays with just a little more confidence. It couldn’t be any sweeter or better than it is right now for a team that won three games last year.”While the Indians were celebrating, the Rams were left to deal with the disappointment of a heartbreaking loss.
“It’s tough,” senior captain Jake Rapsinski said. “It always hurts, especially senior year and especially because we played them so many times already.”
Saturday’s game had the most unexpected of all endings, an ending that began to unfold when – with 5.5 seconds remaining in the second overtime – Pennridge’s star goalie Ryan Bailey received a yellow card for a foul in the box.
The junior goalie not only was on the bench for the final seconds of the game but, more importantly, the first set of five penalty kicks.
The Rams’ defense was able to fend off a last-second Souderton free kick in regulation, but they weren’t as fortunate in penalty kicks.
“Our goalie made a silly mistake that cost us having him in there for PKs, and that’s a world of difference,” Pennridge coach Pete Valimont said. “Then we had two seniors who missed their shots.”
The Indians, meanwhile, were golden on all four of their shots against the Rams’ emergency fill-in goalie – junior forward Kevin Bailey.Ian Smith – filling in for the injured Christian Benner – got the ball rolling when he lofted a shot into the top of the net. Kevin Bailey answered for the Rams by firing a strike that found the net, knotting the score 1-1.
A.J. Androkites buried his PK into the right corner, and when the Rams missed wide on their next attempt, the Indians were in command.
Kyle Nelson sent a shot into the left corner of the net, and the Indians led 3-1. A diving save by Giannini on the left post on the third kick all but sealed the Rams’ fate.
“I kind of just dove to my right, and it went off my hands and hit the post,” the Indians’ sophomore goalie said. “It’s very nerveracking, very nerveracking.
“The way I prepare for penalty kicks is I try and keep my head in the game and stay focused, reading the play the best I can.”
A win was in the books when Bishop’s PK found the right corner of the net.
“I wasn’t sure we had won, but then I saw everybody running out,” defensive back Dan Meuleners said. “It was the greatest feeling in my life so far.”
The Rams came into Saturday’s game riding the momentum of their monster win over third-seeded Council Rock North in penalty kicks.
“It’s always hard when it comes down to that, especially with a call like that in the last five seconds that takes the keeper out,” Rapsinski said. “He made three saves (in penalty kicks) in the last game. We know he can save PKs”
The Rams came out in the first half with some momentum, but Giannini - who had a pair of first-half saves - and the Indians’ defense refused to give an inch. “We’re nothing but serious, we’re nothing but confident,” Giannini said. “That’s how we play.”
The story of Saturday’s game was defense, and few teams play it better than an Indian squad that has found a way to win and win a whole lot without scoring many goals.
“We have kids like Meuleners, Gary Guldin, Trevor Bishop and Scott (Jablonski) – those guys all play together,” Quintois said. “They function so well as a unit, knowing that G’s going to clean up any mistakes they make.
“They really didn’t get much today. We knew the high-powered type of team they are, and we kept them off the board.”
The Indians’ philosophy is a simple one.
“We’re really just looking to keep the ball out of the net,” Guldin said. “The longer we can keep it out – the better chance we have of winning because the other team is going to get frustrated, and it’s going to ripple down through the entire team.”
Scoring opportunities were at a premium for both sides in a game that saw each team manage just four shots total in regulation and overtime.
“We knew all they do is kick and chase, so we wanted to play to the feet and not hurt ourselves by making any bad mistakes in the back,” Valimont said. “I think we did that for the most part.
“We had chances in regulation and overtime, but we just didn’t finish. It’s a tough one to swallow.”
The defense in front of Giannini - who had five saves - is an experienced one.
“We have been playing together since ninth grade, and we know each other really well,” Meuleners said. “Last year, we were waiting for somebody to make a mistake, but this year we’ve just matured as a group. We focus on winning each and every ball. We take it minute by minute.
“We don’t look ahead, and we don’t look behind. If somebody makes a mistake, it’s over. If somebody makes a nice play, it’s over. We go to the next thing.”
That mentality is apparently working.
The Indians boast 13 shutouts this season, and it is the major reasons they are one of four teams still standing in district play.
“We had a bunch of returning key players, and it was just our year to put it together,” Guldin said. “We just had to work as a team.”
Camaraderis also has been key.
“People are laying it out for the guy next to them and not caring who gets the glory, just gritting the game out and playing for each other,” Meuleners said. “There’s not one selfish kid on this team.
“We just all love each other, and we want to win so badly.”
That focus is paying big dividends for the Indians, who will face seventh seeded Downingtown West in Wednesday’s district semifinal. West upset second-seeded Lower Merion in penalty strokes 1-1 (5-3).
“It’s unbelievable,” Quintois said. “We get an opportunity now to be one of 16 teams trying to win a state championship.
“For a program that was as low as it gets last year, to be where we are right now is quite an accomplishment and says a lot about our kids.”
SOUDERTON 0, PENNRIDGE 0 (4-1 PKs)
Pennridge 0 0 0 0-0
Souderton 0 0 0 0-0
Goals: Pennridge – Kevin Bailey. Souderton – Ian Smith, A.J. Androkites, Kyle Nelson, Trevor Bishop.
Shots: P-7, S-8.
Saves: Ryan Bailey (P) 3, Dave Giannini (S) 5.
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