Council Rock North was the lone SOL survivor in Wednesday’s semifinal. The Indians will face top-seeded Conestoga in Saturday’s district final.
BOYS SOCCER
District One Class AAA Semifinals
#1 Conestoga 2, #12 Central Bucks South 1
In Tuesday's quarterfinal victory over Strath Haven, 12th-seeded Central Bucks South jumped out to a quick two-goal lead and forced the Panthers to try to battle back into the game.
One day later, in Wednesday's district semifinal against top-seeded Conestoga, the Titans found themselves on the short end of an early two-goal deficit, as Conestoga's Ryan Balfour netted goals in the sixth and 15th minutes to stake the Pioneers out to a quick lead.
"That's what we expected from them," said South coach Don Brady. "Early on I think we were hoping to equalize them in intensity. (Tuesday's game) took a little bit out of us, and it took us a little bit to get adjusted. We held them onsides a couple of times and they got in behind us. We were a little slow getting in and putting pressure on the ball."
The Titans started to get things going as the first half went on, and netted a second-half goal to cut into the deficit, but couldn't find the equalizer as the Pioneers went on to take the 2-1 victory.
"They were just picking apart the gaps in our defense and they found a way to score a couple early goals," said South senior co-captain Todd Rainey. "(On Tuesday) we came out really strong knowing that we were there last year and lost and it wasn't happening again. They might have come out stronger today but I feel that we came up after that and gave it to them. We put up a fight.
"We put it in perspective -- we scored two goals (Tuesday) in eight minutes. We can score goals. We beat West Chester Rustin who gave up very few goals all season. We knew we could do it."
Despite numerous scoring chances later in the half, the Titans couldn't crack Pioneer goalkeeper Clarke Fox. South came heartbreakingly close three times in the final three minutes of the half. A Michael Serban penalty kick was denied by Fox, followed shortly thereafter by a leaping save on a Rainey shot. A corner kick in the final minute was broken up and cleared out of danger by the defense.
"A 2-0 lead is dangerous," Brady said. "You score and now it's 2-1. We had a few chances there, we were sniffing around the goal a little bit. You just have to get the first one, and then you make it a game."
The Titans did just that in the 49th minute, when Bryan Brady broke down the left sideline and touched a seeing-eye shot that ended up just inside the right goalpost to make it a 2-1 game and give the Titans the momentum.
"That goal for us in the second half was huge," Rainey said. "It showed we're not putting our heads down and we're here to fight and we're not giving up. And it put some pressure on them. They knew it was going to be a game."
Both teams had their chances down the stretch, with South keeper Matt Weigner making a couple key stops, including a long drive he leapt and batted over the top crossbar in the final 5 minutes. But in the end, neither team would find the net again.
With the victory, Conestoga moves into the district final, where it will play sixth-seeded Council Rock North. Central Bucks South will take on a very familiar opponent, Central Bucks East, in the consolation final at 4:45 p.m. Saturday at Harriton.
The neighborhood- and Continental Conference-rivals met twice in the regular season, with South winning 2-1 on Sept. 20 and East taking a 3-1 victory on Oct. 12. The rubber match will also determine the district's third and fourth seeds for next week's state tournament.
"I think Saturday's going to be a huge game to make a big run in states," Rainey said. "And I think we can do it if we win Saturday. It'd be a huge momentum builder. This is a strong team. We have heart and we feel we can come out and beat whoever we play."
Asked whether he had any concerns about his team being able to bounce back from a tough loss, Brady answered without hesitation.
"Not at all," he said. "Not at all."
#6 Council Rock North 2, #2 Central Bucks East 0
Given that his Central Bucks East squad had played an emotional, hard-fought quarterfinal game against Souderton just 24 hours earlier, it would have been understandable had Patriots' coach Mike Gorni used that as an excuse for his team's 2-0 loss to Council Rock North in Wednesday's semifinal.
Instead, Gorni chose to focus on the semifinal game, and the simple fact was, the second-seeded Patriots lost to a team that, on this night, was the better team.
"The bottom line is Council Rock just plain and simply outplayed us in the first half," Gorni said. "They got two goals that they deserved to get, and they were the better team tonight. And our kids know that. And it's an important thing. When we win, I hate when other teams make excuses. And we don't make excuses if we lose. Council Rock North played a better game and deserves to be in the final."
The Indians came out quickly and threatened early. Just seven minutes in, Alec Neumann received a lead pass from Ian Fitzsimmons and split the defense, but his shot hit the post. Not long after, Chris Kulczytzky fired a long kick on a restart that East keeper Jacob Nesteruk had to make a leaping save on.
East answered with a couple chances of their own, but a smothering defense and the usual brick wall that is goalkeeper Will Terry kept the Patriots from finding the back of the net.
"We have four solid backs -- me, Nick Gorman, Dakota Kalek and Billy McConnell," Kulczytzky said. "We all play high-level soccer, we just hold it down back there, it's a cohesive unit. And we have full confidence in Will that if one of us does make a mistake, he'll be there."
According to North coach Wendell Beres, the defense truly began running on all cylinders following regular-season losses to West Chester Rustin and Abington. In the next game, on Oct. 5, North allowed two early goals to Harry S. Truman, and has allowed only one goal since.
"They rally together," Beres said. "Defense was definitely our Achilles' heel starting the game. McConnell went back there and shored it up. We've already got the first team all-leaguer in goal, but a kid like Nick Gorman ... Nick Gorman started the year on the JV team. Nick Gorman didn't end up on the varsity practice field until the second week of September. And the fact that he hasn't come off the field since is definitely a tribute to him and a tribute to the guys around him who trust him. And Dakota and Chris, they're playing lights-out."
And as the defense turned out the lights on the East attack, the Indians began to light up the scoreboard. Neumann scored the first goal on a blistering shot from 25 yards out in the 20th minute. Eight minutes later, Kulczytzky booted a long forward pass. Ian Fitzsimmons -- whom Beres called "by far our best player tonight" -- headed the ball over to Derek Antonini, who headed it into the back of the net for the 2-0 lead.
"We were looking to pressure them early," Kulczytzky said. "Defensively, we didn't want to let them turn with the ball, keep them with minimal chances, minimal free kicks. Offensively we wanted to come out strong, keep up the pressure and get a quick goal."
East had a couple chances in a second half played mostly in the middle third of the field, but couldn't break through the defense.
The Patriots will play Central Bucks South at 4:45 p.m. Saturday at Harriton in the consolation final. The winner of the game will take the District One third seed into the state tournament, the other will be seeded fourth. Gorni is confident in his team's chances no matter which seed it carries into the state tournament.
"I'm really proud of our kids," he said. "There's a reason we've been here five years in a row, and the kids in the program know that. We're not afraid of a third or a fourth seed. We've been in the state semifinals and state finals from that position. We can either put our heads down and cry, or realize we didn't play as well as we would have liked tonight and Council Rock North won, and we just step up.
"Our goal is to win every game, but if you are playing in a state final and getting through states, that's a lot more important. We were third last year and fourth the year before and we were in the semifinals and finals. So we're not concerned about that as long as we mentally step up."
The Indians, meanwhile, will take on top-seeded Conestoga at 7 p.m. Saturday in the district final. While a berth in the state tournament is guaranteed, the Indians are looking to add a little more to their historic season with a district crown.
"You want to play the best in the playoffs, and we're going to play the best on Saturday," Beres said. "We're going to come to play, both teams are going to come to play, and it's going to be a good game. They're the number one seed for a reason and there's a reason they haven't lost yet. But at this stage, I'm not worried about anybody but ourselves."
"We definitely haven't accomplished everything we want to do yet," Kulczytzky said. "Our first goal for the season was to win the league, then win our first playoff game because we hadn't done that. Then after that, win the district title and since we made it to states, hope to win in states. We got to watch Conestoga play some tonight. They're a very good team, a very skilled team. But we're going to be ready to play."
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