North Penn captured the program’s first ever PIAA 4A State Championship with a hard fought 2-0 win over Central Bucks West at HersheyPark Stadium Friday. Photos provided courtesy of Keith Clemens Photography. Check back for a gallery of photos.
#1-1 NORTH PENN 2, #1-5 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 0
HERSHEY – Dreams do come true. Carter Houlihan can vouch for that, and as the final seconds ticked off the scoreboard clock at HersheyPark Stadium, North Penn’s senior standout – who scored both of his team’s goals - could contain his emotions no longer.
“Before the final whistle when there was 30 seconds left, it just kind of hit me,” Houlihan said. “All the work and the effort we’ve put in for four years – it’s been so much, and being able to get the state championship with my best friends – it’s the best feeling in the world.
“I couldn’t hold back. It was tears of joy. I went right over to my best friend, Jack Durkin, and gave him a big hug. It was great.”
Friday’s win gave Houlihan and his Knight teammates their final and most coveted piece of hardware – a state championship trophy on the heels of winning District One 4A and SOL Continental Conference titles.
“In soccer language, they call it the treble,” a beaming coach Paul Duddy said of capturing the three championships.
By any name, this victory was especially sweet, and emotions ran high on the field and in the stands. The laughter, the tears of joy, the hugs, the countless photos with the state championship trophy – it was a celebration no one wanted to see end after a win that effectively erased memories of the Knights’ early postseason exits past.
“Having back-to-back kind of disappointing seasons and coming out and winning this game – it’s not just for this team, it’s for the whole school and for the alumni,” Houlihan said. “We had alumni from last year coming back to the game, and they enjoyed it as much as we did. So it’s kind of paying it forward to them and paying it forward to the coaches, paying it forward to all the staff and faculty that came out and supported us.
“When that first goal went in, I was thinking how excited I would be when the final whistle blew. The entire game after the first goal I was envisioning this right now, celebrating with the fans, hugging my parents.”
“It’s pretty exiting,” Duddy said. “Just our group of seniors – they’ve suffered some tough losses three years in a row, and from day one, they were just determined to be here tonight and to come here and win. That’s always easier said than done.
“Right now, this means the world to me. The excitement – if they’re excited, I’m excited. They’re a great group of young men.”
For the Bucks, the night marked the end of a remarkable run for a squad that was the 23rd seed out of 24 teams in the District One 4A Tournament.
“It’s definitely been a magical ride,” West senior goalkeeper Ryan Van Pelt said. “I can’t talk for anybody else, but this has been my most favorite memory of soccer all time.
“It definitely hurts right now, but I think in a week or two, we’ll definitely start to be proud of what we were able to do.”
Van Pelt kept the Bucks in it in the first half, turning away all seven shots he faced in the half.
“Their keeper was just tremendous,” North Penn coach Paul Duddy said. “He’s just great game in and game out.
“Our guys never lose confidence. We talked at the half and said - ‘We’re doing a whole lot of things right. The game turns into a grind at that point. I’m never going to say we outworked them, but we have Carter.”
And on the biggest stage, Carter Houlihan was the difference maker yet again. His highlight reel goal into the opposite corner of the net spotted the Knights a 1-0 lead with just under 17 minutes remaining. His second with 1:35 remaining – another laser shot – ensured that the state title would belong to North Penn.
“The first shot was left-footed from out there into the far corner – what a terrific shot that was,” Duddy said. “The second one – he’s so determined, and he’s such a great leader for our team. All our captains are.”
West coach Stefan Szygiel tipped his hat to Houlihan and the Knights.
“Number 14 – he’s going to produce something special, and boy, did he tonight,” Szygiel said of Houlihan. “I’ve got to say, for all these years, it’s always been Carter that gets the attention. You’ve got to look at that entire roster and realize a lot of the boys - even the boys that weren’t on the field – grew up together.
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“They had that extra special bit of something, and no one realizes that. It wasn’t just Houlihan. He produced two brilliant moments on the dribble, and that changed the game.”
The Bucks generated their most serious pressure early in the second half, but the Knights’ defense was impenetrable.
“There was a great spark,” Szygiel said. “The way we came out in the second half was more of probably the way we wanted to play. We did more of the things we wanted to do. We had a couple of decent chances. They held strong.
“They did what we did – they just did it for longer, and that’s the reality when you come up against a team with that much firepower. Bend don’t break, bend don’t break. We eventually broke. Certainly we were written off before we were ready to be written off. I don’t think you can take anything away from that. I was happy with the way we started the second half, but it’s that old story – just not enough.”
RVP, RVP, RVP - The “RVP” chants from the West student section might not have meant a whole lot to the casual observer, but for fans of West soccer, the chants were a familiar tribute to goalkeeper Ryan Van Pelt, who singlehandedly kept the Bucks in it. The senior keeper recorded seven saves in the opening half, none more spectacular than a fully extended diving grab of a rocket off the foot of Carter Houlihan midway through the half.
“We knew coming into the game that they had two dynamic players – one in the midfield and one out wide – who would drift anywhere up top,” Van Pelt said. “We just knew we had to handle them. Facing them two times in the regular season helped us prepare for it, but we just didn’t do enough, I guess.”
The senior keeper’s most spectacular stop just might have been midway through the second half when he somehow slapped away a header by Mike Chaffee that was destined for the net.
“He’s been unbelievable,” coach Stefan Szygiel said of Van Pelt. “You don’t go on a postseason run without having that level of goalkeeping. He was doing what we expect and I think he expects that of himself at this point.
“It’s been three weeks of close games, close games, close games. This was still a close game. It was 0-0 with 20 (minutes) to go. We kept it tight. Ultimately, we couldn’t find a way to finish it out. Van Pelt kept us in it time and time again.”
The Bucks’ coach pointed to the team’s 1-0 win at Downingtown West in its district opener. Van Pelt had eight saves – one a brilliant game-saver.
“He had a save – if he doesn’t make that save, we’re not here,” Szygiel said. “It would have ended that night against a very good Downingtown West team.”
Missing in action – A key member of North Penn’s lineup – central defender Jamie Stewart - was not at Friday’s title game. The senior captain scored the game-winner despite being under the weather in Tuesday’s state semifinal 4-0 win over La Salle. Stewart since then was diagnosed with mono and could not make the trip.
“Unfortunately, Jamie Stewart has not been feeling well – he’s been sick all week,” coach Paul Duddy said. “I know it probably kills him to not be here, but they had a cardboard cutout of him and put it on the bench, so he can say he was with us.”
“He is obviously a big piece of our team,” junior captain Josh Jones said. “He’s one of our leaders and one of the best players on the team. It was the next man up mentality, and we knew whoever would step in his role would deliver, and they did.”
Stewart’s loss was particularly disappointing for his twin brother, who made sure Jamie’s cutout face was photographed with the state trophy.
“Anytime a teammate is out – it’s always painful, especially a starter,” said Ryan. “Him being my brother – we’ve been on the same team our entire lives. I’m just glad we could win this for him.”
Gorham called it – Carter Houlihan has never forgotten that Liam Gorham – way back in elementary school - predicted great things for the Knights. Gorham hasn’t either.
“We always knew growing up together – we’ve been playing with each other for years, and it’s just been a long time coming,” Gorham said. “We’ve always been a winning team – Montgomery, PA Rush, and once we got to high school, this was the goal from day one. It’s just great to see after so many years we can finally cap it off with a state win.”
Senior captain Mike Chaffee echoed similar sentiments.
“This means so much,” he said. “This is such a great feeling. I’ve been playing since I was a little kid. Coming to this day, winning states – this is possibly one of the last soccer games of my life. It’s an amazing feeling. It’s unbelievable.”
“This means everything for this program, for all the guys that came before us and didn’t get it done,” junior Josh Jones said. “This was the year, this was our year, and we finally did it.
“It’s indescribable. I’m speechless right now. I still can’t believe that this happened. Credit to all our fans that came out. They filled four school buses – on a Friday night, to come out two hours away, it’s pretty cool to see.”
The Knights received a rousing send-off from their fans when they left school on Friday, opting for a day trip to Hershey instead of the overnight trip that was offered to them by the school administration.
“We wanted to keep our routine, keep doing what we’re doing,” Jones said. “I think if we would have come out a day earlier, it would have been a distraction to us. It all eventually paid off.”
Three for three – This year’s trip to the state tournament was Central Bucks West’s third in three years. Seniors Bailey Moyer, Alan Zlotin and Kanishk Nazareth as well as junior James Lutz were part of all three state runs.
“Look, the reality is someone had to lose tonight,” coach Stefan Szygiel said. “This is one of those things you go on a dream run, and that dream run doesn’t always end with the dream necessarily being completed, so hats off to the seniors, especially the guys that have been to three straight tournament appearances.
“I couldn’t be happier with where we’re at. We’re in select company and I hope to stay there.”
The Bucks advanced to the state semifinals in 2017. Last year’s squad captured the District One 4A title and shared the Continental Conference co-championship with North Penn but saw its season end in the opening round of states at the hands of a Central Dauphin team the Bucks defeated in the opening round this year.
Szygiel was quick to credit North Penn for its historic season.
“We’ve had absolute wars with them for three years,” he said. “They were that good this year. They won all three (championships). That’s a very special season for that program.”
Friday’s loss was the first in nine postseason games that was not a one-goal game. Four of West’s nine games went into overtime – two were decided by penalty kicks.
“Look how hard this was, look how many close games we had to grind out, and that’s what we did,” Szygiel said. “We tried to do it again tonight. There just wasn’t enough left in the tank. Maybe we used it up in those 10 overtime games.”
The Bucks – who had 10 OT games this season – were 7-2 in the postseason after compiling a 7-6-5 record during the regular season.
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