Philadelphia Catholic League Boys’ Soccer:
And then there were four.
After some riveting quarterfinal performances throughout the area in which all of the higher seeds emerged victorious, the Catholic League boys’ soccer semifinals have been determined.
On Wednesday at the United Hungarian Club, top-seed and undefeated La Salle will face fourth-seed and top rival St. Joseph’s Prep at 5 PM. At 7:30 PM, second-seed Roman Catholic will meet third-seed Archbishop Wood.
(1) La Salle (10-0-1) vs. (4) St. Joseph’s Prep (5-3-3)
Regular Season Result: La Salle 1, St. Joseph’s Prep 0
Quarterfinal Results
La Salle blanked 10th-seed Cardinal O’Hara, 3-0, behind a first-half goal by senior Gio Randazzo and two more in the second half by junior Chris Metzler and senior Christian Calabretta. Senior Brett Werner forged the shutout.
St. Joseph’s Prep edged fifth-seed Archbishop Ryan, 1-0. Shutout goaltending by junior Aiden Hartey and senior Colin Marshall’s tally halfway through the second half was just enough for the Hawks to advance.
La Salle junior, Chris Metzler #13 - PSD Photo by Bryan Kelly
La Salle vs. SJP regular season match-up - PSD Photo by Bryan Kelley
SJP's #19 Trey Fruncillo heads the ball - PSD Photo by Bryan Kelley
Semifinal Outlook
La Salle junior Chris Metzler – “Since we’re playing Prep and it was a really tight game when we faced them in the regular season, I’m hoping our team can come out fast and early and play well for the entire 80 minutes. It’s a really tough matchup and I think it will be exciting.”
La Salle sophomore Jake Crawford – “I feel that as a team we are all prepared and eager for the game. Everyone is hungry and excited to go out and play to the best of their abilities. Should be fun.”
Prep senior Colin Marshall – “Every time we play La Salle it is a war, and we are ready to play our best soccer for 80-plus minutes. To be honest, on paper, they are better. But the rivalry we have between the two schools motivates us. Anything can happen.”
Prep senior Trey Fruncillo – “The playoff win was big for the team, especially for Coach (Joe) Coyle in his first year at the head of the program. As for Wednesday, I’m absolutely pumped. We were confident that we would eventually have another matchup against La Salle, and it is finally here. We are rolling off a bunch of big wins in the past month and we are hoping to continue that momentum. We are a different team from the beginning of the season.”
(2) Roman Catholic (10-1) vs. (3) Archbishop Wood (9-2)
Regular Season Result: Roman Catholic 2, Archbishop Wood 1 (OT)
Quarterfinal Results
Roman Catholic survived a major scare, needing penalty kicks to eliminate pesky eighth-seed Lansdale Catholic. After a 1-1 tie after regulation and overtime, goals by senior Jared Fielding, senior Nate Lindner, and junior Kieran Boyle on the second, third, and fifth kicks provided the Cahillites a 3-2 shootout victory.
Archbishop Wood defeated sixth-seed Father Judge, 4-1, on goals by juniors Koty Taylor, Christian Petro, Bob Hennessey, and Zach Wheatley.
Roman Catholic senior, Jared Fielding - PSD photo by Kevin Murphy
Semifinal Outlook
Roman Catholic senior Jared Fielding – “We’re coming off a great team win and we're excited to have the opportunity to play in the semifinals.”
Archbishop Wood senior Shawn Clark – “It’s important that we stay focused and come with an incredibly high energy level. However, staying composed with that energy and not being random will win us the game. If we can do this, we will be fine.”
Archbishop Wood junior goalie Connor Ford – “Wednesday's going to be a tough game. Roman is one of the best teams in the league and they beat us in overtime earlier in the season. They play at maybe the fastest speed in the league and apply intense pressure to every ball, so they're going to be a challenge to deal with. That being said, we know that if we all work hard and play the way that we know we're capable of, then we can beat any team.”
2017 Boys’ Soccer All-Catholic Team
First-Team
Jared Dillon, Junior, Roman Catholic
Jacob Mittman, Senior, La Salle
Cody Taylor, Junior, Archbishop Wood
William Stackhouse, Senior, Archbishop Ryan
Marcelo Ibarra, Senior, Father Judge
Jared Fielding, Senior, Roman Catholic
Colin Marshall, Senior, St. Joseph’s Prep
Joseph Brigidi, Senior, La Salle
Nick Booth, Senior, Archbishop Carroll
George Montag, Senior, Archbishop Ryan
Brett Werner, Senior, La Salle (GK)
Second-Team
Kaito Kitazawa, Senior, Bonner-Prendergast
Hugh Lynch, Senior, Archbishop Wood
Dan White, Senior, Lansdale Catholic
Charlie Sheehan, Senior, Cardinal O’Hara
Sebastian Gonzalez, Sophomore, Roman Catholic
Evan Filak, Junior, St. Joseph’s Prep
Andrew Markopoulos, Junior, Bonner-Prendergast
Matt McDonald, Junior, Lansdale Catholic
Jake Barreras, Senior, Conwell-Egan
David Steinbach, Junior, La Salle
Connor Ford, Junior, Archbishop Wood (GK)
Third-Team
Matt Duddy, Junior, Bishop McDevitt
Brendan McCarthy, Sophomore, Father Judge
Kieran Donnelly, Sophomore, Roman Catholic
Dom Massi, Junior, Archbishop Carroll
John Nubbemeyer, Senior, Archbishop Wood
Cole Hammel, Junior, La Salle
Christian Shoemaker, Senior, Archbishop Ryan
Aidan O’Neill, Sophomore, St. Joseph’s Prep
Jalen Hammond, Sophomore, Cardinal O’Hara
Kieran Boyle, Junior, Roman Catholic
Tony Harper, Senior, Bonner-Prendergast (GK)
Tag(s): Home Schools Philadelphia Catholic Soccer Boys Soccer Philadelphia Catholic League Arch. Carroll Boys Soccer Arch. Ryan Boys Soccer Arch. Wood Boys Soccer Bishop McDevitt Boys Soccer Bonner & Prendie Boys Soccer Cardinal O'Hara Boys Soccer Conwell-Egan Boys Soccer Father Judge Soccer La Salle Soccer Lansdale Cath. Boys Soccer Neumann/Goretti Boys Socce Roman Catholic Soccer Saint Joseph's Prep Soccer