By: John Knebels
Photos: Kathy Leister, Patty Morgan, Aaron Mitchell & Alexandra Conroy (Episcopal Academy Jr. Reporter)
PHILADELPHIA CATHOLIC LEAGUE BOYS’ PLAYOFF ROUND-UP
PHILADELPHIA - When an upset occurs in an early round of a postseason, it is certainly fun, entertaining, and fodder for speculative conversation over the next couple of days.
That scenario, however, takes one team’s entire regular season of hard work and sacrifice and turns it completely upside down, allowing an opponent that just happened to play one great game – and at the most ideal time – a chance to advance against a favored foe.
Sometimes, however, no surprises occur, and the most deserving squads advance past the first round of the playoffs, a reward for, well, being among the true best of the best.
Perhaps that is what made this past Friday’s Catholic League boys’ quarterfinals so refreshing.
The top four seeds not only defeated the lower four seeds, they did so by shutout. Teams one through four outscored teams five through eight by a collective 11-0, and the only contest that came close to crowning an underdog was four-seed St. Joseph’s Prep 1-0 victory over five-seed Father Judge.
After a scoreless regulation and first overtime period, the game appeared destined to be decided by the dreaded penalty kicks. That’s when Prep junior striker Collin Knight contributed the kick of his life to send the Hawks into the semifinals.
“As the ball bounced towards their goal, (junior midfielder) Aidan O’Neill had a header that went to (junior striker) Kane Ritchie, who passed the ball over the keeper’s head in front of the goal, where I tapped the ball in,” said Knight. “As soon as I saw the ball cross the goal line, the moment became surreal. After that, our entire bench rushed me and we ran over to our student section. They showed up to support us.”
#13 SJP junior Collin Knight - PSD Photo by Kathy Leister
The overtime victory cemented an outstanding performance by the Prep’s defense. Sophomore Owen Brown joined juniors Thomas Magiera, Danny Campbell, and Christian Doyle in helping senior goalie Aidan Hartey notch a shutout.
“It was very nerve-wracking,” said Hartey. “I’ve learned to have the confidence within me, especially in games like that one.”
#5 SJP senior Charlie Falcone - PSD Photo by Aaron Mitchell
Prep senior Charlie Falcone and his fellow classmates were excruciatingly aware that a loss would end their scholastic careers, a fate they desperately avoided.
“We don’t play districts unless we win the PCL,” said Falcone. “It is hard to imagine any one of these games could be my last. I have confidence in my team and am ready for the final four.”
The Hawks will meet top-seed Roman Catholic in the semifinals 7 PM Wednesday at Archbishop Ryan High School. The Cahillites defeated nine-seed Archbishop Ryan, 3-0. Senior Kieran Boyle was responsible for all three goals, scoring at the 12, 23, and 63-minute marks. Junior Nick Lobiondo assisted on the first and third tallies.
“The first goal came across the box by Nick,” said Boyle. “I was just there to follow up and finish it. That goal was big for us to jump on them early. My second one, (junior) Kevin Davis played it to me in the box and I touched and slotted in it. The third goal, Nick played me through, and I took it into the box and touched it by the goalie.”
Roman junior goalie Kevin Tobin lauded the Cahillites’ methodical approach.
Roman Catholic junior goalie Kevin Tobin - PSD photo by Alexandra Conroy
“The team played very well and our defense was solid,” said Tobin. “We were very pumped for this game. We listened to our coaches and just played our game.”
Two-time defending champion La Salle breezed past six-seed Lansdale Catholic, 4-0. Seniors Chris Metzler, Sean McCallum, and David Steinbach, and sophomore Brandon Curran scored for the three-seed Explorers.
#4 La Salle senior Cole Hammel - PSD Photo by Patty Morgan
“Our defense was very solid,” said LaSalle senior Cole Hammel. “Everything went smoothly. We are definitely getting into a groove at the right time.”
At 5 PM Wednesday at Archbishop Ryan, the Explorers will face two-seed Archbishop Wood, a 3-0 winner over seven-seed Archbishop Carroll. The Vikings were one of two league teams to defeat LaSalle (St. Joseph’s Prep was the other) during the regular season.
La Salle will try to exact revenge for that shocking 4-0 defeat on September 26.
La Salle junior Jake Crawford junior said scoring the first goal was pivotal to La Salle’s success.
“The first half was tough because we didn’t find our first goal until the end of the half,” said Crawford. “Once we got the goal, we were able to move along as a team and created many more chances.”
Archbishop Wood’s 3-0 win over Carroll included timely goals and stellar defense. Senior Koty Taylor opened the scoring and senior Bob Hennessey added two more goals before halftime, thwarting any realistic chance of a Carroll comeback.
“Up 3-0, we knew we had to play a more defensive game and not let them get any momentum going forward,” said Wood junior Ryan Morgan. “We were successful with our game plan and got the win.”
#10 Archbishop Wood junior Ryan Morgan - PSD Photo by Patty Morgan
Wood senior goalie Connor Ford agreed.
“We knew that we would have to come ready to play against Carroll, because they are a good team and could have upset us if we took them lightly,” said Ford. “Koty and Bob did a good job getting behind their defensive line, and the midfield and defense worked well to stop Carroll from getting too many chances.”
John Knebels can be reached at Jknebels@gmail.com or on Twitter @johnknebels.)
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