The math was simple: Win last Thursday’s District One 4A second-round game, and a team earned two chances to qualify for the state tournament.
Three SOL Colonial teams – No. 8 Central Bucks South, No. 11 Pennridge and No. 13 Central Bucks East – won last Thursday.
Pennridge, the SOL Colonial runners-up, ousted No. 6 Upper Dublin 2-0 behind Tommy McKinney and Luca Angello goals. CB South (14-4-2), the SOL Colonial champions, beat No. 9 Downingtown West 1-0 on a Colin O’Hara second half goal, his second in as many playoff games.
And after beating No. 4 Abington 3-2 on Opening Night, CB East (13-5-2) topped Abington 1-0 in another one-goal match. Mike Montabana assisted on Joey Roth’s goal 17 minutes in while East goalie Dan Marino earned rave reviews for his performance.
Yet only the Rams clinched their PIAA berth on their first try. Pennridge (16-6) topped No. 3 Downingtown East in Chester County 1-0 on Saturday thanks to Jared Hess’ first half goal. Hess joined teammate Shane Velez as double-digit goal scorers this season. The win also marked the third straight playoff shutout for keeper C.J. Dimmick and his defense.
The Rams fell in overtime to No. 2 Conestoga 1-0 in Tuesday’s district semifinal; they will take on No. 5 WC Henderson in Friday’s third-place game.
CB South (14-6-2) hosted CB East (14-6-2) in playbacks on Tuesday after the Titans lost to No. 1 Lower Merion 3-1 and East fell to Henderson 1-0 on Saturday. As though these rivals needed higher stakes, the winner went to states while the loser’s season ended.
East prevailed 1-0 when Jared Needles assisted on a Michael Frye goal in the 30th minute. The Patriots topped South 2-1 in double overtime in their first meeting and the rivals played to a scoreless draw in their second. East now faces No. 10 Spring-Ford in Friday’s fifth/sixth-place game.
In District 11, No. 2 Palisades (15-4-1) throttled No. 3 Schuylkill Haven in the Class A semifinals on Thursday 8-0, scoring four goals in each half. They faced No. 1 Moravian on Wednesday at Emmaus in a late game for the district title. The Pirates’ lone Class A loss this season was a 4-3 dogfight to Moravian, in which Palisades nearly erased a 3-0 deficit. Palisades won its final four regular season games.
Four teams saw their playoff runs end late last week. In 2021, Council Rock South was seeded 19th and went all the way to the district final four. No. 26 CR South (10-8-1), the SOL Patriot runners-up, nearly pulled off another Cinderella run after upsetting No. 7 WC Rustin 3-1 in the first round. The Golden Hawks took Spring-Ford to overtime in the second round, but fell 1-0.
No. 15 Council Rock North (13-5-2), the SOL Patriot champions, lost to Conestoga 2-0 on the Main Line. Nick Wise tallied a dozen goals for the Indians this season, including five game winners.
In Class A, No. 4 Plumstead Christian (12-7-1) beat No. 5 Christian Academy 2-1 in last Wednesday’s first round. It was sweet revenge for Plumstead’s Sept. 24 loss at TCA by the same score. The Panthers carried an eight-game unbeaten streak into Friday’s semifinal with top-seeded Faith Christian (17-3), before falling to Faith 4-0. For more on Faith’s district title win, please see page B1.
No. 13 South Hunterdon (5-10-1) put up a fight in Central Jersey Group 1 Regionals but fell to No. 4 New Egypt 1-0 in last Thursday’s first round. The Eagles closed the regular season by winning three of their final four matches.
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