It was worth the seven-year wait.
Playing in its first playoff game since 2015, and its first-ever as division champion, host No. 8 CB South scored twice in the second half to top No. 25 Boyertown 2-0 in the first round of the District One 4A boys soccer playoffs.
CB South (13-4-2), the SOL Colonial champion, got a goal from Brian Schmidt in the 50th minute off of Sean Rieber’s throw-in. “I always like to move up for those set pieces,” explained senior Schmidt. “I like putting my body on the ball. Sean threw it in and I was ready for it.”
“Always throw it to a target man and I knew Schmidty would be there. He is behind every ball,” Rieber added.
Senior Colin O’Hara kept his foot on the gas by scoring with 2:25 remaining. “It was a good through ball from Sean Rieber,” O’Hara said. “I put the burners on and it was a simple flick past the goalie to put the game away.
“We have our own classroom sessions. We make sure every game is tactically for the team we are going to play. Our new coach, Coach Kyle (Pettican) does an amazing job of making sure we are prepared for that team,” O’Hara added.
South dominated the first 20 minutes, but the first shot on goal was a Boyertown rocket from 35 yards out that just sailed over the crossbar. Boyertown threatened again in the 32nd minute when Brayden Burkhardt’s header off of a free kick just missed right.
“Especially in playoffs, all teams are going to be up for a fight,” said Pettican, in his first year at the CB South helm. “I said at halftime to not panic. Keep playing the game. Don’t get flustered and lose your touches.”
CB South came out strong in the second half, forcing two corners and creating a nice scoring opportunity from a Rieber free kick before Schmidt broke the shutout.
The Titans had nine corners to Boyertown’s zero. Titans goalie Michael Nemec and his Boyertown counterpart Brayden Risser each saved four.
A Sept. 12 3-0 loss to Pennridge dropped the Titans to 4-2. CB South recovered to go 8-2-2 in its final dozen regular season games. The “8” includes a 1-0 Oct. 19 revenge win over Pennridge when Thjis Popma’s converted penalty kick held. That win, more importantly, also clinched the first division title in CB South’s history.
“I think we have a great attitude and we’re building a great culture. We have a fantastic coach. We all work for each other and coach would yell at me if I didn’t mention ‘character,’” Schmidt smiled.
Last season, and also in 2019, the Titans were the 25th team when the top 24 clubs made districts. “Our coach is the biggest factor. The new formation. We’re fit. We’re moving the ball well,” Rieber commended. “It’s working well.”
“The Bucks schools always had a good pull of players. Looking at the position that they were always in, being the nearly team, they had a lot of good players from a lot of good clubs,” Pettican observed. “Maybe something wasn’t connecting. As a coach coming in, I wanted the challenge to gel these guys together.”
“Fighting for each other,” finding connections and feeding off of Pettican’s energy are hallmarks of the Titans. “Everyone has bought in, especially after that win over Pennridge,” Pettican noticed. “It was a wake up call that hard work pays off.”
After two oh-so-close playoff misses in three seasons, CB South wants to savor the playoff run. The Titans will host No. 9 Downingtown West in Thursday’s second round.
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