Pennridge outlasts Boyertown in shootout
BOYERTOWN >> He couldn’t have expressed a more succinct, or appropriate, sentiment.
“Soccer,” Boyertown head coach Scott Didyoung said Tuesday evening, “can be a cruel sport.”
Didyoung and his squad had just experienced the sport’s ultimate cruelty, on the occasion of their District 1 Class AAA playoff opener with Pennridge. The Bears found themselves in a shootout situation with the Rams after the teams went 1-1 through regulation and two overtimes. They then got roughed up in the shootout phase, resulting in a 2-1 loss which brought an abrupt end to a season that had shown so much promise.
Ninth-seeded Boyertown endured the added cruelty of having made the better showing in the regulation and overtimes phases. The Bears scored just under 12 minutes into the contest, holding that tenuous lead until the 24th-seeded Rams got the equalizer inside the 52nd minute. Coupled with that was Boyertown’s play in the OT frames, where it kept the action at Pennridge’s end of the field much of the time and took a number of shots at the Ram cage … only to see the visitors’ goalkeeper, Brody Giblin, stop each try.
“They were better, obviously,” Didyoung said in the game’s overview. “We didn’t finish the opportunities we had.”
Pennridge’s finishing touch was a 3-1 edge in penalty kicks during that tiebreaking phase. Converting their shots in the first three rounds, and stopping two of Boyertown’s first two tries, eliminated the need for a fifth round.
“I love penalty kicks,” Giblin said afterward. “It’s just me and the kicker. There’s nothing like it.”
Giblin, who had faced a shootout scenario earlier in the season, covered the first two Boyertown shots attempted by Eric Recke and Owen Kulig. On the other side, the Rams’ Sebastian Perkowski and Kenny Estep connected on their tries.
“Their keeper seemed to be in the right place at the right time,” Didyoung said. “Our boys needed to change their decisions.”
The third round saw both teams convert — Dylan Henry for Pennridge, Levi Roberts for Boyertown. That gave the Bears and their fans a moment of hope, especially after Giblin, taking the fourth kick for the Rams, was unable to convert.
The hope was dashed, however, by Giblin stopping Will Schul’s kick. That touched off a delirious celebration by Pennridge, which qualified for Thursday’s second round with the inspired victory.
“We have a seven-game win streak going,” Giblin noted.
Boyertown, coming off a Pioneer Athletic Conference playoff championship the previous week, set itself in good position in regulation time when Sam Marks connected off a Sid Kabinoff corner kick at the 28:03 mark of the first half. The Bears took that lead into the halftime break, along with an 8-5 edge in shots on goal and Agliano needing to make just two saves in the early going.
“I was very pleased by our play,” Didyoung said. “We minimalized their chances, did all things right.”
Pennridge put itself back in contention at the 29:45 mark of the second half, Josh Jarrett hitting a shot directly in front of the Boyertown goal. Perkowski assisted on the play.
That ended up being all the scoring over the remaining 29 minutes of regulation, and two 10-minute overtime periods. That brought on the inevitable do-or-die shootout phase, where one-on-one play took the spotlight off the team performances.
“Our boys were confident going into today’s game,” Didyoung said. “They played with a lot of heart and passion.”
But Pennridge didn’t lack for passion, either. The Rams watched it grow with every penalty kick converted.
“Our confidence really built up in the shootout,” Giblin said.
The Rams’ next playoff opponent will be the winner of the first-round game between ninth seed North Penn (a 2-0 winner over 25th seed Strath Haven). And while Boyertown sees its season ended, Didyoung feels his players have enough reason to feel good about their play this fall.
“This is a great group of kids,” Didyoung said. “They can’t be too hard on themselves. They have a PAC-10 championship … a memory that will be there the rest of their lives.”
NOTES >> Boyertown ended up with a 15-9 edge in shots on goal. Agliano had a six-save day in goal while Giblin made nine stops. … Giblin, explaining how he came to be in the shootout rotation: “Yesterday in practice, the coach (Pete Valimont) asked for players to indicate if they wanted to be in shootouts. I raised my hand. The coach said, ‘Are you serious?’ Then my twin brother (Cayce) said he thought I was the best kicker on the team.”
