Spring-Ford cruises by Methacton in PAC-10 semifinal, 12-4
BUCKTOWN — There’s no surprise here.
Spring-Ford — for the ninth consecutive year — will be playing for a PAC-10 Championship.
Josh Gliva led the way with a hat trick while Kevin Todd and Zach Hare each netted a pair of goals as the Rams left little doubt as to who would emerge the victor in the PAC-10 semifinals, coming away with a decisive 12-4 victory over Methacton Tuesday night.
“It feels great to get the win,’ Hare said. “It definitely feels great to start the ‘˜second season’ off right.’
Hare added an assist to his two-goal night while Todd and Jake Hvazda each registered two helpers as the Rams built an early lead that grew to as much as nine after the third quarter before the Warriors scored twice with the game already in hand.
The Rams, in search of its fifth-straight PAC-10 title, will play Owen J. Roberts for the ninth consecutive time in the league final. OJR shocked Perkiomen Valley as the Wildcats’ Ben Hiltebeitel scored with a minute remaining to complete a four-goal comeback in the second half, topping the Vikings 8-7.
However, Tuesday night’s win now in the rearview, Spring-Ford head coach Kevin Donnelly believes there’s still plenty of work to be done in the next two days.
“We have to get sharper than we were today,’ Donnelly said. “I’m going to be trying to find something well that we did today, I’ll have to look at the tape. We have to get better. We have to be better up and down the field and come out with a little more intensity.’
Ryan O’Toole, Aidan Denecke, Connor Stevenson and Michael Del Vecchio each scored for the Warriors, who see their season end after failing to qualify for the PAC-10 playoffs a season ago. Senior goalkeeper Jacob Blitzer made 11 saves in the loss.
“We knew we had a big task ahead of us today,’ Methacton head coach Nat Ryan said. “Spring-Ford is an excellent, excellent program. They’ve really set the tone as to what the best team in the league looks like.
“For us to be in this game we were going to have to control possession, win a couple more face-offs and do more stuff like that. We ran up against a team that executed better than us in that scenario.
“We had a really good group of kids who worked hard. As disappointed as I am to lose here, I wouldn’t trade my kids for anything.’
As Methacton packs it up for a season, the Rams continue their conquest in the ‘˜second season’ with a deep pool of talent. The team’s depth was in full show Tuesday as eight players figured in the scoresheet as the Rams, after being tied 1-1 four minutes into the game, rallied for a 6-1 lead at the half before taking an 11-2 advantage into the fourth. Danny Krieble, Ray Orcutt, Carter Gensler and Matthew DellaCroce all had goals in the game-changing run while goalie Christopher Morgan provided a 12-save performance in the win.
It was a showcase that has become the norm for the Rams, winners of 14 straight.
“We have a lot of trust in a lot of our guys,’ Gliva said. “We aren’t scared to throw different looks out there, we’re not scared to throw a different group of players out there. That helps us all across the board. We have a very, very deep team and it helps us stay fresher and throw different looks out there.’
“We have a lot of accountability on each other,’ Hare added. “If somebody goes down, the next guy that comes in can play just as well as the first guy. It’s always great to have a group of guys that know how to play.’
NOTES — Liam Hare registered an assist in the win … The Warriors graduate Del Vecchio, Louis Cotteta, Keith White, Colton Martin, Zach Bodek, Conner Derrickson, Stanley Szuzurek and Blitzer.
