Wissahickon keeps PIAA hopes alive, tops Lower Merion in District 1-4A playbacks

LOWER MERION >> The Wissahickon Trojans boys soccer team was not exactly thrilled following Saturday’s District 1-4A quarterfinal loss against Council Rock North.

So the Trojans did some upsetting of their own Wednesday afternoon.

The Trojans used two goals by Trey Schwartz to stunned the second-seeded  Aces, 2-0, and advance in the consolation bracket where they’ll meet the winner of the Perkiomen Valley-West Chester Henderson contest Friday in the fifth place game. Winner earns District 1’s final PIAA berth.

“We spoke after the Council Rock loss,” said Trojans head coach Stuart Malcolm, “and I think the general feeling was that we were a little intimidated against them.

“We decided we could play with (Lower Merion). They were the No. 2 seed, but we felt we could come in here and give them a good match.”

That the Trojans did, but initially the two sides battled evenly, until Schwartz converted a header off a corner with 17:09 left in the first half.

That goal held up until Schwartz hammered home the victory-clinching shot with 72 seconds left in the match to give the Trojans the game-clincher.

“We just didn’t complete an opportunity we created and they had someone who could throw the ball 60 yards in the air,” said Aces head coach Nico Severini. “We thought it would be a competitive game, and it was.

“We just didn’t have someone who could throw the ball that far.”

Schwartz converted an Eddie Fortescue throw-in to put the Trojans up, 1-0, at the 17:09 mark of the first half, then iced the verdict with the put-away goal in the final 1:12.

Wissahickon 2, Lower Merion 0
Wissahickon       1 1 — 2
Lower Merion   0 0 — 0
First-Half Scoring: 1. Wissahickon, Trey Schwartz (Eddie Forescue), 17:09.
Second-Half Scoring: 2. Wissahickon, Schwartz, 1:12.
Shots: Lower Merion 4-5-9; Wissahickon 3-5-8.
Corners: Lower Merion 4-6-10; Wissahickon 3-5-8.