Strath Haven’s rally stuns host Radnor in bid for state berth

RADNOR >> A few minutes after Strath Haven defeated Radnor, 9-8, in overtime Thursday, Panthers head coach Jef Hewlings reflected on the Panthers’ stunning comeback to win the District 1 Class 2A third-place game on Encke Field.

At the end of three quarters, fourth-seeded Strath Haven trailed No. 3 seed Radnor, 7-1, and the stakes were high. The winner of this game would earn a berth in the PIAA Class 2A tournament, while the losing team would see its season end.

“Right now, it’s all a blur to me,” Hewlings said. “I’m just proud of my guys for continuing to battle.”

Strath Haven senior Jeffrey Conner scored four goals, including the game-winner with 2:17 left in the second overtime, a shot that the University of Virginia-bound senior fired in from the left side.

“I got the ball in transition down the left side, I saw a shot open up and I took it with my left hand,” Conner said. “When I saw it go in, I just wanted to celebrate with my teammates. This game was the biggest comeback I’ve seen in a long, long time.”

Radnor built a 7-1 lead after three quarters on the strength of some fine defense, solid goalkeeping from Archer Darrach (12 saves), good faceoff work from Mike McShea (14-for-21), and scoring from John Austen (three goals), Drew Brown (two goals), Jackson Birtwistle (one goal, five assists) and Connor Pierce (one goal, one assist).

“We worked hard, left nothing on the field tonight, and believed we were going to win, but Strath Haven is a really good team,” Raider head coach John Begier said,

Less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, Strath Haven exploded for four quick goals. Panthers freshman Christian Mazur fired in a goal 26 seconds into the period, assisted by junior midfielder Nicky Palermo; then Conner fired in two quick goals to make it 7-4; then Panther junior midfielder Ethan Belville tallied to make it 7-5 with 10:10 left.

”We couldn’t score all night, then we put in a couple of goals early in the fourth quarter and it gave us a little bit of momentum,” Hewlings said. “I think the kids started to believe a little bit. Then, it became 7-5 and Radnor called time out, and we looked at the scoreboard and there were 10 minutes to go. At that point, we knew it was a game.”

“Not much was going our way the first three quarters, we probably played one of our worst first halves of the year, but we’re a bunch of dogs,” Conner said. “We thought we were going to come back, that nothing was going to stop us. Winning faceoffs (by Hunter Clements and Christian Mazur) was key to our comeback, without their faceoffs, there’s no chance for a comeback. Coach (Hewlings) had us playing in transition, up-tempo, and we came back on a good team.”

Strath Haven closed the gap to 7-6 on a goal by sophomore Ibo Pio, with an assist by Chris Rosini, but Austen gave the hosts some breathing room when he achieved a hat trick on Birtwistle’s fifth assist of the game with 7:03 left to make it 8-6. Unfortunately for the Raiders, it was their last goal of the game.

“Our kids kept battling, and we’ve asked them to battle all season,” Hewlings said. “We’ve asked them to get ground balls, we’ve asked them to trust the plays their teammates are making at both ends. Jeff [Conner] is the guy who makes is tick, but really it was everyone making plays for us tonight.”

Haven junior midfielder Nicky Palermo scored with 4:15 left, then with 2:21 left Conner fired in his third goal of the night to tie the score.
Radnor got the ball with 1:07 left in regulation, and called timeout, but did not score before the clock ran out.

In the first overtime, Strath Haven got possession after the faceoff and had the ball for about two minutes, but did not score. Following a turnover, Radnor gained possession with 1:32 left but lost the ball near the goal and the first overtime ended with the game still tied at 8-8.

While both teams had shots to win the game in overtime, the goalies came up with key saves time after time Tuesday night. Radnor goalie Archer Darrach had 12 saves, and for Strath Haven, senior Will Brake and sophomore Vincey Palermo combined for 15 saves.

Nearly two minutes into the second overtime, Conner finally sent the fans home with his game-winner.

“We wanted to play in transition, and Jeff got the ball in transition,” Hewlings said. “We’ve run Jeff into the ground, and I know he’s tired, as are all the other players were by the end of the game. After the game, I told the team, it was totally all of their efforts that won the game for us tonight.”

For Radnor, a squad with eight seniors, the season-ending loss was a bitter pill to swallow, but Begier praised his squad.

“This was a bitter defeat, but really, this has been an unbelievable team to coach,” said Begier. “They have a special legacy — they embodied what a team was about — caring about one another, all the things that make a winner in life. In the end, that’s what counts.”