Burn’s OT penalty kick wins it for CB West over Pennridge in District 1-4A 2nd round

DOYLESTOWN >> After 87 minutes of back-and-forth soccer between rivals Central Bucks West and Pennridge, Colin Burn’s well-placed penalty kick lifted the Bucks to a 2-1 overtime victory in the second round of the District 1-4A Tournament at chilly War Memorial Field. 

“I was a little nervous — I blew a few shots over (the crossbar) in this game, so that’s why I hit this one on the ground,” Burn said with a smile after the Bucks advanced to Saturday’s quarterfinals at third-seeded North Penn. “I usually go high. I was 0-for-1 on PK’s this season…until now.”

CB West (16-2-0) dominated the first half but led just 1-0. Pennridge would tie it to force overtime, but the Bucks’ defense and keeper Dylan Smith helped keep it deadlocked until Burn finished things off. 

“We really rely on them. We know what they can do, especially Dylan and Nick (Centenera), Bailey (Moyer) and James (Lutz), and Luke (Fehrman),” Burn said. “We rely on all of them. They keep us in games, even when we’re not finishing.”

The sixth-seeded Bucks were able to defeat the No. 11 Rams (13-5-2) for the third time this season. Fittingly, the other two games were thrillers as well — 1-0 and 2-1. 

“It was a great game. We didn’t want to keep it that close – we would have liked to bury a few more chances in the first half, but it’s great we were able to move on,” Burn said. 

CB West got its 1-0 lead on a goal by Fehrman, 10 minutes in. From there, the Bucks generated plenty of chances, but their shots either sailed high or were stopped by Ram keeper Ryan Mayhew. 

Mayhew’s diving save kept it a one-goal game at the break.

“They owned us the first 40 minutes. We were fortunate to be 1-0,” Rams coach Pete Valimont said. “They came out with four up top, and with Moyer starting out up top, you know they’re going for the jugular right at the start.

“In the second half, I didn’t know how we were gonna respond. And fortunately, our little freshman got in their and got a poke, found the back of the net, and then everything just changed.”

Aiden Castle’s tying goal with 21 minutes left in regulation was set up by a nice cross from Matt Stevenson. 

“In the first 15 to 20 minutes, we didn’t get that insurance goal. And (when Pennridge scored), all the momentum shifted,” Bucks coach Stefan Szygiel said. “In these games and these situations, against a team as good as Pennridge, you can not leave chances on the field.”

The teams battled into OT, and with 7:42 left, Pennridge was called for pulling down Moyer, and Burn lined up to take the game-winning kick.

“They know how to play us, they’ve played us twice, and I feel like the bye didn’t give us that much of an advantage,” Burn said of the Rams, after a long but well-played night on the turf.