Lowman, Young allow Strath Haven to slip past Susquehannock

LOWER MERION — Strath Haven coach Ryan O’Neill wasn’t too bothered by the one-goal deficit just three minutes into Tuesday’s PIAA Class 3A first-round game.

The Panthers have faced adversity – early and late in games – but have found ways to come back. Their fighting spirit is a big reason why they are District 1 champions.

But Haven barely had time to settle in at Harriton High School before Susquehannock’s Nolan Holloway found some daylight and fired a shot from outside the box. The ball took a wicked curve and zoomed past the outstretched arms of goalie Charlie Shankweiler.

“It was a really good goal by an excellent player,” O’Neill said. “The game plan didn’t change. We talk all the time about goals happening in the first five minutes and last five minutes of a half. We see it all the time, it happens all the time in soccer, and we’re ready for it. You know, we also recognize that in the last two district playoffs games, we gave up a goal with 13 seconds to go and we always scored one with a minute to go in the game.”

Maybe the Panthers had the District 3 champions right where they wanted.

Andrew Lowman and Emmet Young scored the tying and go-ahead goals, respectively, and the Panthers’ spectacular defense did the rest on the way to a 2-1 victory. Strath Haven plays the District 4 champ Selinsgrove in the quarterfinal round Saturday at a time and location to be announced. Selingrove recorded its sixth consecutive shutout with a 2-0 decision over Crestwood.

“It’s a long game,” O’Neill said. “We’ve been through some of the ups and downs, mentally, but we still want to implement the same game plan, which is to be aggressive in defending, winning second balls and use what’s been effective for us the last couple of games, which is speed and aggression.”

The Strath Haven boys soccer team was Delaware County’s only fall sports team competing in PIAA tournaments to advance to the second round. The girls soccer, field hockey and volleyball teams went a combined 0-8 Monday.

Lowman netted the equalizer with 23 minutes left in the first half. Less than nine minutes later, Young put the Panthers (14-6-2) in front with a laser that hit the post and went into the back of the cage.

“I know the ball somehow bounced to (junior forward) Johnny Francis, he flicked it to me, then I took a touch and I shot it,” Young said. “It was surreal because it all happened so quick.”

Lowman earned plaudits from O’Neill for his all-around performance. In addition to his goal, the junior performed yeoman’s work in the midfield, winning 50/50 balls and pressuring the Susquehannock attack, forcing mistakes and creating offensive opportunities for his teammates.

“Not only did he score, he found a third gear tonight that I hadn’t seen him have,” O’Neill said. “Quite frankly, he’s one of our best soccer players and he was last year as well. He’s had a really good year, but tonight was a great night. The dirty work of winning balls, finding quick passes, the goal when it needed to come … Andrew Lowman, in my opinion, was great.”

Strath Haven’s midfield and backfield defense cleaned up their early mistake and prevented Susquehannock from establishing any semblance of sustainable momentum. Susquehannock had a few cracks at Shankweiler (five saves), but overall the Panthers did a good job of interrupting the flow of attack and creating takeaways. One of those defenders was John “JT” Holstein, who nearly headed home a goal off a corner in the second half, and was all over the field on defense.

“We just had to keep our heads up and make sure that we never give up and finish our chances,” Holstein said. “No. 13 (Holloway), that was a great finish. It was outside the box, it was a very good strike. But we came back and scored two more with two really good finishes. That proves don’t count us out, even though they took the early lead.

Strath Haven is aiming for the program’s sixth PIAA championship, but it’s been 19 years since its last title. The Panthers are one year removed from a trip to the state final.

Tuesday’s win was the first step to completing the job.

“Me and all of the other seniors realize this is our last run,” said Young, who is the kicker on the Strath Haven football team. The Panthers travel to Kennett Friday night in the District 1 Class 5A quarterfinals. “We don’t want to go out with a loss, we want to win. We want to go back to the state championship and win it this time. All of the underclassmen want it, too. We all have the same drive, same goal.”