Conestoga explodes late to top Abington and get to district final
TREDYFFRIN >> For more than 60 minutes of playoff soccer, visiting Abington battled top-seeded Conestoga to a scoreless draw. But then came a devastating seven-minute stretch where the Pioneers quickly seized command and punched their ticket to the District 1 4A Boys’ Soccer Final with a 3-0 triumph.
“We preach patience and composure,” said ’Stoga had coach Dave Zimmerman. “We rotate a lot of guys in and try to wear team’s down. The playbook is we have 40 minutes in the second half and another 30, if necessary, in overtime to get a goal.
“We have depth, so we might as well use it. Credit our players – they all understand they might get subbed at some point. The whole idea is to get hydration and some rest so that we have fresher legs later in the game.
“That strategy worked, as expected, today.”
Unblemished at 21-0, the Central League champions will face a familiar foe – second-seeded Lower Merion – in the district final 4 p.m. on Saturday at Spring-Ford. The Aces only setback so far came in a league clash in mid-Sept. against the Pioneers. The score was 3-0.
“It’s good for the Central League,” Zimmerman said. “We played them in the district final one other time, back in 2009 or 2010, and they won that one in penalty kicks. It’s always a great game with them.”
Fifth seeded Abington falls to 17-3-1, but the Galloping Ghosts stayed with Conestoga well into the second half. They will play Council Rock South for third place on Friday, and have already qualified for the PIAA Playoffs.
“Our players are disappointed,” said Abington head coach Randy Garber. “Most people will look at 3-0 and think that (Conestoga) had their way. I don’t know that that was the case.
“(Conestoga) is a tough, aggressive team, but we hung with them.”
Nevertheless, it was the 16th shutout of the season for ’Stoga, who has surrendered just five goals all season. And in their last 14 games dating back to Sept. 27, the Pioneers have surrendered just a single goal.
“(Conestoga is) very deep and that’s one of the strengths of their program,” Garber said. “They can sub in three or four players at a time and they don’t skip a beat. Most teams don’t have that luxury. And in an 80-minute game, it definitely wears their opponents down.”
Senior forward Jake Albertson opened the scoring midway through the second half when he threaded his way through a couple defenders, lost possession briefly but got it back and found the back of the net.
“The first goal was a communication problem between our keeper and the defense. And that was really the breaking point,” Garber pointed out.
“All I remember is dribbling, getting hit from behind, the ball hit off my foot and it went in,” Albertson added. “It may not have been pretty, but a goal is a goal.”
And then less than three minutes later, the Pioneers’ scored off one of their seven corner kicks. The delivery came from sophomore defender Brady Costin, and senior midfielder Sebastian Tis finished it. Less than five minutes after that, senior forward A.J. Nordone wrapped up the scoring after taking a centering pass from teammate Kole Wintersteen, who drew Abington keeper Kevin Krechman out to the wing, leaving an open net.
“We are definitely a second half team, and we came out stronger and we looked a lot better on the second half,” Albertson said of the goal explosion. “I knew something was bound to happen.”
A constant, of course, was the defense. Goaltender Charlie Smith seemed to routinely handle eight shots on goal. And afterwards Zimmerman lauded Smith and the four defenders in front of him: seniors Simeon Dorsey and Lorenzo Vargas-Clarke; sophomores Tommy Barausky and Costin.
“Our back line is among the best we’ve ever had in my 20 years here,” he said. “Across the board they are extremely good. Our keeper too has been near perfect.”
There is also another motivational aspect at play this fall: during a COVID-shortened 2020 season, Conestoga went unbeaten and won the Central League, yet didn’t have enough games to qualify for the postseason.
“We want to prove to everybody that we should have been in the postseason last season,” Albertson said.
“We’ve talked about it,” Dorsey added. “It’s like a chip on our shoulders. The seniors haven’t played in the district playoffs since our sophomore year so we are really motivated.”
Afterwards, both sides acknowledged that another meeting between these two squads could very well happen in the state tournament.
“Who knows, we might see (Conestoga) again,” Garber said.
“Abington gave us, probably, our best game to date,” Zimmerman added. “I don’t know if anyone has taken us scoreless that deep into any game.”
Conestoga 3, Abington 0
Abington 0 0 — 0
Conestoga 0 3 — 3
Conestoga goals: Albertson, Tis, Nordone.
Goalie saves: Kreshman (A) 9; Smith (C) 8.
