The Reporter/Times Herald/Montgomery 2021 Boys Soccer All-Area teams
The 2021 boys soccer season is over and plenty of Reporter/Times Herald/Montgomery Media area teams are walking away with championships.
North Penn, Abington and Lower Moreland won Suburban One League titles. Upper Merion won the Pioneer Athletic Conference Frontier Division, La Salle won the Philadelphia Catholic League and Germantown Academy won the Inter-Ac.
Faith Christian Academy won the District 1-A championship while La Salle and Archbishop Wood each won District 12 titles.
The top players who played key roles this fall are recognized as All-Area selections.
First Team
Thiago Lage, Abington
Lage, a senior from Brazil, moved to the Abington school district this year and added energy to the Ghosts attack. A talented finisher, Lage helped Abington win the Suburban One League Liberty Division and reach the District 1-4A semifinals. He scored the game-winner in double overtime in Abington’s 2-1 win over Emmaus in the first round of states.
Kevin Kretschman, Abington
Abington’s junior goalkeeper posted nine shutouts and allowed more than one goal just three times during the regular season. He held Emmaus to one goal over 105 minutes in the first round of the PIAA-4A state playoffs.
Dom Petruzzelli, Archbishop Wood
Petruzzelli helped the Vikings have one of the best seasons in program history. Wood won the District 12-3A championship and came up one goal short of winning its first state championship. Petruzzelli, a senior captain, was selected to the first team All-Philadelphia Catholic League. The defender helped the Vikings post two shutouts in their three state playoff wins before a 1-0 loss in Hershey.
Peyton Curry, Faith Christian Academy
The senior defender was a key piece to arguably the most successful class in Faith Christian boys soccer history. Curry used his heights and smarts to keep everything in front of him and help the Lions win the District 1-A championship and return to the PIAA-A state title game.
Sean Lipschutz, Germantown Academy
Germantown Academy’s senior captain help the Patriots change their program over the last four years. The team went from 3-14-2 during Lipschutz’ freshman year in 2018 to 17-3 this season. Lipschutz was a driving force behind the Patriots Inter-Ac championship run and first ever appearance in the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association championship game.
Sean Jennings, La Salle
Jennings was named first-team All-PCL and league MVP after a stellar season with the Explorers. The senior captain was an force on offense and defense while leading La Salle to Catholic League and District 12-4A championships and a PIAA-4A state semifinal appearance.
Seth Michalak, La Salle
Michalak, a first-team All-PCL selection, was an offensive threat for the Explorers all season. Some highlights from the junior’s season include two assists in a 3-2 Catholic League championship win over Father Judge and three first-half goals in a 5-1 win over Abington in the state quarterfinals.
Diego Guzman, Norristown
Guzman played an essential role in Norristown’s turnaround over the last nine months. The senior helped the Eagles win the United X championship in the spring before earning a District 1-4A playoff berth this fall. Guzman scored 26 goals in 19 games.
Ryan Mindick, North Penn
Mindick helped lead the Knights to an SOL Colonial title, District 1-4A fifth-place finish and PIAA-4A state playoff berth. The senior defender earned first-team All-League honors and helped the Knights finish the regular season with three straight shutouts and four total goals over their final nine regular season games.
Jake Saville, Pennridge
The senior captain led Pennridge to its most wins in a season in 15 years with a 15-4-3 record. The three-year varsity player was named the Suburban One League Colonial Division Player of the Year after totaling 17 goals, including five game-winners, and 11 assists.
Shane Velez, Pennridge
Velez was a junior captain for the Rams. In his third varsity season he earned All-League honors for the third time – his second straight first-team selection. The center back scored eight goals and tallied four assists while helping the Rams post 10 shutouts.
Second Team
Liam Hartman, Abington
Drew Paxson, Abington
Louie Daniele, Archbishop Wood
Marcus Pringle, Faith Christian Academy
Tommy Harmon, Hatboro-Horsham
Aiden Castle, Pennridge
CJ Dimmick, Pennridge
Brendan Corpus, Plymouth Whitemarsh
Thomas Smith, Souderton
Riley Martin, Springfield
Zach Berman, Upper Dublin
Honorable Mention
Central Bucks West: Ryan Horst
Cheltenham: Cameron Rhodes
Faith Christian Academy: Kieran Rea
Hatboro-Horsham: Caleb Hudson, Noah Schlosser, Ryan Toporowski
La Salle: Jake Barton, Jake Yuskevich
Lansdale Catholic: Eric Fernandez
Lower Moreland: Braden Alicea, Ian Alicea
Methacton: Graham Halfpenny, Otto Hull
North Penn: Jovani Gonzalez, Alex Stewart, Hunter Stites
Norristown: Renato Castillo
Pope John Paul II: Ben Rubinich, Dylan Russ
Upper Merion: Patryk Rojek
Upper Moreland: Logan Taylor
