Helsel scores twice, Central Bucks South rallies to edge North Penn

WARRINGTON >> Nolan Helsel knew to prepare for that brief moment of chaos that could come as the rain continued to pour down Monday afternoon.

And in the second half of a Suburban One League Colonial Division battle with North Penn tied at two, that flash of an opportunity came for the Central Bucks South senior striker as rebound came off the goalkeeper.

“It’s a wet surface, he’s going to spill the ball,” Helsel said. “I had to crash the net and luckily it went in off their player.”

Helsel hustled to beat a defender to the ball and slid it past the keeper, his second goal of the contest putting the Titans ahead for good as South rallied to keep their push for a division title going with a 3-2 victory over the visiting Knights.

“After going down 2-1 on that PK call we just had to keep fighting and got the game across the line,” Helsel said.

Nate Kim gave North Penn (7-9-1, 6-8-1 SOL Colonial) the lead as he blasted in a penalty kick to break a 1-1 tie after halftime but CB South (11-4-1, 10-3-1) quickly answered on a corner kick – Andrew Sherstnyov heading in a ball delivered in by Jeremy Salazar.

“It was a big blow honestly,” said Kim of Sherstnyov’s equalizer. “The first objective after you score is to lock it down the next five, 10 minutes. Credit to them, they have great players – great players in the air – and we came off second best on the corner.

“And then from there I think they had the momentum and it was tough fighting back, especially in these conditions.”

Helsel’s go-ahead tally came after Sean Rieber drove to space above the left side of the 18-yard box and let go a left-footed strike that skimmed toward goal. The keeper blocked the effort but the ball ricocheted into space, Helsel getting to it just ahead of a defender to propel it forward into the net.

“Most of our wins we were actually down 1-0 going into the second half,” Helsel said. “We were able to come back and come out with the win.”

The win by the Titans, who are unbeaten in their last three – shutting out Souderton 3-0 Oct. 6 then playing Central Buck East to a scoreless draw Oct. 11 – along with first-place Pennridge’s 2-1 double-overtime loss to Central Bucks West has South just two points behind the Rams heading into their matchup 7 p.m. Wednesday at South.

Pennridge sits at 33 points with both CB South and CB East tied for second at 31. East visits North Penn 7 p.m. Wednesday. South then finishes on the road against CB West 7 p.m. Friday.

“Our coach keeps preaching to us every game that if we win out we win the division,” Helsel said. “So we just keep working towards that goal.”

While not in the SOL Colonial title race, Wednesday’s game with CB East is critical for the Knights in their bid to qualify for the District 1-4A tournament. North Penn entered Monday 24^th in the rankings but its second-straight loss now has it 27^th with 28 making the playoff field.

CB South, meanwhile, moved up one spot to 10^th in the 4A rankings.

“It’s our last game and it’s at home, it’s our Senior Night,” said Kim, a senior center back. “From there we have no excuses, we’ve had two tough away games against two really tough teams in our conference but we’re going back home that game on Wednesday and I think it’s a must and I think we’ll do it, I think we’ll take care of it.”

Helsel gave the Titans a 1-0 lead shortly after the start, getting a one-on-one with the goalie on the left side and slotting a ball past him and into the net.

“I just saw the opening through the defense,” Helsel said. “I was like ‘Rieber, play it through.’ I was on a breakaway, I just tapped it right around the keeper.”

It did not take the Knights much time to pull level, as Ryan Miller got a pass from Dan Lee and knocked a ball in to make it 1-1, which is how the game stood at halftime.

“Miller on the scoresheet again,” Kim said. “I think Dan Lee played a phenomenal ball in behind and Miller’s just always there at the right time, tucked it away. He’s getting better and better for us. Great player.”

North Penn took the lead after getting a penalty kick on a foul on the right side of the box. Kim sent his shot to the net’s left side and while the keeper got his hands on the ball he could not deny it from heading into the top corner to make it 2-1.

“It was a bit nerve wracking if I’m being honest,” Kim said. “Stepping up, I spent like 30 seconds just get grass off my cleats but I was just looking to hit it with power and luckily I got enough power on it to go in.”

But the Titans had a fast response, earning a corner kick to the left of goal, with Salazar sending a ball to Sherstnyov in front of the net for his header that knotted things up 2-2.

“That was big just cause we had our heads down on that PK cause that’s just a stupid mistake,” Helsel said. “And coming back on the corner from Jeremy cross, Andrew finish was just incredible to see.”

The rain held off until after the break but grew steadier and heavier in the second half, making things tricky on the grass field as both sides sought to take the lead. Eventually, it was the hosts who claimed the 3-2 advantage – Rieber’s shot coming off the keeper for Helsel to put in for his brace.

“Despite the weather we knew coming into it, it was going to be a dogfight,” Kim said. “Playing on grass, there’s bumps here and there and it’s not quite the smooth pitch that we’re used to at home. So our game plan was to go direct anyways.

“But we got hit on the counter on that last goal and the conditions obviously didn’t help our keeper at all.”