Springfield-Montco rallies again past Phoenixville, advances to PIAA-3A final
ROYERSFORD >> As a program, Wednesday’s Class 3A state semifinal game was uncharted territory for the Springfield Spartans.
But as a team, the Spartans had been in a very similar spot only 13 days ago.
Springfield came from behind to topple Phoenixville, 2-1, in a Class 3A boys soccer semifinal game at Spring-Ford’s Coach McNelly Stadium.
The win advances the Spartans to Friday’s PIAA Class 3A championship at Eagle View Middle School in Mechanicsburg, where they’ll meet Hershey, the District 3 champions who outlasted Erie Cathedral Prep 2-0 in the other semifinal Wednesday.
It was a cruel ending for the Phantoms, who’d lost in similar fashion on Nov. 3 to the Spartans in the District 1 Class 3A final.
Springfield sophomore Shaun Bleeker came off the bench to break a 1-all tie in the 67th minute, knocking home a cross for junior Riley Martin, who assisted on both Springfield tallies.
Bleeker had been in and out of the game twice, and his second entrance came just a couple minutes before the game winner.
Biggest goal of his life?
“Definitely,” the sophomore agreed, “unless I score Friday.”
Martin’s cross came from out on the right wing and was on Bleeker’s foot before the Phoenixville defense could react.
The Phantoms controlled play for much of the opening 45 minutes, but Martin — who set up Peter Schmidt’s header to equalize at 1 in the 48th minute — said he never lost faith.
“It’s a mindset,” he said. “You just have to keep going, keep doing what you need to do.”
Bleeker’s go-ahead tally was hardly the end of the story, as Phoenixville almost immediately evened the score on a long ball into the box that eluded Springfield’s outstanding keeper, Julian Casabon-Aznar (10 saves on the night) and was cleared off the goal line by a sliding Jack Sharpe.
“As a defender, it’s my job to protect the goal,” he said.
“I know my goalie, so I expected him to get it. But at the same time, I had an intuition like it could get by him. Instead of running toward the player, I kept going to the goal line.”
Sharpe arrived just in time to preserve the lead. But only a minute later, Phoenixville’s Nate Stewart smacked one off the post from about 35 yards out.
“We got lucky there,” admitted Sharpe. “[Stewart’s] a fantastic player.”
It had to feel like déjà vu for Phoenixville, who took a 1-0 lead in the district final against Springfield only to see the Spartans tie and eventually win the game and district title on a pair of penalty kicks.
With two teams who combined for 17 goals between their first two games in state play, most expected an up-tempo semifinal.
They weren’t disappointed early, as Phoenixville’s Efe Ulcay nearly opened the scoring just three minutes in with a foray from just inside the box that was batted away by a diving Casabon-Aznar.
Ten minutes later though, there was no denying Ulcay, who buried a rebound after Casabon-Aznar deflected away an attempt from Ricky Kaniewski. Ulcay’s quick volley gave Phoenixville a 1-0 lead and momentum they carried through the half, forcing Casabon-Aznar to come up big on several occasions.
Much as they’d been in the district final, Springfield found themselves behind. And while it would take time, they’d fight back yet again.
“I think we just set a standard as a team,” said Sharpe. “We’ve been doing it all year.”
Coming up big for the Phantoms was Eric Palena about five minutes before halftime, as he chased a misjudged ball off the goal line on a play eerily similar to Sharpe’s second-half venture for Springfield.
Freshman Jack Illig’s midfield creativity allowed the Phantoms to dominate possession for a large portion of the opening half, and it was Illig who had Phoenixville poised to double their lead about seven minutes into the second half when he fired off a shot beyond the top of the box that was barely deflected by Casabon-Aznar.
But as the play started the other way, Springfield’s Martin got a step on the defender, resulting in the corner kick that would lead to Schmidt’s equalizer.
The middle portion of the second half was cautious, neither team wanting to make a mistake that could lead to the go-ahead score.
And neither side did — Riley Martin had to make a play.
“This season’s been amazing,” said Martin. “I think Friday will come down to who wants it more. That has to be us.”
Phoenixville’s deepest run in the program’s history comes to an end at 20-4-1. Coach Mike Cesarski attributes the outstanding campaign to a deep, unselfish class of seniors.
“We have 18 seniors this year,” he said, “and that meant a lot of guys who probably had to sacrifice some playing time for the team. That’s not easy to do.
“At the same, we have some good young talent as well, and I see my job as building the program to give them an opportunity to excel in the future.”
