By Neil Geoghegan
ngeoghegan@21st-centurymedia.com
@NeilMGeoghegan on Twitter
UWCHLAN >> Downingtown East’s 4-1 boys’ soccer triumph over Unionville on Tuesday afternoon may sound like a blowout, but it wasn’t. And that’s good news for the Cougars because of the way it ended.
Clinging to a 2-1 lead with less than 10 minutes on the clock, and with star defender Luis Colmenares Bittar on the sidelines with an injury, things didn’t look comfortable for East. But the Cougars showed why they are currently No. 1 in the latest District 1 4A Power Rankings by scoring a pair of insurance goals in the final eight-minutes-plus to end any suspense.
And senior forward Jackson Nuttall registered East’s final three scores for a rare natural hat trick.
“The way the game ended was a very good sign,” Nuttall said.
“At Downingtown East we are known as a defensive team. But I think our offense is picking up. We have a good group and we are growing as a unit.
“I think we are one of the best teams in the district, and we are going to be a force to be reckoned with in the playoffs.”
Now 13-1 overall, the Cougars (9-1 in the Ches-Mont) have won seven in a row since their lone defeat in overtime against West Chester Henderson. The Warriors are the lone unbeaten team in the Ches-Mont (7-0), and all of the other pursuers have at least two setbacks.
The Longhorns fall to 4-5 in the league and 8-6 overall.
“This would have been a great feather in our cap if we could have pulled it off today, but it didn’t happen,” said Unionville head coach Rich Garber. “(East) wanted it more. We have to figure out how to match (our opponent’s) intensity.”
Unionville was able to knot the score at 1-1 early in the second half on a pretty goal by sophomore standout Jax Pinkston, who got his foot on a loose ball in the box.
“Jax finds a way to get it done,” Garber said. “It’s not always pretty, but he is usually in the right spot at the right time. Our goal was well developed.”
But the ’Horns were unable to take advantage of the momentum because the Cougars struck back less than four minutes later when Juan Colmenares Bittar delivered a perfect centering pass and Nuttall headed it in.
“After the equalizer went in, it was a wakeup call,” Nutter said.
“(Nuttall) is fearless in the box,” Creighton added. “He was more of a defensive player for us last season. But this year A.J. Lamb has really has been impressive playing center midfield, and that allowed us to get Jackson to a forward position, and he is a handful.”
About a minute later, however, Luis Colmenares Bittar limped off the field and did not return. At the end of the contest, he had an ice pack on his right foot, but afterwards, East head coach Tom Creighton said that the injury wasn’t serious.
“That is a huge loss for us at that point in the game,” Creighton said. “But we didn’t dwell on it. We moved forward and it was next guy up.”
Instead of just trying to hold on, Nuttall and the Cougars went for the jugular. With 8:42 on the clock he got a foot on a shot by teammate Matthew Prendergast to make it 3-1, and then a couple minutes after that Nuttall headed a corner from teammate Nate Prendergast into the back of the net.
“We got it wide, got some balls into the box and I got one, then another and another,” Nuttall summarized.
“The first (goal) was a beautiful pass, and I gave (Juan) a nice hug after that one. The second I was waiting for the shot by (Matthew Prendergast), and I know he likes to fire it back post. I just put a leg out, slid in there and it got past the goalkeeper.
“On the third I told Nate (Prendergast) to float it up high, I jumped as high as I could and I put my head right through the ball.”
East took the early lead with an Alex Fedor goal off a corner in the first five minutes of action. The Cougars nearly made it 2-0 early in the second quarter but Vishnu Kotireddy’s blast was saved by Unionville keeper Sreyas Sai.
“We have done a good job of getting one early,” Creighton said.
The Longhorns only managed three shots on goal, but did generate a pair of prime scoring chances off headers by junior Bear Ziegler, but both bounced off the crossbar. East also had a big edge in corner kicks (8-2).
“(East) kept putting pressure on us and we just didn’t figure it out,” Garber said. “Hopefully we’ll learn from it.
“We just challenged (our players) – what do they want out of this season? Bottom line is we could go anywhere from a home game (in round one of Districts) to being out of the playoffs completely.”
Downingtown East 4, Unionville 1
Unionville 0 1 — 1
Downingtown East 1 3 — 4
Unionville goal: Pinkston.
Downingtown East goals: Fedor, Nuttall 3.
Goalie saves: Sai (U) 7; Shordjian (DE) 2.
