WARRINGTON >> Central Bucks South found itself in the same position as last year. After going 2-1 in the District 1-4A playoffs, the Titans had a home playback game with a chance to earn a state playoff berth for the second time in school history and first time since 2011.
South lost that game last year to rival CB East. This time, against Boyertown from the Pioneer Athletic Conference, the Titans started fast and never trailed.
CB South applied consistent pressure over the first 30 minutes and held a one-goal lead thanks to Nate MaCloud’s 16th-minute finish. That score held until Tyler Jaskelewicz added some breathing room in the 79th minute and the Titans advanced to the state playoffs with a 2-0 win at Central Bucks High School South.
“It’s huge,” MaCloud said of the state berth. “We had a chance last year to make states and we lost to our rivals East in this exact game in this stadium. It feels great to come back and be able to have a shot at the state championship. It’s a great feeling.”
“Especially after the rough exit against Abington in districts,” defender Connor Victor added, referencing a 1-0 loss in the quarterfinals Saturday.
South will face Council Rock North, a winner over Lower Merion in penalties, in the District 1 fifth-place game Friday.
MaCloud’s goal came after he heard some chatter from the crowd. A Boyertown pass hit him in the face and he went to the ground for a few seconds and play was stopped. He got back to his feet and continued playing while fans questioned why he wasn’t required to come out of the game. A couple minutes later, the senior was celebrating what proved to be the game-winning goal.
Olexsander Sokol took a free kick from the left side of the net and 26 yards out. His shot short-hopped Boyertown goalkeeper Brayden Risser and the rebound went in front of the net, where MaCloud was to put it away.
“(Sokol) has a great shot and it’s tough for any keeper to stop it,” MaCloud said. “I guess I was just there to tidy it up.”
The Titans (16-4-2) had plenty of additional scoring chances in the first 30 minutes, but Risser was there to turn them away. He made six of his nine saves in the first 40 minutes and the Titans put additional shots off the crossbar and post.
“He’s been solid for us all year,” Boyertown coach Matt Danner said. “He made some big plays. Unfortunately we didn’t really support him on that first goal, didn’t have enough guys around the ball to clear it, but he made a nice save off of the initial shot. Unfortunately for us it didn’t bounce our way.”
The Bears (13-9) finished the first half strong with three of their best opportunities of the game in the final 10 minutes. Elijah Emodoh-Kaba and Chase Bartman took good shots that went just wide of the net and Macade Knoblauch had a strong kick from 35 yards away that South goalkeeper Pat VanLuvanee dove to keep out of the net.
Those last 10 minutes of the first half resulted in South switching to a four-player back-line in the second half. Victor, Andrew Sherstnyov, Evan Rumford and Sean Clevenstine helped keep things clear in front of VanLuvanee, who posted a shutout stopping all four shots on goal.
“In the second half we made a switch to four-back,” Victor said. “Sean Clev marked their striker, really helped us out there with the pressure. We just locked them up.
“We were already up 1-0 so we just wanted to be extra cautious because they were getting at us at the end of the first half. We made that change to lock them up even more and it worked.”
The Bears had a couple scoring opportunities when they earned back-to-back corner kicks in the 62nd minute and another good look to tie the game in the 76th, but couldn’t get the ball past VanLuvanee.
Jaskelewicz scored on the counter attack in the 79th minute to make it 2-0 and secure the win. It was the freshman’s first goal other than a penalty kick.
Boyertown’s season ends with the loss.
“(This season) was a bit of a mix for us,” Danner said. “Coming in we had a lot of aspirations to win the PAC and get through the district and try to win a district title and get to states. We just fell a little bit short. We played a very difficult schedule this year. If you look at some of the non-league opponents, and even our in-league opponents, I think we had one of the toughest schedules in District 1.”
Central Bucks South 2, Boyertown 0
Boyertown 0 0 – 0
Central Bucks South 1 1 – 2
Goals: CBS: Nate MaCloud, Tyler Jaskelewicz.
Saves: B: Brayden Risser 9. CBS: Pat VanLuvanee 4.
Corners: B: 3. CBS: 5.
