By Neil Geoghegan
ngeoghegan@21st-centurymedia.com
@NeilMGeoghegan on Twitter
BERWYN >> Conestoga boys soccer head coach Dave Zimmerman often says that a draw at halftime is a win for his program. And he is rarely, if ever, wrong.
The Pioneers have been deadlocked at the half in each of their last three playoff games, and each time Zimmerman’s theory has proven true. The latest came Tuesday, when ’Stoga turned a scoreless half into a dominating 2-0 win over Mechanicsburg in round one of the PIAA 4A Tournament.
“We talk about the idea that we are a second half team,” Zimmerman said. “The idea is to keep legs fresh and wear the other guy down.”
The final score may not indicate a blowout, but what happened at Teamer Field sure fits. The statistics were very lopsided – 20-1 in shots on goal; 10-0 on corner kicks – but a lot of it had to do with the way the visiting Wildcats packed it in defensively.
“I give (Mechanicsburg) credit. It’s a smart strategy,” Zimmerman acknowledged. “If they come out to play, we probably beat them (easily). And it was working. They got to the half at 0-0.”
But in similar fashion to the district quarters (against Lower Merion), semifinals (Downingtown East) and final (Abington), the Pioneers thrived after the intermission, outscoring those three 8-0 the rest of the way.
“We knew going into the game they wanted to sit back, so we had to be patient and play our game. We knew the chances would come,” said senior defender Brady Costin.
“We are not waiting for the second half – it’s not supposed to happen that way,” Zimmerman added. “I give our guys credit for making the adjustments at the half. We send a message to them and they’ve been really good at executing the plan at the second half.”
Now 21-0-1 overall, Conestoga advances to the state quarters where they will face the winner of Downingtown East-Abington Heights Saturday at a neutral site. The Pioneers are now three wins away from capturing the program’s sixth state crown.
“We’ve been in this position before,” Costin said. “We’ve had to go to penalty kicks before. We just have to stay composed, and execute the game plan that the coaches draw up. If we can do that, I don’t think there is a team out there to stop us.”
The third-seed from District 3, Mechanicsburg’s season ends with a 10-11-1 record.
“Our motto is that if we go into the half at 0-0, we know we can get the job done in the second half,” Costin said.
“I’m sure for some teams it would be frustrating, but we have a game plan and we are going to execute it regardless.”
One of the state’s best on corner kicks and free kicks, Costin served up a corner less than three minutes into the second half, and senior midfielder Cole Frederick put it in the back of the net. A minute later, it looked like ’Stoga’s Michael Haley made it 2-0 off a throw-in by Westin Fryberger, but it was waved off after the officials conferred.
“They said it went over the goal line before anyone touched it,” Zimmerman explained. “You can’t just throw it into the net, it has to touch somebody.”
It was all part of an assault to start the second half that included three corners and four shots on goal in less than four minutes. Midway through the second, the Pioneers made it 2-0 when senior midfielder Kieran Chetty headed in the eighth Fryberger throw-in of the contest.
“For us it was really just hammering the wings, getting the set pieces, which ultimately was telling,” Zimmerman said.
It was the 15th shutout of the season so far, and Conestoga goaltender Ryan Carella made his one and only save with 13:11 to go. The Pioneers had a slew of other close calls at the offensive end, including a near-spectacular bicycle-kick in the first half that bounced off the cross bar.
Costin and senior defender Sleem Emam each had long-range shots in the second half that also bounced off the cross bar. And even Carillo got in on the action when his free kick from just shy of midfield had to be punched over the cross bar by Wildcats’ keeper Gavin Martinez to prevent a goal.
From start to finish, Mechanicsburg had great difficultly just advancing the ball into the ’Stoga zone. The Pioneers’ defense has allowed just eight goals in 22 outings, which averages out to a miniscule 0.36 goals per game. And Costin, along with senior Tommy Barausky, have been rock solid as the last line of defense in front of Carella.
But Costin’s contributions in the offense zone are also ultra-important.
“I love it. Anytime we get a set piece my eyes light up,” Costin said. “I want to go and try to serve up one of my teammates. And we have amazing ball-winners.”
Zimmerman added: “I would say Brady is without question our best corner kick taker – and our best medium-to-long direct kick taker – ever. He is great at serving the ball, and then you combine that with the big throw in (by Fryberger).
“And the thing today was for a team that is sitting back, you can’t really sit back on a set piece.”
Conestoga 2, Mechanicsburg 0
Mechanicsburg 0 0 — 0
Conestoga 0 2 — 2
Conestoga goals: Frederick, Chetty.
Goalie saves: Martinez (M) 20; Carella (C) 1.
