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PIAA Boys Soccer: Springfield’s Hastings the hero in PKs as Radnor falls in semis

Springfield Montgomery County goalkeeper Owen Hastings stops Radnor's JD Harmelin, in the fifth round to give Springfield victory in the PIAA semi-finals at Norristown High School Tuesday night. (PETE BANNAN-DAILY TIMES)
Springfield Montgomery County goalkeeper Owen Hastings stops Radnor’s JD Harmelin, in the fifth round to give Springfield victory in the PIAA semi-finals at Norristown High School Tuesday night. (PETE BANNAN-DAILY TIMES)
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WEST NORRITON – The final scene was suitably cinematic for the 110-minute masterpiece the preceded it.

There was Radnor’s JD Harmelin, having turned 180 degrees from what transpired at the penalty spot, dropping to his knees on the frosting Norristown High turf, drained of vigor. And there was Owen Hastings, showing the No. 52 on his back to the Springfield-Montco bench as he dashed, jubilant, toward the stands to celebrate with fans.

After four goals, six yellow cards, one red, and nine rounds of penalty kicks, Harmelin and Hastings scripted the final denouement in a classic PIAA Class 3A semifinal, a 3-2 margin in PKs separating teams that finished tied 2-2 after extra time.

“It was something,” the hero Hastings said. “It was a whole rush of energy that came in and felt really good. Springfield is a tight-knit community. The people I was running to, I’ve known them since I was in kindergarten. So it was a cool moment running to them.”

The win returns the Spartans to the PIAA final, where they lost last year in double overtime to Hershey. They’re denied a rematch with the Trojans, who fell 1-0 in OT to Cathedral Prep in the other semifinal.

Hastings made two saves in the shootout, denying Nate Lucchesi in the first round and Harmelin to win it. He also guessed right in the fourth round, exerting pressure that perhaps induced Devin Karadagli to skew his effort wide.

Harmelin went the same direction as he did in being saved in regulation, something Hastings was counting on from his own experience as a PK taker rather than a goalie.

“I remember I went right five times in a row and got every single one saved,” he said. “Everybody has a spot, and it’s hard to change from that spot. So I used that in the opposite way.”

Tuesday’s rematch of the District 1 final, played on the same ground, started with a direct rebuke. In the district final, which Radnor won 2-0, Springfield forward Riley Martin had a goal called off on a tight foul call. It was into that same net that Martin scored 11 minutes into play, glancing om a seemingly harmless free kick from midfield lumped forward by defender Nick Hanuschchak.

“I think it makes up for the disallowed one,” Martin said. “I felt it.”

Springfield led 2-0 at half on a similar sequence in the 35th, a speculative free kick from what should’ve been a safe range chested down by Martin for midfielder Ben Hubley to put his laces through.

At that point, Radnor had come up empty on five corners kicks, several dangerous free kicks and a bevy of long throws by center back Michael Savadove. But the plethora of chances generated left a team that has lived by the motto of, “all you need is one,” hardly discouraged.

“We go down 2-0, and other teams would feel defeated,” Jake Bowman said. “But we just have so much energy and passion that we knew we could get back. When I converted and scored, you could feel fuel come from the bench, come from the field. And when we get the second, we know we’re in it.”

That faith faced its sternest test in the 50th minute. Lucchesi was bundled over in the box by Chase Rubincam, and Harmelin stepped to the spot to halve the deficit. Harmelin went left, Hastings guessed correctly and got two gloves to punch it away.

Another 20 arduous minutes would pass without a Radnor goal. But when the dam broke, they flowed quickly. Bowman was first, a Savadove long throw deadened by Bowman and a crowd of three defender at the near post. The ball fell and Bowman slashed at it once, then twice, getting a shot to sneak through the tangle of bodies and into the far side of the net with 9:40 showing.

Less than two minutes later, Radnor was level, Lucchesi nodding on a Brayan Chavez corner kick to Andrew Marino at the far post. Hastings got his hands to it, but only two yards into the net.

“Our heads were definitely shaken,” Martin said. “It’s hard to come back from that. We persevered well. We had chances in overtime, but when it came down to PKs, we showed up.”

Radnor pushed the momentum and looked to win in regulation. That plan was dented when an errant goal kick by Jake Barber caromed straight to Springfield forward Justin Whang. To save a goal, Roman Rivera dove in on Whang and, as the last man back, earned a red card for denial of a goal-scoring opportunity.

Rivera, a wing forward by trade, was already deputizing for Commerce Fisk, the usual wide center back who was injured last week. That left Bowman to drop back, Lucchesi to move into midfield and Radnor to revert to the shape it started the season in, before a run of two goals allowed in 15 games.

“I think we managed great,” Bowman said. “We’re a team known for pushing through adversity. We don’t let it take us down. I think that anything the comes in our way, we’re able to overcome. No matter the circumstances, we find a way to get around it, and we took it as far as we could.”

Both teams had chances in the extra session. Springfield’s Shaun Bleeker spurned a golden chance when Henry Drapkin chested down a ball near the penalty spot but sent it high. Bowman had to clear a Martin effort off the line a minute later. Marino had a shot deflected that Hastings gloved. Bowman whistled a volley from midfield wide in the second OT, then Barber slid out on a superb double save to stuff Martin and Hanushchak in quick succession. Karadagli had the ball in the back of the net in the final minute of play only to have it called off for an offside.

That set the stage for penalties, where Lucchesi was denied in the first round and Martin scored, putting Springfield on the front foot. Savadove and Hanushchak tallied in the second round, and Bowman tied it only for Bleeker to airmail the cage in the third round.

Karadagli’s squandered that brief opening, and Roman Corcoran scored in the fourth round to give Springfield two chances to win it.

Hastings needed only one.

“We take PKs all the time without goalies,” Martin said. “I didn’t really know what Owen was going to bring, but I knew when it’s time to make a save, he’s going to make a save.”

“I was just thinking about my best friends that are taking the PKs, just thinking about how they’re feeling,” Hastings said. “I could see how nervous I was and nobody would’ve been mad at me if we had lost, but seeing imagining how nervous they were made me feel really good when we did win.”

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