CB East knocks out Plymouth Whitemarsh in OT

DOYLESTOWN — Central Bucks East and Plymouth Whitemarsh met in the District One AAA boys soccer quarterfinals Tuesday hoping for one, a berth in the PIAA state tournament and two, a date with either Unionville or Conestoga in the semis.

And after 80 minutes of even soccer, the game was up for grabs heading into sudden-death ball.

After just eight minutes into the extra session, it was the Patriots who were celebrating after Evan Vare dribbled in and out of defenders before beating keeper Shane Smith and the Colonials 2-1.

Tears ensued for PW, as it followed up a historical first postseason win a year ago with two wins in this year’s district playoffs.

But most importantly, the memorable run has reverberated around the campus at Plymouth Whitemarsh, and a soccer culture has been rooted in the Colonial community.

“This should be a celebration,’ PW head coach Devon Landgraff said. “I told (the players) the tears you all have right now it’s a celebration of everything that you’ve done. Those are tears of joy. You guys have put so much in for the community, the student body, the teachers — it’s evident in the support we had here.

“These young men have really stepped up as role models in our community and I’m so proud of them,’ Landgraff continued. “We’ve developed a family atmosphere here and it’s been a fun ride.’

The support certainly was there for the Colonials, as students made their voices heard from the stands, before being rewarded in the 19th minute with an Alex Bilodeau goal.

The goal was set up by a 50-yard free kick from David Reina, who lifted the ball just in front of goalie Austin Prime before Bilodeau headed it into the back of the net.

But just eight minutes later, the Patriots responded with a goal of their own from Vare, who chested in a flicked on service from Brian Gilligan and the score was knotted at 1.

“Brian (Gilligan) put a great ball in for Evan (Vare) that he brought down and just very calmly disposed of it,’ CB East head coach Mike Gorni said. “That’s the specialness of a player.’

In the second half PW dialed up the pressure towards the end of the 80 minutes, but neither team could find the winner and the game headed into OT.

Then, in the 88th minute of the overtime, Vare bullied Reina off the ball in front of a boisterous PW bench that was pleading for a foul and made his hard work count by beating the keeper at the far post for the game-winner.

“Last year, in the playoffs, we lost in PKs and I had the PK that missed it, and I knew that I wanted to come up big for my team this year,’ Vare said. “I just put it in the back of net.’

“It’s a great result for us,’ Gorni said. “Physically, they were more imposing than we were. We feel very fortunate to be going through.

“I just feel badly for them because a team has to move on and we’re just really happy that it’s us,’ Gorni added. “But they are a really, really good team. It was somebody is going to have a big moment and for us Evan (Vare) got it at the right time and soccer is that unforgiving game — elation on one side and disappointment on the other.’

Disappointment, yes, but the Colonials know that they are in the middle of something special for the future of the soccer program.

“I just kind of feel like we’re there,’ Landgraff said. “Seventeen seniors have done it. It’s a culture, it’s a tradition and I’m just so proud of them.’