Upper Dublin’s season ends with loss to CR North

UPPER DUBLIN >> The Upper Dublin boys soccer team’s season came to an end Tuesday night.

The No. 14 Cardinals lost to No. 19 Council Rock North, 1-0, in the first round of the District 1 Class-4A playoffs at Cardinal Stadium at Upper Dublin High School.

North advances to the second round where it will face No. 3 North Penn Thursday at a time to be determined.

The game-winning goal came in the 75th minute. Sean Finneyfrock found the ball inside the box and beat Upper Dublin’s keeper to the lower left side.

“I thought we played tremendous,” Upper Dublin coach Andy Meehan said. “We dominated the play. We were able to control the ball. We worked harder than they did, they just got lucky with a bouncing ball in the middle there. In the game of soccer sometimes the best team doesn’t win. Credit to (North) for coming out and playing hard.

“It just bounced around a little bit and they were able to poke it home. We’ve gotten them too, those ‘garbage goals’ where you’re in that six and whoever can get a foot on there — even a toe poke — can get it towards the goal and it goes in. We call it a ‘garbage goal,’ but in my eyes any goal is a good goal.”

The Cardinals had some chances in the second half, but couldn’t convert any into goals. They put three shots on net and had a Jerry Bardol goal taken off the board for an offensive foul at the same time as the shot.

“With Max (Adams) and Jerry on top we usually have the ability to get those goals when we needed them,” Meehan said. “If they’re not there … we’ve had any number of players … We’ve always been able to find the goal. Today we weren’t able to do it.”

Upper Dublin finished third in the Suburban One League American Conference behind Hatboro-Horsham and Wissahickon. It finished the regular season with a 12-5-1 record before losing to CR North in the playoffs.

“It’s been a bit disappointing,” Meehan said. “We thought with this team — with the talent on this team and the work ethic on this team and the pride on this team — we should have been able to get further. It was just one of those seasons where luck wasn’t on our side with injuries, with a ball bouncing here, with goals and things like that. It just wasn’t on our side this season.

“We have a very talented senior class that’s leaving … But we have a solid junior class coming to try and fill those roles and they have some pretty big shoes to fill with the talent that’s leaving. We’ll be up to the challenge to do so.”

Council Rock North 1 ,Upper Dublin 0
Council Rock North 0 1 — 1
Upper Dublin 0 0 — 0
Goals: CRN: Sean Finneyfrock.