Top seed Conestoga toppled in district opener by No. 16 seed CR North

TREDYFFRIN >> There will be no three-peat PIAA state championship for the Conestoga boys’ soccer team this fall.

The Pioneers, two-time defending PIAA 4A state champions, and top seed in the District 1 4A tournament, lost to No. 16 seed Council Rock North in penalty kicks (5-4) after double overtime ended in a 0-0 tie Thursday night in front of a stunned home crowd at Teamer Field.

For Conestoga, the season is over.

After the game, Conestoga head coach David Zimmerman spoke quietly with his team for about 20 minutes.

“We talked about, that, as long as we could do everything in our power to win a game, that’s all you can do,” said Zimmerman. “I felt that we had prepared this week as best as we could, and I think we had a good game plan, scouted well, and the players played hard, I thought we dominated sections of that game, but soccer’s a low-scoring game, and if you can’t finish, it’s tough.

“When you do everything possible to try to win, that’s all you can do. At least we can walk away without any regrets.”

Council Rock North featured some sizable skilled players – most notably senior co-captain Zach Saiter – and the matchup appeared to be Conestoga’s speed against CR North’s size. The visitors didn’t give Conestoga many good scoring chances Thursday night.

“Council Rock North had good [physical size], and we didn’t have many good chances,” said Zimmerman. “They did a good job defensively.”

Conestoga defeated Council Rock North last year, 2-0, in the District 1 4A final.

“We’ve played Council Rock North multiple times in the playoffs, and the games have always been close,” said Zimmerman. “They’re tough, they’re not afraid of us, and they always come after us, so I give all the credit to them, ultimately.”

While the Pioneers were not generating a lot of offense, Conestoga senior goalie Luke Smith made some great saves for the hosts. With about 25 minutes left in regulation, he made a couple of acrobatic saves 47 seconds apart; then with 40 seconds left in regulation and the home crowd holding its breath, he saved Conestoga by stopping a Council Rock North penalty kick.

Council Rock North head coach Joe Stackhouse said, “Conestoga really pressed us hard at the beginning of the first overtime. It almost looked like a hockey power play. I think once we withstood that, because we’ve been under pressure many times this season from teams in our own league, it was a key moment that we got out of that first overtime clean.”

After two scoreless overtimes, the game went to penalty kicks. Conestoga made its first three kicks by, in order, senior Julian Niggeman, sophomore Grant Burns and junior Matt Doble. Council Rock North also made its first three, and the score was tied at 3-3.

Following a Conestoga miss, Council Rock North’s Saifer converted his penalty kick to give the visitors their first lead of the night, 4-3.

“He [Saifer] is hard-working, a fantastic athlete, a great kid and a great student,” said Stackhouse. “He has the whole package.”

Conestoga senior Jake Silverstein was golden on his penalty kick to tie the score at 4-4.

But then Council Rock North junior Spencer Berman nailed his penalty kick to win the game for the visitors, 5-4.

What was Stackhouse’s reaction when the final Council Rock North penalty kick went in?

“I thought, ‘Thank God it’s over,’” responded Stackhouse, with a laugh.

After the game, Zimmerman said, “Soccer is a team sport – no one person is responsible for winning or losing. … Penalty kicks are like a coin flip, in a way, it’s a difficult way to end a game. At that [high school] age, it’s a lot of pressure to put on one person [to make the potential deciding kick].”