Upper Dublin bests Plymouth Whitemarsh in double overtime

UPPER DUBLIN >> Upper Dublin’s Ethan Hill had never scored a varsity goal, but when the opportunity arose in double overtime against Plymouth Whitemarsh, the junior rose to the occasion.

Twenty-five seconds into the second extra session, the ball bounced away from the Colonials goal and onto Hill’s foot. He ripped a shot from more than 20 yards out into the far corner to lift the Cardinals to a 4-3 Suburban One League American Conference win at Upper Dublin High School.

“It was in the box and it was kicked out,” Hill said. “I just two-touched it and hit it in, hit the top right.”

The game-winning shot was out of the reach of PW goalkeeper Dan Small, who finished the game with eight saves, including a diving stop in the first overtime.

“Sometimes that’s the way it goes,” Colonials coach Richard Kessler said. “If you’re going to lose on a 30-yard screamer like that, sometimes you have to tip your cap to the other players. It was a great shot. Our freshman goalie in there played great, Dan Small. There’s little he can do against something like that. It was a great shot.”

The SOL American rivals traded goals over the first 61 minutes of play before PW scored two in a row to take a 3-2 lead with 8:30 left.

Colonials sophomore Brendan Corpus gave his side the lead by completing a hat trick. His first goal — with 6:35 remaining in the first half — was his most impressive. He corralled the ball along the left side of the field and ripped a left-footed shot into the far side of the net.

“BC, sophomore, fantastic,” Kessler said. “He’s a phenomenal player, composed on the ball, really, really technical. He knows how to get in behind space. He had a few opportunities and he took all of them.”

Upper Dublin applied consistent pressure over the final eight minutes and broke through to tie the game, 3-3, with 2:17 left. Small made two saves, but Cardinals forward Sean Seabrook was there to bury the second rebound.

“This team is just resilient,” UD coach Andy Meehan said. “They always fight back. There’s a never-quit attitude with them.

“This season is just proof. We’ve had three home games where we were down and we were able to come back in all three.”

Luke Rappaport gave Upper Dublin a 1-0 lead midway through the first half and Seabrook made it 2-1 Cardinals early in the second.

The win keeps the Cardinals (4-3, 4-1 SOL American) in second place in the league while PW (3-4, 3-2 SOL American) falls a game behind.

“Last year we had a down year,” Meehan said. “It was almost the opposite — we weren’t able to come back on those. They were able to jump on us and then keep us down. I think (PW) beat us in overtime last year. It’s that sweet feeling that you have a rival that’s coming in that always plays hard that’s always up there around the top and we’re able to change our fortune from last year and be on top for once. It’s nice.”