Hewes’ OT goal beats Downingtown East, puts Unionville into Ches-Mont driver’s seat

UWCHLAN – Just 142 seconds away from a tie, which would have thrown the Ches-Mont boys’ soccer race into complete chaos, Unionville turned to its all-everything forward Michael Hewes, who ended nearly 100 minutes of scoreless play with a goal that is almost assuredly going to give the Indians the outright conference championship.

[PETE BANNAN SLIDESHOW FROM THE GAME]

The senior took a pass from teammate Evan Dougherty on the left wing, dribbled in and used his left foot to send a low shot into the far corner of the cage to give Unionville a hard-fought 1-0 double overtime victory over host Downingtown East on Tuesday afternoon in a first-place showdown.

“We didn’t have many clear-cut chances in the game but (Dougherty) played a great through ball, (East’s) defender was out of position and I saw the space to dribble and I just took it,” Hewes explained.

“Winning a championship that way is just about the best way I can think of. It was not the prettiest goal I’ve scored, but in terms of moments, this one is at the top.”

The preseason favorite, Unionville improves to 9-1-1 in the league. A win on Thursday at last place Sun Valley will clinch the crown. Tuesday’s result knocked the Cougars (7-1-4, 9-4-4 overall) from title contention, but the National Division championship is still a possibility (more on that later).

“We had some chances and we couldn’t put them anywhere near the pipes,” said East head coach Tom Creighton. “(Unionville’s) keeper (Alex Dolce) is a heck of a player but we really didn’t get a chance to test him. In the end, one of the top players in the area gets a chance with just over two minutes left and he puts it away.”

The Indians (14-2-1 overall) entered the day fourth in the District 1 4A power rankings, but were No. 1 for weeks until dropping one-goal matches to Bishop Shanahan and non-league power Conestoga last week.

“We just put it off to a bad week,” said Unionville head coach Rich Garber.

“So I grabbed the captains and I said, ‘it’s time for a player’s only meeting.’ They met (Monday) before practice to get themselves focused. We needed to see what are goals are. We haven’t won the Ches-Mont outright since 2014. And our players have been around for a while so it’s time for them to win it outright.”

Hewes, Dolce and defensive standout Garrett Pinkston organized the meeting.

“We made sure that everyone knew that in order for us to win the Ches-Mont and make a run in the postseason, nobody is going to gift us anything and we have to go out and give every ounce we’ve got,” Pinkston said.

“I think it sparked something inside of us,” Hewes added. “We just wanted to let everyone know that we have a standard and we needed to raise it after losing two straight.”

It worked out in the end, but not before the Eagles and Cougars put on a classic defensive display that resulted in few decent scoring chances, especially in regulation. Things opened up a bit in the first OT, starting with a blast by East’s Luc Rising that clanked off the crossbar, followed by a pass from Hewes to Kyle Ketterer that presented an open net, but the tough angle shot went wide.

“Crossbars don’t count. We don’t play for ‘good tries.’ Almost gets you nothing,” Creighton said.

“It was a well-defended game,” Garber added. “(East’s) back four did a great job on us. Whenever we seemed to have an opportunity (to score), it closed really fast. They played hard.”

At about the five-minute mark of double OT, the Cougars’ Chris Windecker had a chance to win it, but his shot went wide. And that set up Hewes’ game-winner with 2:22 on the clock.

“When Michael gets time and space, he’s tough to stop,” Garber said.

“At halftime we talked about pulling the trigger a little quicker. We had some time and space in the middle and then we’d give the ball away.”

For East, it was eerily similar to the way the 2018 Ches-Mont regular season ended against Unionville, with a share of the title at stake.

“I’m glad this one wasn’t on a penalty kick,” Creighton said. “It was ended in the flow of play, which is nice.”

The Cougars, who have wrapped up their league schedule, can still capture at least a share of the C-M National. They need West Chester Henderson (7-2-1) to drop one of its last two outings to do it.

“We are a tough team with 16 seniors,” Creighton said. “I think we are going to be a dangerous team come districts.”

And even though the Indians have secured at least a share of the crown, they have to avoid a huge upset at Sun Valley in order to avoid having to potentially share it.

“Sun Valley knows us – we played them this summer – so we are not taking anything for granted,” Garber said.

“But we have a lot more ahead, and we want a lot more ahead,” Pinkston added. “It’s great to get an overtime win to win the Ches-Mont after losing two straight games.”

Unionville 1, Downingtown East 0 (2OT)

Unionville                             0 0 0 1 — 1

Downingtown East                        0 0 0 0 — 0

Unionville goal: Hewes.

Goalie saves: Dolce (U) 7; Blevins (DE) 5.