Back from injury, Wenger helps Boyertown top Pennsbury for District 1-4A win

BOYERTOWN >> He found a great way to mark his return to action.

Beckett Wenger ended a seven-week injury rehab Thursday at Boyertown’s District 1-4A playoff game with Pennsbury. Getting back in the lineup, he played a key part in the Bears’ 3-1 victory over the Falcons.

Beckett scored Boyertown’s ultimate game-winning goal at the 9:40 mark in the first half. It continued the Bears’ rally from an early Pennsbury score, moving them onto Saturday’s quarterfinal round against Neshaminy and one step closer to qualifying for states.

“It felt great coming back that way,” he said.

Few players or fans were happier to see Beckett back in action than his brother, Landon. He and Boyertown (17-1-2) marched on while Beckett worked his way back from a stress fracture in his vertebrae — one that occurred around the Bears’ third game of the season.

“I missed him being out there the last seven weeks,” Landon said.

The Wengers were part of a big defensive effort by Boyertown, which shut 14th-seeded Pennsbury down over the final 67 minutes. It got five-save goaltending from Mason Kurtz, whose stout play helped keep the Falcons from erasing the Bears’ lead.

The visitors, to their credit, pressed the action in Boyertown’s end of the field for a good part of the second half, initiating a pair of flurries and taking three 18-yard kicks before the Bears capped the game with Nick Willson scoring 34 seconds before the end.

“We weren’t good in the first 40 (half),” Pennsbury head coach Tom Stoddart said. “We weren’t assertive. But I was proud of the way the boys left it all on the field.”

The visitors got the jump on Boyertown less than 14 minutes into the game, Evan Reichard heading the ball in at the 27:49 mark. The lead lasted little more than 2-1/2 minutes, Dimitri Randjelovic getting the equalizer by converting a straight-on shot.

Beckett Wenger gave his team the lead for keeps, scoring off a corner shot. The Bears made a scoring drive in the final minute of the half, but they were unable to produce off it.

“The ball went off my face, which didn’t feel good,” Beckett Wenger, who sustained a bloody nose on the play, said.

Boyertown mustered one drive inside the 36-minute mark of the second, but it spent much of the time between then and inside the two-minute mark fending off Pennsbury’s pressure.

“When we went into the half, I told them to let everything go,” Stoddart said. “That gave us the best chance.”

Two of the Falcons’ direct kicks came in a 2-1/2 minute span of the final 8:36. The first went over the crossbar, the second was blocked.

“We take pride in our defense,” Landon Wenger said. “We have a good back line, and our center back (Ryan Foskey) led us back, making sure to keep up on them.”

Boyertown was coming off shutout showings in the Pioneer Athletic Conference’s Final Four playoffs last week. It edged Pottsgrove in overtime, 1-0, before blanking Spring-Ford in the title game 2-0.

“We kept up our defense against Spring-Ford,” Beckett Wenger noted. “That gave us motivation.”

Third-seeded Boyertown will now play the 11th-seeded Neshaminy, a 1-0 winner over sixth-seeded Hatboro-Horsham on Thursday night. The quarterfinal-round game will be at Boyertown, with the winner qualifying for the states and the loser dropping into playbacks.

As for Pennsbury, which was coming off a 3-0 victory over Owen J. Roberts in Tuesday’s opening round …

“We play in a tough (Suburban One) league, and we were champions,” Stoddart said, “so we put ourselves in good position. Playing tough teams like this on the road, it’s tough to get started.”

NOTES >> Boyertown outshot Pennsbury 8-6, while the Falcons had a 6-3 edge in corners. … Pennsbury keeper Peter Beidler matched Kurtz’ save total at five. … Beckett Wenger on the insurance goal by Willson: “It was nice getting that last one.  If it had come sooner, it would have let off some of the pressure.” … Pennsbury was whistled for yellow cards in each half.