Whippets top Warriors; throw Ches-Mont race into three-way battle

DOWNINGTOWN >> In order to have any hope of capturing at least a share of the 2021 Ches-Mont boys soccer title, Downingtown West had to beat first-placed West Chester Henderson on Thursday evening at DiSerafino Stadium.

And in the first half, it didn’t look good for the Whippets, who were fortunate to get to the break in a scoreless tie. But momentum quickly shifted the second half — West finally got a goal from an inspirational senior, who has battled injuries all season — and the Whippets went on to edge the Warriors, 2-0.

It throws the Ches-Mont race into a three-way logjam with Downingtown West (19-1), Henderson (8-1) and Bishop Shanahan (8-1) at the top of the standings. The Whippets (15-1 overall) lone loss was to Shanahan and they finish the regular season at West Chester Rustin. The Warriors (11-4 overall) will be big favorites in their final few league matches, and the Eagles – who fell earlier to West – still have to play upset-minded Great Valley and Kennett.

“We knew the stakes of this game and that helped us stay locked in and focused,” said Whippets’ goalkeeper Aidan Primanti.

“The guys really showed up today,” added West head coach Joe Sales. “They played how I want us to play, with some grit and some fight. Plus they kept their heads for 90 percent of the game. They’ve come a long way this season.”

Number five in the latest District 1 4A power rankings, the Whippets have now won 10 straight. Henderson entered the day third in the power rankings and had outscored its previous league foes by a combined 39-4.

One of nine seniors on Senior Night, winger Ian Strong gave West the lead about 15 minutes into the second half on a blast from about 20 yards out that Warriors’ keeper Tino Kneis got a hand on but it still found a corner.

“It was just a great strike from Ian – top corner, really challenging (Henderson’s) keeper, who is a talented player,” Sales said.

“I came up from the midfield, got the ball, turned and saw that nobody was in front of me so I just took the shot,” Strong recalled.

Playing with a brace on an injured right knee, Strong’s been in and out of the lineup all season. But he delivered, perhaps, the biggest goal of the season.

“It’s been a struggle. I’ve been in the training room every day working on strengthening my knee, so I’m getting better,” Strong said.

“Ian is very inspiring for all of us,” Primanti added. “He’s been dealing with injuries for much of the season but he came out and got us a huge goal. He’s done that for us all season.”

With the outcome still very much in doubt, the Whippets’ Matthew Lohr emerged from a scramble in front of the net and gave West an insurance goal with 8:44 on the clock.

“Lohr is just feisty in the box and can maneuver,” Sales said.

The rest of the way the Downingtown West defense did what it did in the opening 70-plus minutes of action: which was preventing Henderson from scoring. In all, Primanti turned aside 14 shots on goal to notch his fifth shutout against Ches-Mont opponents.

“Aiden came up huge for us today. It was probably his best game of the season,” Sales acknowledged.

“It was one of my two best games this season, but we lost the other one to (Bishop) Shanahan,” Primanti pointed out. “So it feels great to play well and take the ‘W.’”

The Warriors dominated the scoring chances in the opening half but were unable to get any past Primanti. In the opening five minutes of play Henderson put three straight quality shots on goal and Primanti grabbed them all consecutively, with two coming on diving efforts.

“(Primanti) came up big,” Popolizio said. “He was very aggressive, and their center backs did a phenomenal job of tracing us down and defending space. A lot of credit to (West) for keeping the zero on the board for us, which is the first time this season.”

In the first half, Henderson had an 8-1 edge in both corner kicks and shots on goal, but the Whippets withstood the barrage.

“I would say that we really came out firing in the first 40 minutes,” Popolizio said. “We had so many chances and we just couldn’t put it away.

“Then momentum shifted because (West) was still alive, and they are a very good team. If you let them stay in any game, they will contend with anybody in the district.

“(West) came out with energy in the second half and that carried over to the first goal. I felt like our team just wasn’t quite ready. Maybe we were a little too confident from the first half.”

Overall, the Warriors had a 12-3 edge in corner kicks, but were unable to convert any of them.

“(Henderson) has a lot of big guys, and they are good at set pieces,” Sales said. “We talked about staying dialed in, being ready to attack the ball, and holding our ground. I thought our guys did all of that well.”

Downingtown West 2, West Chester Henderson 0

W.C. Henderson                                         0 0 — 0

Downingtown West                                   0 2 — 2

Downingtown West goals: Strong, Lohr.

Goalie saves: Kneis (WCH) 7; Primanti (DW) 14.