OT winners Upper Perkiomen, Owen J. Roberts into PAC boys’ soccer final

BUCKTOWN >> It’s bound to go down as one of the most memorable moments in Upper Perkiomen soccer history.

For everyone, that is, but the person who authored it.

“I honestly don’t remember much about it,” said senior captain Jimmy Friedman, whose incredible individual effort tied the game with 1:43 left in regulation, paving the way for No. 4 seed Upper Perkiomen’s come-from-behind, 4-3 overtime victory at Owen J. Roberts’ Wildcat Stadium, leaving a lone black mark on No. 1 Phoenixville’s previously unblemished PAC record and sending the Tribe (12-6-1, 9-4-1 PAC) into the PAC boys’ soccer final for the first time since 2004 – prior to the inception of the Final Four era.

“All I remember was a beauty of a pass from Ethan Barr ahead to me,” said Friedman, “and I know I got it past the goalie, got us another chance.”

The Tribe made that chance count about nine minutes into the extra period, as a loose ball found the foot of Christian McGillen, who made no mistake from just inside the 18-yard box to send Upper Perk onto Thursday’s final.

That’s where they’ll meet fellow overtime winner No. 3 seed Owen J. Roberts, who rallied past No. 2 Spring-Ford 2-1 on Stephen Mullen’s free kick on Tuesday’s other semifinal.

Phoenixville levels on Connor Northcott header from Nate Stewart service. 1-1 at 18:45 1H pic.twitter.com/zcFFKD9h1P

— Austin Hertzog (@AustinHertzog) October 18, 2022

\Of course, there was so much more. Friedman – who started the scoring with a penalty kick 15 minutes into the first half – watched as Phoenixville dominated the middle portion of the contest with a trio of tallies. Connor Northcott got the Phantoms on the board off a free kick from Nate Stewart, and CJ Jahn followed seven minutes later off a feed from senior Efe Ulcay.

Phoenixville dictated possession and pace throughout the first 20 minutes of the second half, their reward coming with 17 minutes to play as Ulcay got behind the defense about 30 yards out and had an uncontested breakaway from there, beating the keeper low and to the right for a seemingly commanding 3-1 Phantoms advantage.

But a funny thing happened on the restart – Upper Perk got numbers going the other way, and Mateo Schneidt’s inch-perfect shot from the left side of the box offered an immediate response to the Phoenixville tally, bringing the game back within a goal.

Phoenixville, however, maintained the better of the possession to the point where they looked to ice the game with about two minutes left. That was when Barr intercepted a crossing pass and cleared it authoritatively to Friedman, desperately hoping for one more fruitful counterattack.

He found it.

Friedman corralled the ball just short of midfield, heading it forward to himself and finishing with a flourish from almost the identical spot where Schneidt’s earlier tally originated. Improbably, Upper Perk was right back in the game, stunning the favored Phantoms who, despite Friedman’s opening penalty kick, had control of the contest throughout.

“The past couple weeks, we haven’t been challenged to the extent we needed to be,” said Phoenixville coach Mike Cesarski. “I don’t think we were as sharp as we needed to be in the second half.”

At a mark of 16-2-1 (13-1 PAC) Phoenixville will carry the No. 1 seed into the District 1 Class 3A tournament next week, and Cesarski thinks there’s sufficient time to recover from Tuesday’s disappointment.

“Feeling this disappointment tonight will be all the motivation these guys need to take care of business in Districts,” he said.

The Phantoms almost won it despite everything in overtime, as Ulcay was denied on a scramble in the area that gave new meaning to “let them play.” The chance appeared to be created via a foul, and the ultimate denial was equally borderline.

Less than two minutes later, however, the ball found the back of the opposing net, culminating in a landmark victory for Upper Perk soccer.

Even if Jimmy Friedman couldn’t recall every detail of his own game-tying effort, he said the significance of the result hit him immediately.

“All that excitement – I’m going to bring it with me on the field next game.”

As Friedman was finishing that thought, Owen J. Roberts midfielder Stephen Mullen was creating a conclusion of his own about 75 yards to the north.

Mullen’s free kick found the twine with time ticking down in overtime, giving the No. 3 seed Wildcats a 2-1 overtime victory over Spring-Ford in the other semifinal contest.

“As soon as we went to overtime, my message to the guys was ‘Let’s try to score one early and get out of here,’” recalled Mullen.

It wasn’t necessarily early, but it was the first overtime period when Mullen received his free kick opportunity from about 22 yards out, beating Spring-Ford’s PJ Pozniak – who was outstanding throughout the contest – for the deciding tally and sending OJR (13-5-1, 10-3-1 PAC) into the finals for the first time since their last PAC championship in 2014.

“We wanted to make the most of any opportunities, not let it go to penalties,” said Mullen.

Joey Kish header on Mullen free kick and Owen J Roberts levels! 29:11 2H.

Gambone earned the foul to set it up pic.twitter.com/O7QUZEZNUK

— Austin Hertzog (@AustinHertzog) October 18, 2022

Like the game on the stadium field, OJR won via a come-from-behind effort after falling behind early when Spring-Ford forward David Alban got on the end of a Cole Preschutti free kick to give the Rams the advantage about five minutes before the break.

Just after halftime, Pozniak delivered the save of the night, deflecting Mick Kuhl’s point-blank opportunity over the crossbar.

But OJR’s answer came just minutes later.

Mullen’s cushioned free kick was met first by center back Joey Kish, heading the ball into the net to draw the Wildcats even with a half-hour to play.

“Once we scored that goal, I felt like we had the momentum,” said Mullen.

What he didn’t realize is he’d find himself in a familiar position – this time several yards closer to the goal – with a free kick in overtime.

“I was just focusing on where to put the ball – we were pretty tight to the goal,” Mullen said. “All season, I’ve tried to go over walls – tonight I thought the best was to drive it to the far post.”

It was the third meeting of the season between the Wildcats and Rams, with OJR finishing 2-0-1 over the trilogy – the only two league defeats for Spring-Ford (11-3-4 overall, 10-2-2 PAC). But Rams coach Mark Chambers felt Tuesday’s result was most indicative of the margin between the teams.

“They got us 3-0 in the first game, when we didn’t play well at all,” he said, “then a 0-0 draw at our place.

“Tonight, though, we had our chances. We just couldn’t finish them.”

So there will be two new finalists and a new champion in boys soccer this year, as the two lower seeds advance to Thursday’s championship game – also to be played at Wildcat Stadium.

Mullen said the team doesn’t view themselves as underdogs due to the No. 3 seed. But they’re not assuming they’re favorites, either just because the game will be played on their home field.

“I think we give this one the 12-hour treatment,” said Mullen as dark fell over the scene of the memorable – and historic doubleheader. “Enjoy it tonight, then tomorrow morning we let it go. We’ve got a PAC championship to win.”