Owen J. Roberts claims PAC boys soccer title over Upper Perkiomen

BUCKTOWN >> After a 1-0 win over Upper Perkiomen gave Owen J. Roberts their first Pioneer Athletic Conference boys’ soccer title in eight years, senior captain Joey Kish and junior midfielder Nick Gambone remained in the stadium for quite a while, taking photos with teammates, coaches, and family members in all numbers of combinations.

The celebration symbolized the closeness of the 2022 PAC boys’ soccer champions – each member of the team wanted a memento, a souvenir, that represented each and every person that helped the Wildcats get back to the top.

“This team is a family – not just a group of friends,” said Gambone.

Close off the field, Gambone and Kish connected on the field as well, with Kish finding open space for Gambone to net a goal just 2:10 into the contest that would stand up as OJR controlled play throughout Thursday’s championship game.

Final: Owen J Roberts 1, Upper Perkiomen 0, PAC boys soccer championship 🏆

Early goal holds up for Wildcats in dominant performance pic.twitter.com/eazKs6f6xN

— Austin Hertzog (@AustinHertzog) October 20, 2022

With room to clear from his own end, Kish played a ball into space quickly filled by Gambone, who gained a step on his defender and beat Upper Perk keeper Austin Farrington to the far post.

“We played it over the top, and when I got to the ball, I didn’t see anyone behind me,” said Gambone.

In winning their first PAC title since 2014, the No. 3-seeded Wildcats announced themselves as a squad that can take various paths to achieving victory.

Tuesday’s semifinal win over No. 2 Spring-Ford featured a comeback victory fueled by two set-piece goals, the latter of which gave the ‘Cats a sudden victory after they had fallen behind just before halftime.

By contrast, Thursday night saw a team that scored their only goal in the run of play but also created sustained offense without the benefit of a restart.

“I don’t know that the final score reflected the way we played tonight,” said Kish. “We hit four posts. But Spring-Ford and Upper Perk are both strong teams, they just play very different styles.”

“The number of posts we hit tonight was uncanny,” laughed first-year OJR coach Joe Youngblood.

The early tally gave Gambone the necessary confidence to become the player whose creativity in the midfield combined with the speed of Ethan Williams and Isaac Stephenson to create numerous half-chances, which evolved into full-blown opportunities by the 20-minute mark.

But Farrington batted away Stephen Mullen’s free kick from the left wing, and a minute later the Tribe survived a net-front scramble that nearly doubled the ‘Cats advantage.

Upper Perk’s best chance of the first 40 minutes came about seven minutes before half, when Logan Watkins headed Aiden Heiser’s throw on frame, but directly into the path of OJR keeper Andrew Keddie.

“We’ve notoriously started slowly this season,” said Upper Perkiomen coach Kyle Fisher. “That’s why we play the way we do. We’ve done a great job of being resilient, coming back in those situations – but it’s tough to do it time after time.”

The best opportunities of the second half also belonged to the Wildcats, as Williams joined Mullen and Mick Kuhl among OJR players who rang shots off the iron.

Keddie (four saves) was rarely challenged but was equal to the task on a long volley from Jimmy Friedman, arguably the Tribe’s best chance of the second half.

In the end, the story was the control and composure of an OJR side that Joe Youngblood says has more in common with the 2014 team than a PAC championship.

2014 was Youngblood’s first year with the program as an assistant coach.

“There are definite parallels, which are the closeness of the guys on and off the field,” he said. “These guys are competitors. They play hard, they show up day after day.”

Farrington (nine saves) and center back Luke Gerstenberg (two goal-line clearances) kept Upper Perkiomen afloat throughout the contest, ensuring the Tribe was always one chance away from equalizing – albeit a chance that never came.

While Upper Perkiomen’s first trip to the PAC finals in 18 years (and first in the Final Four) era ended in disappointment, the result including Tuesday’s 4-3 overtime semifinal win over No. 1 Phoenixville is proof that the Tribe (11-7-1 overall) can play with anyone. The resulting confidence will benefit Upper Perk as they enter the District 1 Class 3A tournament next week – a tournament that will include the Phantoms at or near the top of the bracket.

“OJR’s a really solid squad,” said Fisher. “But I would hope [Tuesday’s win] shows our quality. We have some players and given the right circumstances I think we can cause some trouble, surprise some people in Districts.”

OJR (14-5-1 overall) hopes the PAC won’t be the end of their 2022 story. The Wildcats sit at No. 16 in the District 1 Class 4A standings, currently poised to start Districts with a home game on Tuesday.

“No Owen J. Roberts’ boys team has ever made the playback rounds [of districts],” said Youngblood. “That’s been our goal, to move that needle – and this is the first step in that process.

“We’ve been very process-oriented all season. The guys had a goal of winning the PAC, but my take was by sticking to our process, the PAC title could become a byproduct of that. And it came true.”