PAC Boys Soccer Championship Preview: Upper Perkiomen vs. Owen J. Roberts

A new champion will be crowned in Pioneer Athletic Conference boys soccer Thursday night when No. 3 seed Owen J. Roberts faces No. 4 Upper Perkiomen, 5 p.m. at Owen J. Roberts’ Wildcat Stadium.

Here’s a breakdown of the matchup:

Owen J. Roberts (3) vs. Upper Perkiomen (4)

Records >> Owen J. Roberts – 7-2-1 PAC Liberty, 9-3-1 PAC, 12-5-1 overall, No. 17 in District 1-4A rankings; Upper Perkiomen – 8-2 PAC Frontier, 8-4-1 PAC, 11-6-1, No. 6 in District 1-3A rankings

Head-to-head >> Owen J. Roberts defeated Upper Perk 3-2 on Sept. 13. Stephen Mullen scored a penalty kick, his second goal of the game, in the second half to snap a tie in a come-from-ahead win.

Road to the final >> OJR rallied from a goal down to knock off Liberty Division rival Spring-Ford 2-1 in Tuesday’s semifinal … Upper Perkiomen pulled off a stunner, rallying from two goals down to defeat top-seeded Phoenixville 4-3 in overtime. 

PAC playoff history >> Owen J. Roberts has won 7 PAC championships (1998, 2004, 2006-08, 2011, 2014). It’s OJR’s first finals appearance since 2014. … Upper Perkiomen is making its first trip to the PAC playoffs since 2004, when it was a league finalist the year prior to the start of the Final Four era. Upper Perk has won two PAC titles, the inaugural 1986 title and in 2003.

Upper Perkiomen at a glance >> Upper Perk got through the door on a tiebreaker to get into the PAC tournament for the first time. Then they threw a party and wrecked Phoenixville’s plans on Tuesday, coming from 3-1 down to get a game-tying goal from senior Jimmy Friedman with 1:43 in regulation and the winner in overtime from senior Christian McGillen. Coach Kyle Fisher’s program has been on the rise and now the Tribe are on the cusp of the top of the PAC. The Indians are a senior-heavy but balanced squad. Senior captains Mateo Schneidt, Vincent Durrant and Friedman, who was Man of the Match on Tuesday, lead the charge. Also getting the starting nod in the semifinal were forward Logan Watkins, defensive midfielder Matthew Fisher and goalkeeper Austin Farrington, plus Ethan Barr, Jerrom Brae, Luke Gerstenberg, Evans Sands and Theo Deskevich.

Owen J. Roberts at a glance >> The Wildcats took the best shot of their chief rival this season in the semifinal and came through with the goods. The method they achieved it – a comeback, scoring two set-piece goals – is the right recipe for postseason success. Joe Youngblood has led OJR to the final in his first year as head coach and leads a team that can hit you in different ways. There’s senior playmaker Ethan Williams, a Delaware commit, on the wing, the drive of senior Nick Gambone and Isaac Stephenson up top. Senior captain Stephen Mullen is a ball-winner in the midfield and is capable of hitting a free kick, like Tuesday’s OT winner. He’s alongside Mick Kuhl and Mason Wiedl in the center of the park. Senior center back Joey Kish leads the defense with Finn Purtle, Sam Venza and Garrett Harlow protecting senior Andrew Keddie’s goal. Braeden Matthews, Elijah Purtle and Dan Greenspan also figure into the rotation.

Matchup and prediction >> Forget the playoff seeding. This was not a PAC final matchup anyone would have predicted in August. Yes, both Upper Perk and OJR were tabbed as top-half teams but the combination of a long-suffering program against a longer-suffering program (with respect to PACs) for Thursday’s championship feels novel. Upper Perk showed strong mentality in knocking off No. 1 Phoenixville after going down two goals. But it won’t be able to expect the Wildcats to have late-game lapses on this stage. The 3-2 result on Sept. 13 can give both sides confidence they can score on the other, which should open play on Thursday. Owen J. isn’t the most possession-based team around, but there’s a level of scoring threat they manage to create that exceeds its PAC opposition … and it carries the Wildcats to their first PAC title in eight years … Owen J. Roberts 2, Upper Perkiomen 1