Kuhl, Owen J. Roberts boys soccer pull away from Phoenixville late

BUCKTOWN >> Owen J. Roberts and Phoenixville entered the boys soccer season in similar boats. Those boats are being rowed by similar crews, too.

Both saw postseason success in 2022 – Phoenixville making District 1 Class 3A final and PIAA semifinal appearances, Owen J. Roberts the reigning Pioneer Athletic Conference champion – but lost 20 and 13 seniors respectively, and a combined seven All-Area first team selections.

Through 65 minutes on Monday, those similarities showed on the scoreboard, tied 1-1. But with 15:36 left in regulation, junior midfielder Mick Kuhl scored the game-winning goal en route to a 3-1 Owen J. Roberts victory over Phoenixville at Wildcat Stadium.

“I think we’ve filled their spots pretty well,” Kuhl said of younger players stepping up for last year’s graduates. “We had some great attack last year, but I think we’re starting to find our feet this year. We’re starting to score goals. Today was a great game for us. I’m hoping we get more (wins) the rest of this week.”

Owen J. Roberts’ Mick Kuhl, left, contests the ball against Phoenixville’s Jackson Armstrong, right, during a boys soccer game at Wildcat Stadium on Sept. 18. (Evan Wheaton – MediaNews Group)

Kuhl’s difference-maker came on a free kick from junior midfielder Mason Wiedl. Leaping up in the middle of the scrum, Kuhl met Wiedl’s ball in midair, heading it in past Phantoms (4-3, 3-1) keeper Ryan Lang on the back post.

“It was a great ball from Mason, really,” Kuhl said. “It was right to me, I really didn’t have to move for it. I just jumped up, got my head on it, keeper couldn’t do anything about it.”

Just four minutes, 17 seconds later, sophomore middie Juan Colina-Valeri added some insurance for Owen J. Roberts (3-4, 1-3) with a goal on a penalty kick.

Players go up for a ball during a boys soccer game between Owen J. Roberts and Phoenixville during a boys soccer game at Wildcat Stadium on Sept. 18. (Evan Wheaton – MediaNews Group)

Daniel Damon initially put the Wildcats on the board seven minutes into the game. Following a corner, Damon knocked in a cleanup goal off a touch from Colina-Valeri for a 1-0 advantage.

But Phoenixville responded immediately – 47 seconds later – with a goal from forward Brody White on a feed from Sandro Vennera to draw even ground once more, 1-1.

“The play we gave up before that was kind of sloppy, so to come back and put in a really good goal, really well executed, that’s big for their confidence because some of the guys, especially on that side of the field, are younger guys,” Phantoms coach Michael Cesarki said.

Phoenixville’s Cesar Castellon, left, winds back to clear the ball from the Phantoms’ territory during a boys soccer game against Owen J. Roberts during a boys soccer game at Wildcat Stadium on Sept. 18. (Evan Wheaton – MediaNews Group)

A young Phoenixville squad is without last year’s standouts in Nate Stewart, Jack Illig, Efe Uclay and Eric Palena. Stewart, now playing at Navy, was last year’s Mercury Player of the Year. Illig, just a freshman last season, moved to Germany to play in the Hertha Berlin youth system.

Like Owen J. Roberts, Phoenixville is without the bulk of last year’s firepower, players stepping up to fill those vacant roles.

“If you want to think of it in terms of numbers, we lost like 70 goals of production in a season. That’s a lot to lose,” Cesarki said, noting injured team captains adding to the missing numbers. “I’ve actually been really proud. There’s some guys who are probably playing an amount of minutes they hadn’t been planning on. You see tonight, they completely battled and for the most part looked ready.”

Phoenixville’s Ryan Jacobsen, left, meets the ball with his head during a boys soccer game against Owen J. Roberts during a boys soccer game at Wildcat Stadium on Sept. 18. (Evan Wheaton – MediaNews Group)

The Wildcats tightened up defensively after Phoenixville’s snappy response, not allowing much leverage the rest of the way.

“I was trying to keep my defensive line in check,” Owen J. Roberts keeper Ethan Suessmuth said. “They stung us with an early goal and ever since then, we really honed down and locked up on those high balls. I was just commanding the box, seeing if I could see a player running in, where we could mark people and keeping the defense in check and at midfield so we could get on the counter.”

The Wildcats reached the District 1-4A postseason last year after running atop the PAC circuit with a 9-3-1 conference record last season.

A much needed win at below .500 against a solid Phoenixville squad, Owen J. Roberts travels to PAC Liberty foes Norristown and Boyertown this week in league play.

“This is a huge confidence booster,” Kuhl said. “This will definitely boost us into our following games the rest of this week.”