Donovan, Conestoga head into semifinals
TREDYFFRIN » Top seed Conestoga found Perkiomen Valley’s tough defense a hard nut to crack in the District 1 Class 4A boys’ soccer quarterfinals Saturday afternoon. But senior forward Chris Donovan came up with the solution, scoring twice in a 2-1 overtime win.
With the victory, Conestoga (19-0-1), the defending PIAA Class 4A champion, advances to the district semifinals and wraps up a return trip to states. The Pioneers will face No. 13 Kennett in the semifinals Wednesday, as the Blue Demons upset fifthseeded West Chester Henderson, 2-1.
Donovan has a knack for scoring, particularly in the clutch. Last fall, he scored the game-winning goal for the Pioneers’ 1-0 win in the state final.
“Chris is the ultimate competitor and has great composure inside the box,” Conestoga coach Dave Zimmerman said. “He is very calm under pressure and that’s part of what makes him such a dangerous finisher.”
Donovan scored twice despite being man-marked by Perk Valley freshman Matt Holmes and going against a Vikings squad that had yielded only 16 goals in 21 games.
“Going toe-to-toe with Conestoga was not going to win this game,” Perkiomen Valley coach Bob McCabe said. “We needed to clog space in the middle and play strong defense. We played with no forward today, recessed our forward to midfield, and man-marked Chris Donovan to limit his opportunities.”
Donovan, a Drexel commit, scored the opener 12:09 in, heading in a feed from Nick Jennings just before colliding with goalkeeper Andrew Daubenspeck. It took a while for Donovan to get up off the ground.
“I had the wind knocked out of me,” Donovan said. “I saw the ball going in, but I didn’t see it hit the back of the net.”
While the Pioneers spent much of the game in Perkiomen Valley territory, Conestoga did not score again in regulation.
Perk Valley standout midfielder Michael Weir (a nationally-ranked rugby player) cashed in on a penalty kick with 8:55 to go before halftime to tie the score at, 1-1.
In overtime, the Pioneers continued to attack deep in PV territory and finally broke through six minutes in, as Donovan scored on a connection from midfielder Rodrigo Martinez to forward Alyan to Donovan.
“I knew I wanted to shoot it when I got the ball,” said Donovan. “No defender closed me down, and I saw an opening to the right of the goalie.” Youssaf