Bears wake up, deal Rams first PAC loss

Big win boosts Boyertown to PAC playoffs, districts

The Boyertown boys soccer team had received a wake-up call. On Oct. 11 the Bears doled one out. Staring at the possibility of missing the postseason altogether and not being able to defend their Pioneer Athletic Conference championship, Boyertown faced a virtual must-win on the road at Spring-Ford against a Rams team that hadn’t suffered a league defeat.

That changed Tuesday when Boyertown put on an inspired performance and got two goals and an assist from Alex Kidwell to send Spring-Ford to its first PAC loss, 3-1 at Coach McNelly Stadium.

Boyertown (5-4 Liberty, 8-4 PAC) likely assured itself a place in the District 1 playoffs with the win – they were ranked No. 25 entering the week for the 24-team field – and kept its hopes alive at making the PAC Final Four, set for next Tuesday at Owen J. Roberts.

“It would be a really big disappointment if we didn’t do anything this year,” said Kidwell, a senior forward. “We had all the hype going into this year (as defending league champions) and for us to fall apart like that would be really disappointment. Tonight could have been the last game of our season. Our Senior Night is Thursday, which could have been the worst Senior Night ever with nothing to look forward to.”

“It’s such a relief,” senior midfielder Nik Verma said. “We love that we have another opportunity to get to that spot (PAC playoffs) and get into districts.”

Instead the Bears will have plenty to play for when they host Norristown

AUSTIN HERTZOG - DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Boyertown’s Nik Verma leaps to win the ball in front of Spring-Ford’s Michael Hyduke during their game on Oct. 11.

AUSTIN HERTZOG - DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Boyertown’s Ben Wise and Spring-Ford’s Ronnie Minges compete for a header during their game on Oct. 11.