Boyertown beaten in PKs by Unionville
The first round of the district playoffs remain as unkind as ever to the Boyertown boys soccer team.
Host Unionville advanced in round one of the boys’ District 1-AAAA playoffs with a razor-thin 1-0 triumph over visiting Boyertown that ended on penalty kicks.
“It’s very disappointing,” said Boyertown head coach Scott Didyoung. “We had some opportunities that we squandered.
“In the last seven or eight years, we’ve lost our first round district match either in overtime or on PKs. It’s a string we just can’t seem to get over the hump. It’s really too many to count.”
Following a scoreless 80 minutes of regulation plus two 15-minute overtimes, Unionville won it 3-0 on penalty kicks, and they did it with its third-string keeper in goal, freshman Alex Dolce. Regular starter, Matt Nitz, suffered
a pregame injury and his backup, Garrett Pepper suffered an injury in the second half.
Seeded 14th, the Indians (12-5-2 overall) advance to Thursday’s second round matchup with No. 3 Council Rock North. Boyertown’s season ends with a 13-8 mark.
The Bears were in trouble right from the start when Ben Wise and Owen Kulig each missed the net on Boyertown’s first two penalty kick efforts. Immediately after Dolce denied Nik Verma to put Unionville up 2-0, Indian’s defender Kyle Garvy ended it.
In a tight clash that featured multiple saves by non-goaltenders on both sides and several shots that came precariously close only to bounce off the cross bar, the Indians seemed to gain some momentum on the two overtime sessions. Early in double OT, Eric Green laser hit the Boyertown crossbar. And in the first, both teams threatened. Initially, Boyertown got a big save from defender Kulig on a shot by Michael Hewes. Moments later, a blast from the Bears’ Samuel Marks had to be poked over the crossbar by Dolce.
And the overtime almost didn’t happen. With less than 10 seconds in regulation, Unionville’s Mark Echevarria nearly ended it dramatically when his long, looping shot from about 40-yards out caught Boyertown’s Connor McKeown out of position. The shot went over the goaltender’s head but bounced squarely off the cross bar.