Final matchups set
Moravian Academy, Northwestern Lehigh advance
Two Lehigh Valley programs with recent state championship experience advanced through Wednesday’s PIAA semifinals and are set to play for gold medals.
Colonial League powers Moravian Academy and Northwestern Lehigh both survived thrilling semifinals to move ahead in the state playoffs.
Moravian Academy knocked off nemesis Faith Christian-Sellersville 2-1 (in overtime) in a Class 1A matchup at Whitehall’s Zephyr Stadium, while Northwestern prevailed in penalty kicks (5-3) to earn the 2-1 victory over Lewisburg in a 2A showdown at North Schuylkill High School.
Coach George Andriko’s Lions (18-5) will meet District 7 champ, Winchester Thurston, in Friday’s 1 p.m. 1A final.
Coach Nathan Hunsicker’s Tigers (25-1) play District 3 runner-up Lancaster Catholic in the 2A final at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
A third District 11 champ, Eastern Pennsylvania Conference kingpin Parkland was eliminated in a 1-0 decision to District 1 champion Lower Merion in Wednesday’s Class 4A semifinals at Spring-Ford High School.
Moravian Academy will play for its third state title since 2014. The Lions defeated Sewickley Academy 4-0 in 2014 and Winchester Thurston 4-1 in 2019.
Northwestern is trying to break through in its third trip to the final.
The Tigers lost the 3A title twice to Lower Dauphin, 3-0 in 2016 and 4-1 in 2017.
With the championship clashes ahead, let’s look back at Wednesday’s semifinal round.
District 4 champ Lewisburg took a 1-0 lead into intermission, but Northwestern evened the contest at 1 on senior Josh Zellner’s free kick with 26:40 remaining.
The score remained 1-1 through regulation and two 15-minute overtime periods.
In the penalty shootout portion of OT, Zellner, Jack Mauro, Cayden Fitch, Matt Johnson and Jacob van Lierop all converted. Lewisburg, meanwhile, managed to find the net on three of its four PKs. Van Lierop’s finish was the one that sent the excited Tigers to the state final.
“We as a team,” Mauro said, “don’t really like PKs. Some days we’re on and some we aren’t, but I trust my teammates. We all stepped up to go 5-for-5.”
“State games are just a whole other level of competition,” said Hunsicker, a Northwestern graduate.
“Fleetwood [Northwestern topped the District 3 champs 1-0 in OT in the quarterfinals] and Lewisburg are really talented teams. There’s nothing like state playoff games, and when you make a run like this it’s incredibly exciting. Winning league and district titles is obviously exciting, too, but winning games in the state tournament is just a different kind of special.”
Northwestern, led by Zellner and Johnson — both 100-point career scorers, is respected statewide for its explosive attack.
Hunsicker said it was his defense that stood tall in the semifinals.
“Our defense played really well. Nate [Kinzel], Nick [Krum] and Caelan [Stangil] kept us in it, as did [goalkeeper] Damian [Krapf ] with some big saves down the stretch,” he said. “And Josh’s free kick was perfectly placed. He worked hard all night.”
Now, Northwestern is anxious for another shot at the ultimate goal: a state title.
Lancaster Catholic (17-5-2) earned its spot in the championship game with a 3-1 win over District 10 champ Mercyhurst Prep. Fleetwood defeated Lancaster Catholic 2-1 in the District 3 final.
“It feels amazing to get to this point,” Mauro said, “but the fight isn’t over. We will need to be at the top of our game on Saturday to perform the way we want.”
“We’re super excited to have another shot at [a state title],” Hunsicker said. “Hopefully the third time’s a charm.”
The Lions roar
Moravian Academy’s 2-1 OT win over Faith Christian was personal. It was payback, as well.
Faith Christian, the perennial District 1 power, knocked the Lions out of the state’s 1A playoffs in 2020 and 2021, with last year’s 4-0 loss in the semifinals particularly painful.
On Wednesday, freshman Selman Eris struck for a first-half goal, and after Faith Christian tied it at 1 in the final two minutes of regulation, Saleem Diakite came up clutch with the “Golden Goal” 2:23 into the first overtime period.
“There is certainly some history over the last few years with Faith Christian, and they got the better of us the previous two years,” said Andriko, in his third season as coach at Moravian Academy. “We spent lots of time mentally preparing for the match, and it paid off.
“The empty brackets are posted a year in advance, so this time last year we circled tonight’s semifinal match hoping to get a chance to run it back. We had to wait a full year, but patience pays off.”
Andriko called goalkeeper Gabe Borsuk “a rock” as the last line of defense. The coach also cited senior standout Trey Sheeler, a center back, and Diakite for his game-winner; as well as defensive midfielder George Husack and Rafi Sanjuan, who was one of several players battling illness.
The Lions were at less than full capacity against their nemesis.
“That was a gutsy win,” Andriko said. “I couldn’t be prouder of our perseverance and resolve. We had four players sent home through the week with the flu or flu-like symptoms. We were down a few regular starters who played only sparingly due to these illnesses, and we asked Rafi to play the majority of the game completely under the weather.
“It was a team victory. Everyone chipped in.”
Next up for Moravian Academy is a matchup against Winchester Thurston, the western Pennsylvania program the Lions defeated in the 2019 final.
Andriko said that despite the short turnaround (the final will start fewer than 40 hours after the semifinal ended), his squad will be ready.
“We set goals as a team in the preseason,” he said. “The takeaway was unanimous across the board: win a 10th straight District 11 title and become a state champion.”
Trojans tumble
Playing in the state semifinals for the first time in 24 years, Parkland went toe-totoe with the District 1 4A champs but a goal midway through the second half was the difference in Lower Merion’s 1-0 triumph.
Sam Nyenka scored for the Aces.
Coach Scott Mang’s Trojans (24-2-1) end their season as the EPC and District 11 champs. Their only other loss was a 2-1 setback to Nazareth in the last week of the regular season. Parkland avenged that loss in the conference tournament.
Michael Blouse is a freelance writer.