Conestoga Valley falls in Class AAA final
For Conestoga Valley's boys' soccer team, it Thomas Davis Game Jersey was supposed to be the thrilling final chapter in what, to this point, has been a fairytale season.
While it was indeed the final chapter, it was anything Authentic Thomas Davis Jersey but thrilling for the Buckskins.
Getting the gamewinner from Dom Caruso 19:21 into the match, Upper St. Clair captured its second straight PIAA Class AAA title by steamrolling Conestoga Valley 4 0 Saturday night in Hersheypark Stadium.
Still, when it was over, there was Nate Delgado CV's standout senior forward and co captain smiling.
And there was Matt Latschar a senior defender and Buckskin co captain saying how he was happy for the other side. That they deserved it.
The simple fact is, CV (23 3 2) didn't lose Saturday night as much as it flat out got beat.
"We're in the state finals and they won 4 0 . so they've got to be pretty dang good," Delgado said with a grin afterward. "There's not one weak kid on their team. They possess the ball like I've never seen (a team do) this whole year. They put it to us really."
Latschar went a step further.
"They were probably one of the better high school teams I've ever seen play," he said of USC. "They had a team mentality that was unlike any other. They were good."
The Panthers (23 1 1) wasted little time proving it, dominating possession from the opening touch.
In fact, but for five huge saves from CV goalie Zach Rider in the first half, during which the Buckskins also had a sure goal cleared off the goal line by defender Evan Duffy, it could have gotten out of hand in a hurry.
"He kept us in the game for the first 15, 20 or 30 minutes," CV coach Dave Hartlaub said of his goalie. "He kept coming up with save after save. This was one of his best games all season."
But it was going to take more than a career effort from Rider to turn back the Panthers, as the Buckskins eventually learned. www.panthersnflofficialshop.com/panthers-thomas-davis-jersey-c-27.html
After Joel Hart carried a ball down the left side and pushed a centering pass into the box with 20:39 remaining in the first half, Caruso was there to blast a rocket under the crossbar for a 1 0 USC lead.
"They moved the ball around very well," said Rider, who finished with 10 saves. "Probably better than we've seen all season."
Still, CV despite rarely getting the ball into their own attacking third somehow managed to control the damage for a while.
"They got that second one . " Hartlaub said. "And that became a big mountain to climb."
It didn't get much better for CV after the break.
In fact, by game's end, USC had built a 15 1 edge in shots, while creating 13 dangerous scoring chances to just one for CV that being Delgado's open look that sailed over the crossbar with 21:43 left in the first half.
And when Hart put away a beautiful feed from Shane Sibley to give USC a 3 0 lead 2:08 into the second half, the writing was on the wall.
Doug Hapeman's goal off of a Blake throw in with 26:37 left to play was academic.
"I thought we played really, really well," USC coach Uwe Schneider said afterward. "It might have been one of the best games we played all season long, overall."
All of which spelled bad news for CV, which saw its best boys' soccer season in school history come to an anticlimactic end.
Not that there was any shame, among the Buckskins, in the way it ended.
"Tonight (the Panthers) were fantastic, they were the real deal," Hartlaub said. "I think all of our players put in a tremendous amount of energy and worked, they never quit, and they left it on the field. I can't be upset. The scoreline isn't flattering but what we did (this season) is fantastic."