SV boys soccer back in WPAA final with 2-1 win
WEXFORD — Three times Peters Township has challenged Seneca Valley in high-stakes matchups in the past two seasons. And three times Peters Township has been turned away.
In a rematch of their clash in the WPIAL title game 10 days earlier, the Indians (18-3-1) and the Raiders converged at North Allegheny's Newman Stadium on Tuesday night to decide who would move on to the PIAA Class 4A boys soccer final. With some help from fellow junior midfielder Beaux Lizewski, Max Marcotte clinched a 2-1 victory and vaulted SV back to Hershey with a late goal.
“We possessed super well leading up it,” Marcotte said. “I saw Beaux had the ball and I just knew he was going to put it on my foot. I knew I had to be there to put it in.”
The Raiders (21-0-1) had beaten Peters Township in the past two WPIAL finals, including a hat trick effort from Lizewski in an overtime triumph last year. The win improves the Raiders' record to 38-1-2 since the start of 2020.
“They're a first-class program with first-class players,” Peters Township coach Bob Dyer said. “We're, right now, two of the elite programs and they've gotten timely goals. They beat us on a hundred-yard sprint.”
The match was played at a frenetic pace to start out. Senior midfielder Nathan Prex got the Raiders on the board in the 13th minute after a foul was called on an Indian defender's tackle of Cole Kamarec. Prex effortlessly deposited the free kick over a wall of red jerseys.
Peters Township's Anthony Schullek and Joseph Tomari would rip off shots in the remainder of the first half, but neither would pass Raider goalie Ryan Krumenacker.
“We knew going into tonight that playing Peters was going to be harder than the first time, both physically and mentally,” Williams said. “They were going to be up. They had something to prove.
“We tried to talk about being ready for anything. We let them get us out of it a little bit tonight, which is where they got their chance and they got their goal. We were able to collect ourselves and get back into a good groove.”
Last year's WPIAL Player of the Year in Class 4A, Indians striker Andrew Massucci turned in senior defender Dylan Shaw's skipping free kick in the 54th minute, leveling the scoreboard. Massucci had a chance to go up in 71st minute, but his shot was blocked. The rebound was collected by junior Nick Magee, but lifted over the crossbar.
After Marcotte's strike, the Indians' Austin Marmol had a pair of harmless free kicks in the contest's final minute.
“It's heartbreaking for those kids, because I think we battled pretty hard today,” Dyer said.
In Hershey on Friday, the Raiders will play Conestoga, 3-0 winners over La Salle College Tuesday. The game is slated to begin at 6:30 p.m.
“We know there's still one more we want to get,” Williams said.
