LOWER BURRELL— More than ever, Knoch coach Doug Wood was hoping history would repeat itself

In Monday's opening round of the WPIAL Class AA boys soccer playoffs against Burrell, Adam Sharbaugh and C.J. Wise scored about one minute apart to stake the Knights to a 2-0 lead in the opening 2:55 and went on to post a 4-2 victory over the Buccaneers.

Knoch (14-3-4) and Burrell had met on Sept. 29, when the Knights prevailed 2-1.

"We scored early in that game. and to get two early this game was huge," said Wood.

Alone in front of the net, Sharbaugh scored just 1:53 into the game.

Wise was also alone in front 1:02 later to help send the Knights on their way.

"It was a really good start for us to go two goals up" said Sharbaugh. "It gives us the biggest advantage ever."

"This is a team that just was not focused, not ready," said Bucs coach Pete Kariotis about his players.

Burrell (13-5-1) did shake off the early scores, responding with a goal by Chris Tutolo on a free kick with 35:12 left in the first half to trim the deficit to one.

The goal seemed to spark the Bucs, but when Knoch's Kevin Wood scored with 15:04 before the break, the Knights regained their two-goal advantage.

Wood's shot hit the post and Bucs goalie David Kunkle made a diving attempt, but he couldn't recover in time as Wood buried the deflection.

"We had a little momentum, but we need to finish our opportunities," said Kariotis. "(Knoch) came down 20 minutes later and finished theirs.

"That was the difference. They were able to execute their opportunities," Kariotis added.

"They scored, so the next goal was very important and we put it in," said Wood. "We controlled the tempo."

Sharbaugh added his second goal with 29:57 left in the second half for a 4-1 Knights lead.

The Bucs closed out the scoring when Kyle Condron took a kick from Eric Sokol and lined a header over Knights goalie Steve Frey into the net with 20:26 remaining.

Frye, who had played little in the previous four games due to a hip injury, finished with nine saves.

"We purposely rested him for three or four games to have him ready for (Monday)," said Wood. "We know a healthy Steve Frey can take us a long way in the playoffs. Obviously, he's a quality keeper."

The early goals also helped Frey relax a bit in net.

"I was pretty confident in making saves," said Frey, who estimated himself to be 85 to 90 percent healthy. "When my teammates made those first two goals, I knew we'd be all right."

The playoff victory was the first in the program's history.

"This was our fourth straight playoff and our first win," said Wood. "We've got to keep it going. The program's not old but it used to be in Triple A and we were doormats, so (the win) felt great."

"I'm real proud of my team," said Sharbaugh. "It's a great accomplishment."

"It's the best feeling of my life,"said Frey.

With the win, the Knights will move on to visit No. 1 seed Steel Valley at 8 p.m. Wednesday.