D-11 BOYS SOCCER: Potherings OT goal lifts Haven over Nativity BY MIKE WILSON Published: October 28, 2014 TAMAQUA — It’s the goal that lives in every soccer player’s dreams. It’s the playoffs. It’s overtime. It’s do or die. The boot wraps perfectly around the ball, which curls past a defender and the outstretched keeper, bulging the side netting. That dream became reality for Schuylkill Haven junior Owen Pothering in Monday night’s District 11 Class A semifinal against division rival Nativity at Tamaqua Area High School. Pothering’s curling shot tucked inside the left post in the 101st minute to give the No. 3 Hurricanes a thrilling 4-3 win over the second-seeded Hilltoppers and send Haven back to the District 11 championship for the eighth straight year. “I tried my best to dribble it around the 18, beat a few guys and find space,” Pothering said. “I just bent it into the bottom corner. I kept it low because he’s a tall keeper and it just worked out.” The Hurricanes play top-seeded Moravian, which beat Pine Grove 7-3 in the other semifinal, at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Northern Lehigh High School. Nearly an hour before Pothering’s game-winner, after the first half produced no goals, Haven got on the board with Kristian Svenson’s 52nd-minute penalty kick after the senior’s throw-in was knocked down by a Nativity hand in the box. Hilltopper keeper Eric Nelson guessed right on Svenson’s location, but the shot was struck too well to stop. Blake Handling extended the Schuylkill Haven lead to 2-0 in the 54th minute by dipping a shot from 30 yards just under the crossbar and just over Nelson’s head. But the lead wasn’t built to last. Nativity’s Bernardo Llanes beat Hurricane keeper Brad Fryer to a loose ball three minutes later and chipped it in to make it 2-1. A Schuylkill Haven own goal on Cullen Hoppel’s free kick in the 70th minute tied it at 2. “We went down two goals and I couldn’t believe the work my guys put in,” Nativity coach Matt Hamilton said. “But when we go up 3-2 and there’s only seven minutes left, you can’t allow an equalizer. “But you know what? What a game we just played. What a game Haven just played. It’s an advertisement for the quality of the teams at the top of our division.” Ignacio Martinez gave Nativity the lead 38 seconds after the own goal when he lofted a ball over Fryer from the far corner as the Nativity bench erupted. Overtime, however, seemed inevitable with two sides that have played in three overtimes in the last four games. Justin Gerber, one of many experienced seniors on Schuylkill Haven’s roster, stepped to a Nativity clearance and side-stepped two defenders before lacing a shot into the top of the net to tie the game at 3 in the 75th minute. “I said to them you have to shoot from distance,” Schuylkill Haven coach Vanco Georgevic said. “The lights are in the goalkeepers eyes, a lot of things can happen. It got wet. Thankfully we scored the equalizer to go into overtime.” Nativity freshman Cristian Vazquez nearly put the Hilltoppers ahead again with a point-blank shot from a corner, but Fryer sprawled out to make the save and controlled the rebound in the 78th minute. Aidan Inman, who has scored nine goals for Haven since Tyler Yeakel’s injury Sept. 24, then put a shot just over the cross bar in the final minute to send the teams to overtime. Nativity put two shots on goal in the first overtime period, but were doomed shortly into the second after a double-yellow sent a player off the pitch and left the Hilltoppers with 10 men. Despite being down a man, Nativity still produced good scoring chances, most notably a hard shot from Jake Parobek that Fryer kept out with eight minutes to play. Three minutes later, Pothering took a ball from midfield to the right corner of the box and orchestrated the winner. For Nativity — a team that turned Division II upside down and shattered expectations this season — it was only the second loss since its Sept. 10 defeat at Schuylkill Haven. The other came to Blue Mountain in overtime of the Schuylkill League semifinals. Schuylkill Haven, meanwhile, finds itself on a familiar stage — the district championship. “I don’t even know who we’re playing at this time, but it really doesn’t matter,” Georgevic said. “For us to get back to defend the District 11 championship, I’m very proud of them.” Game Summary District 11 Class A Semifinal At Tamaqua High School Haven (14-5-1) 0 3 0 1 — 4 Nativity (12-4-1) 0 3 0 0 — 3 SH —Svenson (PK), 52 SH —B. Handling, 54th minute Nat —Llanes, 57th minute Nat —Haven OG, 70th minute Nat —Martinez, 70th minute SH —Pothering, 101st minute Shots on goal: Schuylkill Haven 11, Nativity 11. Corner kicks: Schuylkill Haven 6, Nativity 3. Saves: Schuylkill Haven (Fryer) 9, Nativity (Nelson) 8.
Posted on: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 11:33:48 +0000
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