TREDYFFRIN – When the Conestoga boys’ soccer squad is really good – and let’s face it, the Pioneers usually are – head coach Dave Zimmerman’s program always seems elite in two important ways. The first is great overall team depth. And the second is that ’Stoga is ultra dangerous on set pieces.
The Pioneers wrapped up another stellar regular season Tuesday evening with a 3-1 Central League triumph over visiting Marple Newtown. And those strengths were in full force at Teamer Field.
“We have had a lot of injuries this season,” said Zimmerman, who has been head coach for well over 20 years. “There was only maybe one other season I can remember that we’ve had this many. Nobody is out for the season, but at one point we lost all three of our midfielders. We played Parkland, who was No. 1 in the state and tied them, and at one point we had four freshmen on the field.
“That’s a credit to our depth. This might be one of our deepest teams. We can sub at every position and not lose that much. None of the teams that we’ve had are the same, but this group doesn’t score as many goals as I’d like – but that’s soccer.”
To the surprise of absolutely no one, Conestoga tallied all three of its goals against the Tigers on restarts: one on a corner kick, another on a throw-in, and a third on a free kick.
“We get goals off of throw-ins and corners,” said junior forward Justin Maxwell, who scored twice on Tuesday. “We really are dangerous. We practice it a lot. Our whole game plan is to get set pieces and generate goals.”
At 9-1-2 in the Central League (12-1-4 overall), the Pioneers now head into the District 1 4A Tournament riding a six-game non-losing streak. The victory also secured the second spot in the district power rankings, one stop behind West Chester Henderson.
“This win should keep us there and we wanted to be either one or two because that gets you a bye and then a home playoff game,” Zimmerman said.
Marple Newtown falls to 4-7, 9-8 overall, but the Tigers are already solidly into the 3A district field.
“This league is the strongest in Southeastern Pennsylvania, if not all of the state,” said Marple Newtown head coach Joe DePaolo. “The coaches are fantastic and every night you have to be ready for a dogfight.”
The start of this clash was a bit odd. Moments after Tigers’ keeper Matteo Badolato was helped off the field with an apparent knee injury, teammate Benk Gahler deposited a blast into the far upper corner for a 1-0 lead about 10 minutes in.
“I actually missed the goal because I was attending to our goalkeeper,” DePaolo acknowledged. “The injury took the wind out of our sails a bit, but to get on the board right away like that is huge for confidence.
“It looks like a knee. We will get (Badolato) checked out (Wednesday).”
The lead lasted about 12 minutes, when junior midfielder Danny Poltaraus headed in the sixth corner kick of the game for ’Stoga, from left-footed Evan Cross, to tie it at 1-1 with 17:17 on the clock.
“I don’t like to give up an early goal, but I was pleased with the way we responded,” Zimmerman said.
“I think we are a resilient team,” Maxwell added. “And when somebody scores on us, it makes us want to come back and score ourselves.”
Maxwell then added two goals in the final 10 minutes of the first half to put ’Stoga ahead 3-1 at the break. The first came after Luke Stienes hit the crossbar on a shot, which forced a throw-in, and Maxwell cleaned up the ensuing rebound. The second, with 6:11 remaining, was similar as Maxwell scored on a loose ball after teammate Remy Tshibangu’s shot glanced off the crossbar on a free kick.
“(Marple Newtown) is a good team, especially defensively,” Zimmerman pointed out. “I think the strategy from the outset was to play the corner and try to generate set pieces. Marple’s starting keeper got hurt and the backup wasn’t quite as big so we wanted to take advantage of that.”
In the opening 40 minutes, the Pioneers generated nine corner kicks and allowed just one.
“It’s just a math equation – the more you take, the more likely you are going to get a goal,” Zimmerman said.
“In the scouting report, we knew (Conestoga) took advantage of a lot of opportunities on set pieces this season on long throw-ins and corner kicks,” DePaolo added. “They are very dangerous and that’s been a problem for us this season. We knew if we gave them opportunities like that, it would be a long night.”
Neither side scored again the rest of the way. ’Stoga wound up with a pronounced advantage in corners (10-2) and also had a big edge of 18-8 in shots on goal. Both of Maxwell’s goals came on opportunistic rebounds.
“It just happened to be like that today. I just happened to be at the right place at the right time,” Maxwell said.
“Hey, they all count exactly the same – it doesn’t have to be pretty,” Zimmerman countered.
Even though the others near the top of the Central League standings still have games to play, Zimmerman said he expects that 3A power Harriton (8-1-1) will wind up edging out Conestoga, Lower Merion (8-1-1) and Haverford (7-2-1) for the regular season title.
“I think Harriton will win the league, and good for them.,” he said. “I think it’s the first time they’ve done that.
“I think the league is one of the toughest. Even a team like Marple – who beat Lower Merion – and Strath Haven are not an easy out. All of these league games are a struggle to the death.”
Conestoga 3, Marple Newtown 1
Marple Newtown 1 0 – 1
Conestoga 3 0 – 3
Marple Newtown goal: Gahler.
Conestoga goals: Poltaraus, Maxwell 2.
Goalie saves: Badolato (MN) 4; Purdy (MN) 11; McLean (C) 7.
Source: Berkshire mont
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