NEW TRIPOLI — Fleetwood entered the PIAA Class 2A boys soccer quarterfinals having not been shutout all season.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, their offense fell silent on Saturday.
District 3 champion Fleetwood fell 1-0 in penalty kicks to District 11 runner-up Blue Mountain, which earned a 3-2 advantage in penalty kicks to secure the victory at Northwestern Lehigh.
“We just couldn’t get that last pass where we wanted it to be necessarily, and when we did, we didn’t put the shot on target or we just put it to the keeper,” Tigers coach Keith Schlegel said. “Just unfortunate.”
In the fifth and final round of penalty kicks, Eagles goalkeeper Colton Leibold made a save on the attempt from Fleetwood senior Nate Herb to secure the win for Blue Mountain. Leibold made three saves in penalty kicks.
“They’re an unbelievable team,” Schlegel said about his team. “Sometimes you have to put the ball in (the net in) regulation. Don’t let PKs win the game either way.”
Fleetwood outshot Blue Mountain 5-4 in regulation, but neither team could convert on their chances. Tigers goalie Wylie Loy made a crucial save with just under 10 minutes to go to keep it 0-0.
“They were very good at limiting our shots and our crosses,” Schlegel said. “I thought we got better as the game went on but we didn’t finish.”
Fleetwood controlled both periods of overtime, outshooting the Eagles 6-1. The Tigers’ best chance to score came with less than 11 minutes remaining, but the shot deflected off the outstretched arms of Leibold, off the crossbar and out of play.
“We put everything out there,” Schlegel said. “It wasn’t as clean as we would’ve liked it to be.”
In the first round of penalty kicks, Tigers senior William Maurek’s attempt was saved by Leibold. Ryan Mundy converted his shot for Blue Mountain.
In the second round, junior Davin Millisock scored for Fleetwood. The Eagles converted their attempt.
In the third round, junior Owen Bice had his shot saved by Leibold. Blue Mountain’s Shawn Batory had his attempt saved by Loy.
With the Eagles holding a 2-1 advantage, senior Josh Avila made his penalty kick for the Tigers to begin the fourth round. Cael Rickard converted his attempt for Blue Mountain, which made it 3-2 and proved to be the game-winning goal.
Leibold came up big again in the final round, saving Herb’s shot to earn the victory. Aside from their performances in penalty kicks, Leibold finished with 11 saves, while Loy recorded five saves.
“It’s disappointing, but we played well,” Schlegel said. “We have a great team (with) good kids.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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