Abington Heights’ player celebrate winning the Class 4A PIAA District 2 soccer championship.
Fred Adams | For Abington Journal
Wilkes-Barre Area forward Musa Contech (35) keeps the ball from Abington Heights Jack Cowgill (5) as he goes toward the goal during the second half of play in the Class 4A PIAA District 2 soccer championship game.
Fred Adams | For Abington Journal
CLARKS SUMMIT — All game long, Abington Heights winger Michael Hartshorn played crosses into the penalty box, waiting for one to find an open teammate.
With less than three minutes left in the Nov. 4 District 2 Class 4A boys soccer title game against Wilkes-Barre Area, Hartshorn found his opening.
A perfect feed from Hartshorn to Kohen Stiles — and a rocket of a shot from Stiles to beat the Wolfpack goalie — secured the Comets’ first district title since 2014 with a 2-1 win over Wilkes-Barre Area.
The game-winner came just a few moments after the Wolfpack had seemingly swung momentum in their direction with a Jefry Campos Paz goal that tied the game 1-1.
“I saw Kohen and I knew I had to play that ball,” Hartshorn said. “It felt amazing. … As soon as I hit it, I knew that was our goal.”
After a defensive-minded contest that remained scoreless for over 45 minutes of game play, each team was waiting to find that one chance — a crack in the defense that, many times, just wasn’t there.
Both Wilkes-Barre Area and Abington Heights did a good job shutting down passing lanes and limiting the opposing offense’s chances throughout much of the contest, creating a sense of urgency as the minutes ticked off the clock.
It was Abington Heights forward Sam Specht who broke the scoring drought at the 33:25 mark of the second half. A ball played into the box by Michael Maldonado found its way to Specht, who put it past Wolfpack goalie Joe Egidio.
At the time, it felt like that goal may hold up as the game-winner, but Campos Paz had other ideas.
The senior attacker, with the Wilkes-Barre Area offense playing through him for much of the game, was able to corral a loose ball and flip it over the head of the Comets goalkeeper for an equalizer with just under 10 minutes remaining.
“(Campos Paz) is very dynamic,” Abington Heights coach Frank Dyska. “ … He’s impacting on the defensive side. … He’s one of the most dangerous players we’ve seen this year.”
With time running out and the Wolfpack riding a burst of energy from their goal, the Comets had to regroup and refocus to punch their ticket to the state tournament.
“Momentum is a huge thing in these games, especially in finals like this,” Dyska said. “You could feel it and I think that our guys being able to pick it back up is a testament to the strong mentality of the group we have.”
Needing a goal to take the district crown, Abington Heights worked the ball to Hartshorn on the wing, and the senior put his best ball of the night on the foot of Stiles, who struck paydirt and brought his team a District 2 title.
“I was waiting for it all game,” Stiles said. “We knew just one had to get through in the second half. … it was so awesome, I was so hyped.”
Wilkes-Barre Area led in shots, 7-5. Abington Heights had a 2-1 edge in corner kicks.
Nick Slusser made five saves for the Comets.
Abington Heights 2, Delaware Valley 0
Slusser made four saves in a shutout in the Nov. 2 district semifinal, which was also a scoreless tie at halftime.
Specht assisted Nico Bustos for the first goal, then scored one himself.
The Comets led 15-8 in shots and 6-2 in corner kicks.
Pennridge 4, Abington Heights 1
Pennridge came to Clarks Summit and eliminated the Comets in the first round of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class 4A playoffs Nov. 8.
Stiles scored, on an assist by Justin Kim, to pull the Comets within 2-1 at halftime.
