NEWTON TWP. — Dallas had plenty of chances to strike in the first half, but Abington Heights goalkeeper Jackson Danzig turned five shots away to keep the game scoreless at the break.
The fourth-seeded Mountaineers cashed in on a pair of opportunities in the second half to defeat the top-seeded Comets, 2-0, in a District 2 Class 3A boys soccer semifinal match Oct. 31 at Hillside Park.
After Abington Heights was called for a foul inside the box, Dallas’ David Chopyak tucked his penalty shot into the left corner of the net to give the Mountaineers a 1-0 lead in the 60th minute of the match.
“It was a little nerve-wracking, but I was confident and knew it was going in,” Chopyak said. “I just picked a corner, looked (the goalkeeper) in the eyes and placed the shot.
“It boosted our momentum and we played so much harder once we got that goal.”
Dallas (12-3-1) added an insurance goal in the 65th minute when Zach Holthaus scored off an assist from Nico Deluca.
“We played really well today and we knew we had to,” Dallas head coach Chris Scharff said. “Abington (Heights) always has good players, they pass well and they’re very organized, but if we stuck to our game plan we knew we could stay with them.”
A few near misses prevented Dallas from turning the match into a rout.
Deluca had a breakaway opportunity for the Mountaineers off a goal kick in the 16th minute, but his shot attempt sailed over the crossbar.
“The ball was bouncing and he just kicked it a little too hard,” Scharff said. “If it was a little softer, it’s a goal.
Dallas just missed on another quality scoring chance in the 26th minute when a direct kick from Ricky Wooditch grazed the goal post.
“We really asserted ourselves today and I thought we could have scored two or three more goals,” Scharff said. “We might have played our best game of the year.”
The Mountaineers will play for a district championship for the first time since 2013 when they host seventh-seeded Crestwood Nov. 2 at 6 p.m.
That season, Dallas was defeated by Tunkhannock, 2-0, in the Class 2A title game.
Abington Heights (13-1-2) threatened to score just four minutes into the match, but Dallas goalkeeper Kyle Greenwood came out of the net to disrupt a shot attempt from Antonio Maletta.
Greenwood also made a nice stop on a shot from Luke Abdalla in the 24th minute.
Dallas outshot Abington Heights, 5-2, in the first half and 9-6 for the match.
“Offensively, it took us some time to settle in,” Abington Heights head coach Frank Dyska said. “If we capitalized on a chance or two in the first 10 minutes it may have given a different tone to the game.”
DISTRICT 2 CLASS 3A SEMIFINAL
Dallas 2, Abington Heights 0
Dallas`0`2`—`2
Abington Heights`0`0`—`0
Second half — 1. DAL, David Chopyak (penalty), 20:28; 2. DAL, Zach Holthaus (Nico Deluca), 15:28.
Shots — DAL 9; AH 6. Saves — DAL 6 (Kyle Greenwood); AH 7 (Jackson Danzig).
