Trojans reach state final
The Parkland High School boys soccer team is headed to the state championship game.
The Trojans have been playing their best soccer of the season over the last two weeks and finding some magic to keep a dream season alive.
Parkland beat District 1’s fourth-place team, Great Valley, 2-0 Tuesday in a PIAA Class 4A semifinal match to earn a trip to Saturday’s state final against District 1 champ Cumberland Valley.
Lincoln Fritz scored a goal 17 minutes into the second half, converting on a bicycle kick from about five yards out to take a 1-0 lead Tuesday. Kyle Tobia added the insurance goal late in the game to secure Parkland’s place in Saturday’s final.
Talmage Pollard and Anthony Bautista Yucra assisted on goals in the state semifinal, while goalie Dan Sipling made five saves in the win.
Coming off a penalty-kick shootout win in the District 11 championship game, Parkland has rattled off three straight wins in the state tournament.
Parkland (25-2) took down District 1’s fifth-place team, Phoenixville, 2-0 in the first round of states last Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Four days later the Trojans once again found themselves in a penalty kick shootout, as they held on and came out on top 4-3 to defeat District 12 camps Northeast in the quarterfinal round at Pennridge High School.
In the victory over the Phantoms, Anthony Bautista and Talmage Pollard each found the back of the net once for the Parkland offense and that was all it needed as Dan Sipling and the Trojans defense recorded the shutout with Sipling finishing with five saves. Lincoln Fritz assisted on Pollard’s goal and Pollard assisted on Bautista’s goal.
Against the Tigers, Fritz scored the lone goal of regulation for Parkland in the first half to give his team the lead, but Matheus Lopes tied the game in the second half with just 15 minutes remaining and the two teams were scoreless through two overtimes.
The penalty kick scorers for Parkland were Jacob Silman, Alex Hurwitz, Caleb Daniels and Evan Sprunk. Sipling, who made eight saves throughout regulation and overtime, also stopped two key shots in the shootout.
Saturday’s title game is slated for 10 a.m. at Cumberland Valley’s Eagle View Middle School in Mechanicsburg. The CV campus has been the site for all soccer state finals, and several other sports, for the past few seasons. So when the Eagles reach a title game they have the luxury of playing on their home field.