Spring-Ford bounces back to beat Owen J. Roberts in District 1-4A first round

The Spring-Ford boys’ soccer team found itself an unenviable position, but not one foreign to them.

The Rams previously stared down the task of regrouping after an overtime defeat in the Pioneer Athletic Conference semifinals, last week falling in overtime to eventual champion Upper Merion. Spring-Ford knows its way around PAC playoff heartbreak in a season where the program’s title-less run reached 11. But Spring-Ford also knows about recovering from the setback.

Despite finding itself in an early hole to fellow PAC outfit Owen J Roberts, the Rams were ignited by a counterattack goal created by Grant Miller and finished by Cole Preschutti that fired them to four straight goals and a 4-2 home victory in the opening round of the District 1 Class 4A playoffs.

“Overall it was just a great team effort all around. The communication and preparation was good coming in,” said senior captain Preschutti. “At the beginning of the season our goal was to win PACs and obviously we didn’t do that. We lost in the semifinals to Upper Merion. We wanted revenge for this game (losing to OJR on Oct. 2). It was a big comeback week and we needed this one.”

No. 10 seed Spring-Ford advanced to face No. 7 West Chester Rustin, which defeated Avon Grove 5-0 in the first round, on Thursday. Owen J. Roberts concludes its season 9-9.

The PAC letdown stung, but Spring-Ford has a chance to reach the PIAA Championships for a second straight year after playing into the quarterfinals a year ago.

“Senior year, you always want to win PACs. We worked for four years and then we don’t win it, so it’s tough,” said S-F senior goalkeeper Logan Hyduke. “But we came out to practice the next day with a new mentality and came out knowing we still have districts. We have a really good seeding, got placed here against OJR and we beat them again.”

Preschutti scored two goals, the Rams’ first and third, in between other goals from Pat Clemens and Miller. OJR’s goals were scored by Mason Wiedl and Mick Kuhl.

Senior goalkeeper Hyduke was outstanding in recording eight saves including a pivotal one-on-one breakaway save against Elijah Purtle in the first half with the Rams already trailing by a goal courtesy of OJR center back Wiedl’s bending free kick from 28 yards.

“I loved how we started the game,” Owen J. Roberts senior defender Evan King said. “It’s a shame we weren’t able to keep that up for a full 80 minutes.”

Owen J Roberts takes the early lead 1-0 at 28:56 1H on beautifully hit free kick from Mason Wiedl. @AthleticsOjr pic.twitter.com/3RtLIUmwK4

— Austin Hertzog (@AustinHertzog) October 24, 2023

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The Wildcats carried the greater threat for 30 minutes and could have led by more if not for Hyduke. The advantage evaporated in a flash for OJR though when Miller won the ball near midfield and drove down the left side before playing a long, low cross to the far post that was met in stride by Preschutti for the leveler at the 10:43 mark.
“I felt for sure after their first goal a momentum shift. It felt like an unfortunate goal really off a counterattack like that,” OJR’s King said. “After that it wasn’t really the same momentum-wise. But that’s on us.”

Three minutes later, the Rams took the lead on Clemens’ long, looping header from a CJ Giles free kick.

“The biggest thing was our communication, playing together and creating triangles all over the field, building width,” said Preschutti. “We were too narrow for much of the first half. That’s why we couldn’t get anything going. But eventually we got width going, got our possession. Once we get possession we can be a deadly team.”

Spring-Ford was out of sight with two more goals in a seven-minute span in the second half. Miller picked up a failed clearance on the edge of the penalty area and struck a low blast before Preschutti received a through ball from Max Exeter and finished with his left foot for a 4-1 advantage with 24:56 remaining.

The margin would have been greater had OJR goalie Ethan Suessmuth (7 saves) not been as strong as he was.

OJR’s Kuhl cut the deficit to two with 20:35 left, but the Rams kept their distance down the stretch.

While the Wildcats couldn’t replicate the success of last year’s PAC championship this fall, OJR showed progress from a 2-4 start to earning a spot in the district playoffs.

“Since the beginning of the year we’ve been focusing so much on attitude and effort and it wasn’t really there at the beginning of the year. I feel like we’ve improved a lot of that throughout the course of the season,” King said.

“As a new group of guys, it just took a little bit of time connecting with each other, even the off-the-field chemistry because that’s just as important in a game like soccer. I’m really proud of how we turned it around this year. Our attitude and effort grew as a team. We grew together.”

Meanwhile Spring-Ford will look to use its past experience to chase down a return trip to the state tournament.

“Last year we got to the state quarterfinals, reached the district quarterfinals, lost at Conestoga but made it through playbacks. We just kept building momentum,” Preschutti said. “You can’t give up in these situations. You still have a season to play, you’ve gotta keep fighting.”