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KINGSTON — As members of the Meyers boys soccer team gathered around the bench to gather their belongings after shaking hands with Wyoming Seminary, the idea of dousing Mohawks head coach Jack Nolan with a Gatorade jug full of water started bouncing from player to player.
Nolan immediately rejected the idea. It was in the mid-40s after all. But then he had a change of heart.
Soon he was soaking wet, with a smile ear-to-ear stretched across his face.
For the first time in 10 years, the Mohawks (14-2) sit atop their division. With a 2-1 victory over Wyoming Seminary (13-3) Tuesday night, Meyers captured the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 title.
The Mohawks also secured the No. 2 seed in the upcoming District 2 Class 2A playoffs, avoiding a possible matchup against undefeated Scranton Prep until the final.
“We had a good practice yesterday. We talked about what we needed to do today and what it meant,” said a drenched Nolan. “Sem’s been here. We haven’t been in 10 years, and for us, everything the school district’s going through and the possibility of closing Meyers, it’s a great thing for these kids. I’m thrilled for them.”
Meyers was too talented to let an early goal rattle them.
The Blue Knights got on the board less than eight minutes into the game, when Edge Miller found a loose ball in front of the Meyers net and converted, but the Mohawks would rally. They evened the game before the break and then scored the lone second-half goal.
The common denominator in Meyers’ comeback? Johnny Torres.
The senior captain factored into both goals, sending a cornerkick to Dodly Magliore for his team’s first tally before putting the Mohawks up for good with a goal of his own with 34:18 remaining in regulation.
“Been with us since a freshman. Smart kid. Soccer kid,” Nolan said of Torres. “He knows what he’s doing. He’s not the fastest kid on the field, but he puts himself in the right position a lot of times and he’s one of our leading scorers. Tonight he showed his senior leadership, so I’m very proud of him.”
But the Blue Knights wouldn’t go away without a fight.
Wyoming Seminary pressured the Meyers defense throughout the final 20 minutes of the match, forcing Mohawks sophomore goalkeeper Joel Vazquez to make key saves time and time again. However, every time the Blue Knights challenged, Meyers would answer the call.
Despite the defeat, Wyoming Seminary head coach Rev. Charles Carrick took away some positives from the tightly contested match.
His defense was on point once again.
Meyers features a handful of talented weapons in 20-goal scorers Tanner Nillon and Torres while Sam Germain has 40 points this season and Magliore and Michael Krasnavage also add some offensive firepower, But Wyoming Seminary held them in check for the most part. It was the 14th time the Blue Knights have held an opponent to two goals or less this season.
“I thought it was a great game and for a long time it was anybody’s game,” Carrick said. “We showed great effort in the last 10 minutes and it easily could have been a different result. That’s what I tell the kids. We take that into playoffs. It’s a hard-fought game and we just didn’t come up in the end.”
Crestwood 6,
Wyo. Valley West 2
Hubert Herrera scored three goals, including two in the second half, as Crestwood pulled away for a win to tie Dallas for the Division 1 title.
Both teams are 13-1 and will play Thursday at a time and site to be determined for the divisional championship.
Herrera scored about two minutes into the game, but Valley West tied the score less than a minute later when Nate Naugle scored.
Justin Sterling and Max Gariano gave Crestwood a 3-1 lead going into halftime. The Spartans, though, pulled within 3-2 when Nick Bazadona scored seven minutes into the second half only to have Herrera score consecutive goals.
Sean Murphy added an insurance goal late in the game.
Berwick 3,
Lake-Lehman 0
Ken Marshman scored all three goals for a hat trick and Luis Garcia stopped 10 shots to lift the Bulldogs.
Misael Hernandez finished with two assists in the victory.
Chris Ash stopped 18 shots for Lehman.
Holy Redeemer 3,
Nanticoke 1
Devin Dougherty assisted on the first two goals, then scored the final one as the Royals cruised to victory in a game played Monday.
Eric Schramm had a goal and an assist in the victory. Andy Kozlofski scored for the Trojans with 3:35 to play.
Meyers 2, Wyoming Seminary 1
Meyers`1`1`—`2
Wyoming Seminary`1`0`—`0
First half — 1. WS, Edge Miller (Luke Johns), 32:44. Second half — 2. MEY, Dodly Magliore (Johnny Torres), 20:09; 3. MEY, Torres (Sam Germain), 34:18.
Shots — MEY 13; WS 8. Saves — MEY 5 (Joel Vazquez); WS 8 (Ryan Anderson, Justin Negron). Corner kicks — MEY 5; WS 3.
Crestwood 6, Wyoming Valley West 2
Crestwood`3`3`—`6
Wyo. Val. West`1`1`—`2
First half — 1. CRE, Hubert Herrera (Sean Murphy) 2:17; 2. WVW, Nate Naugle (Nick Bazadona) 2:41; 3. CRE, Justin Sterling, 3:04; 4. CRE Max Gariano (Herrera), 34:42. Second half — 5. WVW Bazadona, 47:06; 6. CRE, Herrera (Murphy), 60:16; 7. CRE. Herrera, 64:08; 8. CRE, Murphy, 69:48.
Shots — CRE 12; WVW 10. Saves — CRE 4 (Anthony Kovalchik); WVW 3 (Brian Oppelt/Josh Sanfillipo) Corner Kicks — CRE 3; WVW 2.
Berwick 3, Lake-Lehman 0
Berwick`1`2`—`3
Lake-Lehman`0`0`—`0
First half — 1. BER, Ken Marshman (Sebastian Price), 22:29. Second half — 2. BER, Marshman (Misael Hernandez), 10:50; 3. BER, Marshman (Hernandez), 25:33.
Shots — BER 21; LL 10. Saves — BER 10 (Luis Garcia); LL 18 (Chris Ash). Corner kicks — BER 7; LL 2.
Holy Redeemer 3, Nanticoke 1
Holy Redeemer`2`1`—`3
Nanticoke`0`1`—`1
First half — 1. HR, Eric Schramm (Devin Dougherty), 34:04; 2. HR, Jake Terrana (Dougherty), 16:20. Second half — 3. HR, Dougherty (Schramm), 20:08; 4. NAN, Andy Kozlofski (Adam Ekhart), 3:35.
Shots — HR 15; NAN 2. Saves — HR 1 (Lance McGrane); NAN 12 (Trahjan Krupinski). Corner kicks — HR 6; NAN
