KINGSTON — The Spartans didn’t take much time to leisurely settle in to Saturday’s match; they came out firing on their way to a berth in the district championship.
Chase Evanofski scored two first-half goals, and Wyoming Valley West kept Williamsport’s defense reeling from whistle to whistle in a 4-0 victory in the District 2/4 Class 4A boys soccer semifinals.
The Spartans got their first shot on net just 90 seconds in, scored three goals in the first 40 minutes and generally made it a very difficult day for the Millionaires despite a strong effort in a busy match for Williamsport keeper Maxwell Fink.
“That’s what we’ve been doing down the stretch … we want to come out, we want to be the aggressor,” Wyoming Valley West coach Gerry Kashuda said. “We want to be the team that sets the tone.”
While the Spartans’ aggressive start did set the tone, it took a little bit of time to get one past Fink, who made a few impressive early saves.
The breakthrough came just over 11 minutes in, as Valley West earned an early corner kick.
Maks Iracki delivered a ball into the box and Evanofski sent it home, slipping one past the Williamsport goalie for the score.
The Spartans’ pressure was unrelenting even after taking the lead, controlling the midfield and allowing very few chances for Williamsport’s forwards to get the ball with any kind of room.
Schuyler Davis made it a 2-0 lead for Valley West after winning the ball in the box and poking it into the bottom of the net, and then Evanofski drilled his second goal of the half on a penalty kick.
Despite being hobbled after a hard foul inside the box, Evanofski was able to dust himself off and convert on the penalty kick, going low to the left corner of the goal to make it 3-0 Spartans.
Shane Stettler did the only scoring for either team in the second half, padding Valley West’s lead late in the half.
The goal was created off a direct kick from Noah Fetko, who ripped a rocket into the box that ricocheted off the goalie right to Stettler. The Spartans senior calmly redirected it back into the goal to cap off the scoring for the day.
Wyoming Valley West will return to the district championship match for the third year in a row, finishing as the district runner-up in 2023 and 2024.
The Spartans will host Wilkes-Barre Area on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. to crown a district champion.
District 2/4 Class 4A Semifinals
Wyoming Valley West 4, Williamsport 0
Williamsport`0`0 — 0
Valley West`3`1 — 4
First Half — 1. WVW Chase Evanofski (Maks Iracki) 28:45; 2. WVW Schuyler Davis (Iracki) 16:18; 3. WVW Evanofski 6:20. Second Half — 1. WVW Shane Stettler (Noah Fetko) 7:49.
Shots — WIL 7, WVW 17. Saves — WIL 9 (Maxwell Fink), WVW 4 (Grayson Ader). Corners — WVW 5, WIL 0.
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