Abington Heights players celebrate after winning the PIAA Class 3A championship game over Conrad Weiser on Saturday at Northeastern York High School.
Joey Pivirotto makes a run downfield en route to a goal that broke a scoreless tie early in the second half.
Abington Heights goalkeeper Billy Johnson goes up and grabs a Conrad Weiser corner kick and finished with seven saves for a shutout in the state title game.
Abington Heights’ Nico Bustos (10) soars to connect on a header to give the Comets a 2-0 lead midway through the second half.
Abington Heights’ Lucas Samala battles for control of the ball on Saturday.
MANCHESTER — Joey Pivirotto and Nico Bustos scored the goals while Billy Johnson and a stingy defense prevented them.
The same formula that had worked throughout the District 2 playoffs and the first three rounds of the PIAA tournament produced a state title Saturday morning.
Abington Heights held off pressure late in a scoreless first half then took charge on the way to a 2-0 victory over previously unbeaten District 3 champion Conrad Weiser in the Class 3A boys soccer championship game at Northeastern York High School.
The Lackawanna League Division 1 and District 2 Class 3A champion Comets (24-1) won the school’s first state championship since a Class 5A title by the boys basketball team in 2019 and the first soccer title by a District 2 school since the Mountain View boys in Class A in 2012.
Conrad Weiser held a 5-1 advantage in shots at halftime of the physical battle. The teams moved the ball up and down the field, but the defenses stopped most attacks before they could become dangerous.
Abington Heights then scored on its first two shots of the second half.
Pivirotto changed the flow of the game 2:49 into the second half when he won the race to an errant pass just inside midfield, quickly moved around three Scouts, cut left and fired a left-footed rocket into the net from 30 yards out.
“We definitely, at the end of the first half, were just trying to weather the storm and get to the half and regroup and get everyone situated and squared away,” Comets coach Frank Dyska said. “Joey’s done that a bunch this year where he kind of comes out on fire right after the half.”
Pivirotto, who opened the postseason with a hat trick, scored in six of seven playoff games.
Bustos moved from midfield to center back for the last 32:36, but came up charging up for a header off a James Mitchell direct kick for an insurance goal with 17:18 left.
The Lehigh commit scored in all seven playoff games, all of which were shutouts by the Comets defense. The biggest Bustos goal came in overtime of the state quarterfinals to break a scoreless tie.
Billy Johnson, coming off a 10-save performance in the semifinals, made seven saves behind a defense led by seniors Enzo Capozzi, Mitchell and Aiden Gardner.
Conrad Weiser finished 24-1-1.
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