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WRIGHT TWP. — Referring to a team in any sport as a dynasty is dangerous water to tread.
Still, it might be time to call the Crestwood boys soccer team dynastic in District 2.
The Comets continued their unbeaten season on Wednesday night defeating Wyoming Valley West 1-0 in the Class 3A final to claim their third district title in a row and fourth in the last five years.
“Three straight championships? I think we got that title (of dynasty),” said senior Payton Glynn, who scored the only goal of the game and was a part of the last three championships.
After a scoreless first half, Glynn got a pass from Nick Ruggeri seven minutes into the second half and beat WVW keeper Hunter Sgarlat for the tally.
“It just came right to my path and I played it in and it was just crazy after that,” Glynn said.
After the goal, the Comets tried to keep the pressure on the Spartans, but it wasn’t easy. And in the last five minutes, the Spartans pressed extremely hard and got strong possessions, but couldn’t get off any good shots as the Comets defense was there to kick the ball out before it got to keeper Cole Kranson.
Junior three-year starter and captain Johnny Olejnik paced the defense along with strong play from Nick Curry, Trey Zabroski, Tyler Furedi and Grant Rose, all of whom had a big impact of the game, especially in the final minutes.
“Our defense just bent, bent, bent without breaking and that’s awesome to see,” Comets coach David McFarland said. “I don’t think it was just the defense. It was the whole team that played well defensively as a unit. They were united and playing well with and for each other. And I think that’s what made the difference tonight.”
The best chance for the Spartans came with less than a minute remaining. That’s when they had a corner kick that was sent into a perfect spot. Cole Gorham was there to head it towards the net, but it sailed left by just a few feet.
“I’m very proud of the boys and I’m happy the way they played. We gave ourselves every opportunity to win the game,” Valley West coach Charlie Whited said. “The boys really rose to the occasion we we were right there, inches away.”
With a young team of mostly juniors and sophomores, not many expected the Spartans to get this far. They will return 10 starting juniors and a starting sophomore next season with higher expectations.
“It was a good learning experience for us,” Whited said. “I’m hoping that this moment is in a positive and negative way. Positive that we come back next year and fulfill our goal of a district championship. A little negative where you hope you would have won this one.”
The Comets advance to the first round of the state tournament and will play the District 4 champion at a D4 site on Tuesday with location and time to be announced.
CLASS 4A FINALS
Wilkes-Barre Area 4, Delaware Valley 1
Wilkes-Barre Area’s Tanner Nilon shined in the moment on Wednesday by figuring in on all four goals in the Wolfpack’s 4-1 win over Delaware Valley in the District 2/4 Class 4A championship.
Nilon got things going early for Wilkes-Barre Area with a goal five minutes into the game as Jacob Cortez picked up the assist. Nilon struck again 20 minutes later, this time on a pass from keeper Joel Vazquez.
The Wolfpack carried a 2-0 lead into halftime, but Hunter Sickler scored three minutes after the break to make it 2-1.
Wilkes-Barre Area answered 10 minutes later, sending Nilon to the line for a penalty kick, giving him a hat trick and the Wolfpack a 3-1 lead.
La’Jean Berry took a pass from Nilon shortly after the penalty kick goal and scored to give Wilkes-Barre Area an insurance goal and putting the game out of reach for the Warriors.
Vazquez shined in goal recording 14 saves.
Crestwood 1, Wyoming Valley West 0
Wyoming Valley West`0`0 — 0
Crestwood`0`1 — 1
Second Half — 1. CRE, Payton Glynn (Nick Ruggeri), 32:35.
Shots — WVW 5; CRE 13. Saves — WVW 5 (Hunter Sgarlat); CRE 3 (Cole Kranson). Corners — WVW 2; CRE 3.
Wilkes-Barre Area 4, Delaware Valley 1
Wilkes-Barre Area`2`2 — 4
Delaware Valley`0`1 — 1
First Half — 1. WB, Tanner Nilon (Jacob Cortez), 34:54; 2. WB, Nilon (Joel Vazquez), 12:14. Second Half — 3. DV, Hunter Sickler, 36: 53; 4. WB, Nilon, 27:10; 5. WB, La’Jean Berry (Nilon), 23:03.
Shots — WB 12; DV 15. Saves — WB 14 (Joel Vazquez); DV 8 (Zach Mathews). Corners — WB 4; DV 8.
