HS SOCCER: Stiles nets penalty in OT as Abington Heights edges Prep

Oct. 14—SCRANTON — Up two goals early, then down one in the second half, Abington Heights' boys soccer team knew it had to dig deep.

This matchup against Scranton Prep was the Comets' third game in five days and, with a win, they'd have the Lackawanna League Division I title in sight. A loss and, well, things could get a little complicated.

Joey Pivirotto scored the tying goal in the 53rd minute, the Comets got some help from the crossbar to send it to overtime and Kohen Stiles rocketed in a game-winning penalty kick in the second bonus period as Abington Heights escaped with a 4-3 win over the Cavaliers on Friday at Loyola Field.

"Playing the three top teams in the league in five days really puts a toll on us," said Stiles, who netted the go-ahead penalty kick in a 2-1 win over North Pocono on Monday and scored once in the team's 2-0 win over Delaware Valley on Tuesday. "We were pretty tired out there, not moving like we normally do, like we did against North Pocono. We struggled, but we still came out with the win."

In the division race, Abington Heights (13-1 overall, 11-1 Division I) is a game ahead of North Pocono (13-2, 9-2) and two games clear of the Cavaliers (12-3, 8-3), who lost, 4-0, to the Comets in their first meeting. The Comets have two league games remaining against Wallenpaupack (7-6-2, 5-4-1) and Scranton (3-9, 3-8).

The latest win didn't come easily.

Stiles ripped a turnaround left-footer on a line to the upper-right corner of the net for the first goal of the game less than 10 minutes in, shortly after a drive from Michael Maldonado clipped the underside of the crossbar and ricocheted just barely over the line for a 2-0 lead at the 11:55 mark. But after surrendering just four goals all season heading into the game against Scranton Prep, the Cavaliers knocked in three over the next 37 minutes and 50 seconds.

Ryan Walsh finished a quick counterattack to get the Cavaliers on the board at 18:04, and Dante Palazzari nearly tied it when his direct kick slammed off the post with 10 minutes to go before halftime. After the break, Daniel Palonis weaved through traffic and poked in the tying goal. Then less than three minutes later, Abington Heights was flagged for a handball in the box. Vincent Remedios drilled the penalty kick and the Cavaliers had a 3-2 lead.

"I was super proud of my guys," Scranton Prep coach Sean Curry said. "I feel like we stole the momentum from them. I mean, they had a comfortable two-goal lead. We weren't challenging them. And then all of a sudden, we relaxed, we played our shape and we started to kind of grab the momentum. From that point on, we had a decent amount of the possession. We had a lot more shots than they had. I was proud of my guys for not folding and they kept coming back."

Pivirotto, who also scored against North Pocono and Delaware Valley, equalized it at 53:49 then both teams grinded through the rest of regulation. Walsh missed the second half while icing his knee and the Cavaliers' Tony Nguyen and the Comets' Samuel Specht each needed injury timeouts late in the second half.

Though the game seemed destined for overtime, Abington Heights committed a foul in the closing seconds and it was upgraded to a yellow card for encroaching on the ensuing kick, leading officials to put 1 second back on the board. Palazzari took the kick, bent it over the defense and saw it clang off the crossbar as the horn sounded.

"Got to give it all. Got to leave it all on the field," said Abington Heights defender Luke Kozar, who didn't start and wasn't sure whether he'd be able to play because of a bone bruise in his foot. "I try to keep positive. Got to stay high, got to keep your mind clear. Can't be thinking game's on the line. Got to think next goal, next goal, move the ball, next goal."

Stiles got a shot off in the first overtime but it was right at Scranton Prep keeper Jackson Keating. Abington Heights' Nicholas Slusser made a save with less than a minute to play to send it to a second overtime.

There, Abington Heights got the ball deep into the box and Pivirotto drew a foul to set up a penalty kick. Stiles lined it into the right side of the net and the rest of his team poured onto the field in celebration.

"We're going to keep working, we're going to keep pushing, we're going to play even better soccer," Kozar said.

Abington Heights has a big lead for the No. 1 seed in the District 2 Class 4A postseason. Scranton Prep entered Friday in the top spot in the Class 2A rankings, but it's in a tight race with Dunmore (13-1) and Holy Redeemer (11-2-1).

"(The loss) potentially cost us the top line in Double-A, but I feel like, since we lost to Abington the first time, we have been playing really well," Curry said. "I'm really confident with us being able to go into districts. The guys know if they play like this against anybody in Double-A districts, we should be OK. We should be in good shape. It may cost us a seed, but in the end, I think it's great for our morale and knowing that we're capable of playing against a team of this caliber, because Abington's an excellent team."

Abington Heights (13-1, 11-1) 2 1 0 1 — 4

Scranton Prep (12-3, 8-3) 1 2 0 0 — 3

FIRST: Kohen Stiles (AH), 9:12; Michael Maldonado (AH) from Stiles, 11:55; Ryan Walsh (SP) from Daniel Palonis, 18:04. SECOND: Palonis, 47:20; Vincent Remedios (SP) penalty, 49:45; Joey Pivirotto (AH) 53:49. SECOND OVERTIME: Stiles, penalty, 94:43.

Shots-corners: AH 9-4; SP 15-3

Saves: Nicholas Slusser (AH) 3, Philip Sykes (AH) 4; Jackson Keating (SP) 5

Elk Lake 3, Forest City 2

At Forest City, Jace Caines scored twice and had an assist, and Henry Zuniga notched one goal and one assist as Elk Lake held on for a Division III victory.

Collin Bailer scored both goals late in the second half for Forest City.

Elk Lake (7-4-1) 1 2 — 3

Forest City (5-5-1) 0 2 — 2

FIRST: Henry Zuniga (EL) from Jace Caines, 38:00. SECOND: Caines from Zuniga, 53:00; Caines from Cohen Orlandini, 57:00; Collin Bailer (FC), penalty, 63:00; Bailer from Johnathan Mayers, 70:00.

Shots-corners: EL 9-9; FC 9-9

Saves: Gage Shupp (EL) 7; Evan O'Neal (FC) 6.

Blue Ridge 3, Montrose 0

At Montrose, Riley Phillips had two goals and an assist and Luke Shea added as goal as Blue Ridge defeated Montrose.

Blue Ridge 1 2 — 3

Montrose 0 0 — 0

FIRST: Luke Shea (BR) from Riley Phillips, 22:50. SECOND: Phillips, 15:00; Phillips, penalty kick, 2:00.

Shots-corners: BR 10-3 MON 3-1.

Saves: Logan Ellsworth (M) 8; Griemsman (BR) 3

Girls soccer

At Wester Wayne, Hannah Fairchild scored six of Wyoming Area's goals and assisted on the other in a 7-0 nonleague win over the Lady 'Cats.

Wyoming Area 2 5 — 7

Western Wayne 0 0 — 0

FIRST: Hannah Fairchild (WA) from Bella Costa, 4:38; Fairchild, 22:22. SECOND: Fairchild from Emily Kostik, 43:04; Fairchild from Sofia Menta, 56:08; Ella Shepulski (WA) from Fairchild, 72:33; Fairchild, 77:16; Fairchild, 77:50.

Shots-corners: WA 13-3; WW 2-1

Saves: Abby Francis (WA) 2; Audrey McHugh (WW) 6

Contact the writer: cfoley@scrantontimes.com; 570-348-9125; @RailRidersTT on X