Penn Cambria boys claim first District 6 title in 2OT over Philipsburg-Osceola
Nov. 3—HOLLIDAYSBURG — Netting postseason success has been difficult for the Penn Cambria boys soccer team — having won just one district playoff game entering this year's District 6 playoffs.
The Panthers' postseason run started with a win over defending champion Juniata, where Indians coach Jared Byler challenged the Panthers to take the throne from them.
On Thursday against No. 3 seed Philipsburg-Osceola in the District 6 Class 2A championship match, the No. 4-seeded Panthers faced plenty of adversity after falling behind early. Penn Cambria took the lead, only to see the game tied as regulation came to a close.
That pain was worth it as Nick Marshall took a pass and buried it home to give the Panthers their first district championship by a 4-3 margin in double overtime.
Penn Cambria coach Nick Wayno had to fight back emotions postgame, but he couldn't have been prouder of his squad.
"These boys worked their tails off," Wayno said. "They've done so much work. They gave up one with 37 seconds and I'm like, 'Alright, see the adversity, let's see what they're made of.'
"They didn't let down at all.
"I'm so proud of these boys, so mentally tough. I love each and every one of them."
Marshall couldn't hold back on the opportunity to make history.
"Once I saw it and got it past two defenders, I had to shoot it," Marshall said. "I thought I missed it and they tried kicking it out. It feels unreal."
Philipsburg-Osceola's Carson Long started the game and took a pass from Siler Dixon for the early lead. He later added a penalty kick to put his team up 2-0 at the break.
The comeback started early in the second half as Andrew Dillion took in a Kyle Conrad pass to put the Panthers on the board. That was later followed by Marshall's first score of the night to tie the game.
Sean Tomlinson later had what appeared to be the game-winner with under five minutes to play, but Hunter McKinney had other ideas to tie the game at 3-all in the final seconds of regulation.
"I said to the boys, 'It was a great comeback, we just need one more. We're fine. One goal and we're done,' and that's exactly what happened," Wanyo said.
Penn Cambria plays District 4 runner-up Central Columbia, which lost 1-0 to Midd-West, on Tuesday in the first round of the PIAA tournament.
