Chartiers Valley to play for WPIAL soccer title
Despite the efforts of Chartiers Valley’s Baxter Eckenrode (No. 14) and Kaleb Krebs (No. 43), goalkeeper Brian Duggan makes the save for Montour during WPIAL Class AAA boys’ soccer semifinal action. The Colts edged the Spartans, 2-1, and will play for the district championship at 5:45 p.m. Nov. 5 against Mars at Highmark Stadium.
Jimmy Boyle (No. 12) dribbles the ball past a Montour defender during WPIAL Class AAA soccer semifinal playoff action. Chartiers Valley edgedthe Spartans, 2-1, in double overtime.
Chartiers Valley last won a WPIAL soccer championship in 2001. Garrett MacKenzie played on that team.
On Nov. 5, the Colts (16-4-0) will attempt to capture the 2016 Class AAA boys’ title against Mars (16-3-1) at 5:45 p.m. Nov. 5 at Highmark Stadium. Again, MacKenzie will guide. Only this time he will lead from the bench as CV’s skipper.
“I keep using the word special, but to come back 15 years later and coach your school there is just nothing like it,” MacKenzie said. “You can talk all you want about it but now that it has happened it is a testament to the hard work these guys put in, not only this year but last year and the year before. Seniors that we had that graduated, they were inches away from being in the playoffs last year and having a taste of it but these guys have worked so, so hard.”
So has MacKenzie and his brothers, Derek and Travis. They make up his coaching staff along with his father, David, an advisor to the squad and his sons. In three years, they have resurrected the program, which is on the cusp of winning a championship. Because MacKenzie and his siblings have been in this position before, he says their experience will be beneficial to their young charges.
“Our whole coaching staff has been there at one point,” he said. “So experience of having been there will definitely help us. This is the big one and we will be prepared. We will be ready.”
MacKenzie is ready with the advice. The guidance is simple and similar to what has been dispensed all season.
“You give your 100 percent effort and you fight until the end,” he said. “At the end of the day, if you win, great, if you lose, you know that you put it all out there and fought for 80 minutes.”
In the semifinals, the Colts put it all out there for better than 101 minutes. In double overtime, Char Valley upset No. 1 seed Montour (17-3-1). Six minutes into the second extra period, Jack Barlow scored the game-winning goal off a corner kick from Josh DiMatteo.
The tally highlighted the Colts’ tenacity. Only minutes earlier, they had a goal called off because the throw-in went untouched into the nets. Additionally, CV fell behind early. With 15:10 to play in the first half, Mario Ulizzi scored for the Spartans. It wasn’t until 15 minutes remained in regulation that Jake Hackett earned the equalizer.
“What a team effort,” MacKenzie said. “To face the adversity.”
The players also found a way to prevent balls from going into the CV goal. They convinced Caleb Zajicek to return to the nets. A senior, he played soccer for the Colts as a sophomore but decided to focus solely on basketball, a sport in which the MacKenzie brothers excelled while also playing soccer at CV.
“The kids talked him back into it,” MacKenzie said. “All playoffs. All year. He’s been special. He was awesome against Montour. Caleb has been great in goal but he has been a better teammate to the guys and been a leader. He’s a rock back there.”
Jonny Henderson, Charlie Kovach, Baxter Eckenrode and Jon Uher have been solid in front of Zajicek as starters on the CV defense, which enabled the Colts to blank Knoch, 3-0, in the first round of the playoffs and knock off West Allegheny, 1-0, in the quarterfinals before upsetting Montour.
“I told the boys before the game that you throw the seedings out. I told them that against Knoch. I told them against West-A. The playoffs are the playoffs.”
Against Mars, a 2-1 upset winner against Thomas Jefferson, the Colts will fight. The Planets (16-3-1) competed in last year’s championship match but lost to South Fayette, 1-0. They last won a WPIAL title in 2011.
“Mars seems to be there every year and they are fighting every year,” MacKenzie said. “Just getting here is tough but it’s time to play for the big one. They are fighting for everything. Hopefully they keep fighting. We will bring it. We will bring 100 percent effort. There’s no stopping now.”
As a finalist, the Colts qualified for the PIAA tournament, however, the Upper St. Clair and Seton-La Salle boys had to earn their spot in the state playoffs. Both play Nov. 2 in consolation matches to determine the final PIAA berths in Quad-A and Class A. USC plays Pine-Richland at 7 p.m. at Mars while SLS faces Freedom at 8 p.m. at North Allegheny.
USC dropped a 1-0 decision to No. 1 Seneca Valley in its semifinal clash while the top-seeded Rebels succumbed to Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, 3-0, in a Class A semifinal.
Previous play
In previous playoff action:
• Upper St. Clair edged Allderdice, 1-0, in the quarterfinals. Ryan Mertz registered the goal. Aaron Fultineer assisted. Mac Dominick earned the shutout in the nets.
• Seton-La Salle needed overtime to edge Aquinas Academy, 2-1, in the quarterfinals. Zach-Frank Straub scored the decisive goal with 3:47 left in the second extra period.
• Peters Township ended its season when the Indians dropped a 2-0 decision to North Allegheny in a quarterfinal match. The Indians finished 13-2-3 overall.
• Canon-McMillan relinquished its WPIAL title when the Big Macs succumbed to Seneca Valley, 1-0. The Big Macs beat the Raiders en route to last year’s championship. The Big Macs finished 11-8 overall this season.