BRETT R. CROSSLEY/Talk Williamsport
Montoursville’s Josh Kula collects a loose ball near the sideline. The Warriors survived two halves and two more overtimes, but fell 5-4 on PKs to Midd-West.
BRETT R. CROSSLEY/Talk Williamsport
Dominic Caputo (Montoursville) and Evan Liddington (Midd-West) collide in an attempt to get the ball.
BRETT R. CROSSLEY/Talk Williamsport
Midd-West’s Devan Leister is mobbed by teammates moments after scoring the decisive goal for a 5-4 PK win over Montoursville.
By BRETT R. CROSSLEY
HUGHESVILLE–All the Montoursville players could was stand in silence as Midd-West celebrated a 5-4 penalty kick win to open the District 4 Class AA playoffs.
Montoursville withstood 28 shots from the Mustangs, but it was the final one that mattered most as Devan Leister and the rest of the Mustangs celebrated the walk-off win.
“We were actually trying to get to PKs,” Montoursville coach Kevin Wekmeister said. “We just couldn’t get past Trevor Leister.”
Trevor might have been the one the Warriors could not get by, but it was Devan Leister who ultimately played spoiler for the Mustangs.
“My legs were shaking,” Leister said. “It’s just like practice. You just have to put it away.”
Leister certainly put it away against Montoursville’s keeper, who failed to even get a hand on the attempt.
Midd-West will face Central Columbia in the second round of the District 4 Class AA playoffs. Central Columbia defeated Williamson 5-0 in the first game of the day at Hughesville.
Midd-West had to be stinging a little after the first half.
The Mustangs completely dominated from start to finish, posting 12 shots against Montoursville’s zero. They were good shots too as seven went on goal.
“It was very disappointing,” Midd-West coach Chris Sauer said. “We looked at some of the chances we created and some of the quality chances and we should have scored. Their keeper came up with two big saves. It was frustrating, but they stayed with it.”
The Mustangs were especially dangerous on set pieces, beating Montoursville with headers to the goal.
Near the 30-minutes mark Leister headed a ball on goal, which forced Montoursville’s keeper into action. In all 12 Midd-West scoring chances Ben King was ready to defend.
The pressure continued deep into the second half and all the way through overtime as Montoursville appeared ready for the game to end in PKs.
“It seemed like they wanted to go to PKs,” Sauer said. “They did a lot to run out the clock, taking their time on restarts and subbing.”
The strategy worked to get the Warriors through overtime, but after that it was up to this shooters and keeper to help them advance.
Midd-West sent Trevor Leitzel, Carter Knepp, Cole Sauer, Hunter Gilbert, and finally Leister out for the PK attempts. In all instances the players came through.
“It was just a great feeling,” Leister said. “Putting a goal away like that and keeping the seniors seasons going was special.”
Midd-West connected passes through the mid-field to earn chances at the Montoursville net.
A beautiful sequence happened in the final ten minutes when Sauer connected with Evan Liddington, who pushed it forward to Jesse Randolph for a scoring chance.
The passes were a perfect display of how sharp Midd-West was throughout the game.
No. 3 Midd-West 0, No. 6 Montoursville 0 (5-4 PKs)
MW 0 0 0 0-0
MTV 0 0 0 0-0
GOALS: none.
Shots: Midd-West 28, Montoursville 0. Shots on goal: Midd-West 13, Montoursville 2. Corners: Midd-West 8, Montoursville 2. Saves: Midd-West (Tyler Martin)2, Montoursville (Ben King) 13. Fouls: Midd-West 21, Montoursville 21. Cards: Midd-West none. Montoursville Jonathan Schaefer, yellow.
