Boys Soccer: Conestoga overcomes Perkiomen Valley’s tough defense to win in OT

Tredyffrin >> Top seed Conestoga found Perkiomen Valley’s tough defense a hard nut to crack in the PIAA 4A District One boys’ soccer quarterfinals at Teamer Field Saturday afternoon, but Pioneer senior forward Chris Donovan came up with the solution, scoring twice in a 2-1 overtime win.

With the victory, Conestoga (19-0-1), the defending PIAA 4A state champions, advance to the district semifinals and wrap up a berth in the PIAA state tourney. The Pioneers will face No. 13 seed Kennett in the semifinals Wednesday, as the Blue Demons defeated fifth-seeded West Chester Henderson, 2-1, Saturday.

Donovan has a knack for scoring, particularly in the clutch. Last fall, he scored the game-winning goal for the Pioneers in their 1-0 victory in the PIAA Class 4A state championship finals. A unanimous selection as first team All-Central League last fall, he led the PIAA state champions in scoring with 15 goals and seven assists.

“Chris is the ultimate competitor and has great composure inside the box,” said Conestoga head coach Zimmerman. “He is very calm under pressure and that’s part of what makes him such a dangerous finisher.”

Donovan scored twice Saturday despite being man-marked and going against a Perkiomen Valley squad (15-7) that had yielded only 16 goals coming into the contest. The Vikings’ defense put them on a post-season roll, playing in the district quarterfinal for the first time.

“Going toe-to-toe with Conestoga was not going to win this game,” said Perkiomen Valley head coach Bob McCabe. “We needed to clog space in the middle and play strong defense. We played with no forward today, recessed our forward to midfield, and man-marked Chris Donovan to limit his opportunities.”

Donovan, a Drexel University commit, scored the game’s first goal just 12:09 into the contest. He took a nice feed from senior midfielder Nick Jennings, found an opening and headed the ball into the net, while getting hit in the chest from a Perkiomen Valley defender. It took a while for Donovan to get up off the ground.

“I had the wind knocked out of me,” said Donovan. “I saw the ball going in, but I didn’t see it hit the back of the net.”

Click HERE to read the full article.