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PHOENIXVILLE — The venue was different. The score was different. The number of the Strath Haven player running jubilantly toward an exultant spectator’s section in overtime was different.
But if you were wearing Holy Ghost Prep blue, you’d be forgiven for a creeping sense of déjà vu.
Two straight seasons, Strath Haven and Holy Ghost have meet in the District 1 Class 3A final — the Firebirds as favorites, the Panthers as underdogs. Twice, the teams have battled through rough-and-tumble, 80-minute scraps to survive to overtime.
And twice, it’s been a player in Panthers’ white left to sprint to the sidelines and wait for his team to mob him in celebration.
Emmet Young did the honors Wednesday, his penalty kick in the 83rd minute leading fourth seed Strath Haven to a 2-1 win over No. 3 Holy Ghost and a second consecutive District 1 championship.
Young’s trip to the penalty spot traced all the way back to the end of regulation, from the aftermath of Zach Posivak’s equalizer with 19 seconds left. But the proximate cause was Haven striker Peter Boerth getting hauled down in the penalty area and the referee pointing resolutely to the spot.
Young stepped to the kick and hammered his attempt right down the middle. With Holy Ghost goalie T.J. Butler diving to his left, he could only kick back at air as Young dashed to pick a spot for the dogpile.
“It’s just like it’s any other kick,” Young said. “It’s a penalty. It’s not like it’s too nerve-wracking, but of course it’s a little bit nerve-wracking. So I said a little prayer, and I just did it, like any normal PK.”
I
t’s not the first penalty that Young lined up on the day: The Panthers were awarded a spot kick in the 14th minute when Andrew Lowman was felled by an iffy-looking foul in the box. Young had placed the ball and Butler had retreated to his line when the referees conferred and abruptly reversed the decision.
It mattered little to Young’s pre-kick routine. He’s one of the few who likes to shoot down the middle, and Butler would’ve had to stand stock still to have any chance.
Back to the goal that sent the teams to the extra session. Holy Ghost was in full desperation mode, with a corner kick taken with under 60 seconds to play cleared out. Butler, who’d come up for the set piece, went back to collect and found Stefen Melekos to the left wing. The Firebirds’ most dangerous player all night, Melekos played a teasing ball across the face of goal inside the six that swerved perfectly to the foot of Posivak, making the heady run from his right-back spot to the far post. He held his nerve and roofed the ball, leaving goalie Charlie Shankweiler no chance.
It was one of the few instances all night in which Melekos shook the blanketed hold from the backline of J.T. Holstein, Luigi Malo, Harris Hardy and Simon Bollinger, and he made the Panthers pay for it.
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Strath Haven’s Emmet Young, left, and Simon Bollinger hold up the District One AAA Boys Championship trophy after the Panthers defeated Holy Ghost Prep in overtime 2-1 on Young’s penalty kick.
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