Philadelphia area players to watch in the PIAA state finals
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State championship week in Hershey is here and the final stage of the PIAA season is set with several Philadelphia area programs aiming for hardware in the Sweetest Place on Earth. Conestoga will take center stage on Friday night with…
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Continue ReadingState championship week in Hershey is here and the final stage of the PIAA season is set with several Philadelphia area programs aiming for hardware in the Sweetest Place on Earth.
Conestoga will take center stage on Friday night with both their boys and girls teams playing for 4A titles, but the weekend fixtures will also feature Archbishop Wood (3A) and Faith Christian (1A) on the boys side and Radnor (3A) and Allentown Central Catholic (2A) on the girls side.
State final runs can rarely be pinned on one or two players, but the teams arriving in Hershey this week will come with plenty of star power.
Conestoga Boys
Arguably the biggest star of all is Conestoga midfielder Sebastian Tis Sebastian Tis M Conestoga | 2022 PA , a senior who leads a deep Pioneers program that ran through La Salle College in the semifinal to improve to a perfect 25-0-0 on the season. Tis is the type of player you almost have to see in person to fully appreciate. His combination of size, strength and silkiness on the ball allows him to control the game whether he’s stationed in central midfield or pushed up high like he was in the semifinal when he forced the game’s first goal by pressuring the La Salle goalkeeper into a turnover.
While Tis is Conestoga’s most complete player, their biggest weapon may just be their senior left back Lorenzo Vargas-Clarke, whose throw-ins are so powerful they turn virtually every throw-in on the opposing team’s side of the field into a dangerous set piece. One of his missiles from the sidelines set up ’Stoga’s second goal in the semifinal. Because Conestoga is so deep, it will be hard for Seneca Valley to game plan against just one or two players – freshman defender Cole Frederick did a bang-up job defending La Salle forward Seth Michalak Seth Michalak F La Salle (PA) | 2023 PA , for example – but other names to keep an eye on will be senior holding midfielder Colin Wurth and senior forward Simeon Dorsey Simeon Dorsey D Conestoga | 2022 PA , who had the second goal in the semifinal.
Radnor Girls
Radnor has relied on both their senior leaders and their young up and coming stars in their run to the state final. Senior midfielder Emily Daiutolo Emily Daiutolo F PA is the heartbeat of the team in central midfield and her twin sister Jane Daiutolo Jane Daiutolo F PA is a skillful attacker along with senior Olivia Kelley is a lock down central defender but a lot of the fireworks this season have come from freshmen Ivy Chaskelson Ivy Chaskelson F Radnor | 2025 PA and Olivia Jacobs Olivia Jacobs D Radnor | 2025 State PA and sophomore Selah Koleth Selah Koleth M Radnor (PA) | 2024 State #148 Nation PA .
Chaskelson played the hero in overtime in the quarterfinals, scoring the overtime winner that sent Radnor through to Tuesday night’s semifinal, where they won 2-1 over Archbishop Ryan with a late goal Chaskelson set up for senior Kate Boujoukos after fighting off a defender in the box.
Conestoga Girls
Conestoga has a chance to pull off a rare double in high school soccer with both their teams playing back to back on Friday night as they did at Spring-Ford High School in the semifinals on Tuesday.
The Pioneers are led by senior forward and Central League MVP Abigail Klebe, a hard-working and shifty target up top who scored the lone goal in Conestoga’s 1-0 win over Downingtown West in the semifinal and rarely rattled senior defender Haleigh Wintersteen in the back but sophomore goalkeeper Greta Steege has been the hero in the run to the final. Steege came up with the save to clinch the penalty kick win after a scoreless draw against Pennridge that was due largely to her diving save in the second half to keep the game scoreless. Junior Brynn Borger is a creative attacking threat with a knack for making things happen when she gets the ball while senior midfielder Megan Daly does a lot of the dirty work at holding midfielder.
Archbishop Wood Boys
Archbishop Wood is one win away from their state title and it’s been the senior trio of defenders Dom Petruzzelli and Louie Daniele and forward C.J. Clyde who have led the way. Clyde sparked a comeback win over North Pocono in the quarterfinals with two goals and scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win over Bishop Shanahan in the semifinal at Methacton High School on Tuesday night. Sophomore goalkeeper Julian Naumenko was key to the shutout win and sophomore forward Enzo Petruzzelli has also been an important weapon for Wood.
Allentown Central Catholic Girls
Senior Josslin Muso is a free kick assassin for the Vikettes. Her long range goals broke a 1-1 tie in a quarterfinal win on Saturday and tied the semifinal with Central Columbia at 1-1 on Tuesday. Allentown advanced to Hershey on penalty kicks in that match with senior captain Hanna Hoenig converting the deciding spot kick in the shootout.
Faith Christian Boys
Sophomore forward Colin Moyer put Faith Christian up 2-0 in the first half of their semifinal Tuesday against Moravian Academy after hitting the post early in a match that ended up being a 4-0 final. Senior goalkeeper JR Roberts ended up making seven saves for the match and senior midfielder Marcus Pringle was lethal on dead balls, assisting both second half goals off corner kicks.