Nov 9, 2013 4 min read

HEIDELBERG – The Upper St. Clair boys soccer team was not happy following its 1-0 loss to Peters Township in the WPIAL Class AAA title game.

First, the Panthers took out their frustration in the first round of the PIAA playoffs with a 9-0 victory over Erie McDowell. Then, they extracted revenge Saturday afternoon with a 3-0 victory over Peters Township in the quarterfinals at Chartiers Valley High School.

It was the second year in a row that Upper St. Clair, the defending state champion, avenged a loss from the WPIAL finals during the state quarterfinals.

“I knew it was going to be a different game,” USC head coach Uwe Schneider said. “We were not as focused as we needed to be in that final. Our guys were, you know, maybe things had come to easy for them for a while, but now they are refocused. I’m glad we got Peters again and that we could right that loss.”

Trailing 1-0, Peters Township (18-4-2) almost tied the score in the 48th minute when Upper St. Clair committed the same mistake as the Indians had in the first half: fouling a forward inside the penalty box. The infraction set up a penalty kick by junior forward Mario Mastrangelo, whose low shot hit the fingertips of Panthers goalkeeper Will Petley, rang off the far post and the loose ball was cleared by Upper St. Clair.

“This is the fourth brutal game in a row and I think it showed,” Peters Township head coach Bob Dyer said. “Our legs were heavy, we weren’t into the game, we didn’t play with the passion, and ultimately, that is my job as a coach to make sure that we’re ready. We weren’t there today.”

Upper St. Clair capitalized on a set piece in 57th minute behind the strong throw-in of junior defender Garrett Blake. Blake, whose accurate throws regularly float 40 yards downfield, tossed the ball to the far side of Peters Township’s goal, striking the right foot of Panthers junior defender Doug Hapeman. Hapeman redirected the ball past goalkeeper Max O’Hare to give Upper St. Clair a 2-0 advantage and redemption against the Indians. USC had several scoring opportunities in the WPIAL final loss to PT, only to be shut out by the Indians.

“Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don’t,” Schneider said. “That’s just how it is. I knew that if we got a goal, we were going to win this game.”

Upper St. Clair (21-1-1) sealed the victory when Blake ripped a shot from 20 yards in the 73rd minute that snuck under the crossbar, making it 3-0.

Upper St. Clair bombarded the Peters Township defense in the opening minutes with stretch passes, using their playmakers to create space against a defense that had allowed only one goal in five postseason games. The Panthers limited the Indians to one corner kick in 80 minutes and sustained offensive pressure through both halves, shooting whenever possible and stretching the field with well-timed passes.

“I think it all worked out great,” Blake said. “(The WPIAL final) was a game everyone wanted to win, but this a more important one. Losing then gave us extra motivation to win here. If we had won, things could have been different.”

In the first half, an aggressive style of play gave Panthers senior forward Joel Hart a one-on-one opportunity with a defender when the 37-goal scorer was tripped from behind inside the penalty box by Indians senior defender Max Lindsay.

The foul led to a penalty kick by senior midfielder Troy Kiernan, and the American University recruit capitalized by beating Peters Township senior goalkeeper Max O’Hare at the low-right portion of the net for the 1-0 lead in the 16th minute.

Upper St. Clair did not let up. The Panthers created space again, giving Hart an open shot from 15 yards, but O’Hare made a diving save to his left. O’Hare was saved minutes later when USC forward Dom Caruso’s header went over O’Hare’s head and was close to the goal line, but Lindsay’s right leg redirected the ball to midfield.

Peters Township advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating Canon-McMillan 2-1 in the first round. It was the fourth time the Indians played back-to-back games against Section 5 rivals USC and Canon-Mac, two of the premiere soccer programs in the WPIAL.

“I’m happy with the season, but it’s just unfortunate that you have to go those four games in succession in two weeks,” Dyer said. “That’s not our team. We were lifeless at times and that’s tough. The kids were exhausted.”