When Sports Were Played: Trinity soccer shares PIAA title after 16 overtimes
Kory Sensky scored 28 goals for Trinity in 1983. A potential 29th goal, that would given the Hillers an outright state championship, took an “unlucky” bounce in the longest soccer match in Pennsylvania high school history.
Art Richardson
In today’s “When Sports Were Played,” we go back to Nov. 19, 1983, when Trinity was fit to be tied after playing in the longest soccer match in Pennsylvania high school history and having a man-advantage for the final seven overtimes.
SHIPPENSBURG – Even after witnessing the longest soccer match in Pennsylvania history, Trinity coach Art Richardson was philosophical.
“The ball goes in all different ways, you know,” he said.
But the way Kory Sensky’s shot bounced off the goal post with just 3:15 remaining in the 16th and final overtime period of the PIAA championship match Saturday afternoon was special. It was probably predestined.
One hundred and 60 minutes of play – the equivalent of two matches – could not separate Trinity and Bethlehem-Freedom High School here at Shippensburg University, and as dusk settled over See Field it was determined the teams would share the 1983 title.
Saturday’s 1-1 draw will not soon be forgotten by spectators or players, many of whom collapsed onto the field as the final gun went off more than three hours after the beginning of the match. In a dramatic demonstration of the nature of the struggle, several emotionally spent members of the unbeaten Freedom team wept while coach George Kazakos placed gold medals around their necks.
“I’ll tell you what – I have a tremendous amount of respect for that team,” Richardson said. “They just kept going and going and going, even down a man. They just kept going. Obviously, they’re a tremendous team.”
The Patriots (23-0-2) played the final 35 minutes of the match – seven overtime periods – with only 10 players after junior fullback Doug Gronewald was ejected for receiving his second card of the match late in the ninth overtime.
But Trinity (32-4-4) more than matched Freedom’s durability, enjoying the better of play after the third period.
“They wore down and we kept getting stronger,” Richardson said. “Let’s face it: man-for-man we played two teams that were better than we were up here. It comes down to discipline, conditioning and concentration on the ball. I thought in overtime we were definitely in control of the game.”
Both teams created good scoring opportunities in overtime, but neither could break the tie created by Trinity senior wing Jon Ault’s first-period goal and Freedom junior striker Michael Armao’s second-period goal.
“Very tough, very tough. I tell you, that Trinity team really surprised me,” Kazakos said. “I don’t think we played that well to begin with, but to give them credit, they played very well. They were very aggressive and they just didn’t quit.”
In all other PIAA matches, penalty kicks decide the outcome if 20 minutes of overtime does not. But penalty kicks, the controversial vehicle which allowed Trinity to defeat State College, 1-0, in Friday’s semifinal, are not used in the championship match. Instead, if the match is not determined by two mandatory five-minute overtimes, the team play a succession of five-minute sudden-death overtimes until the tie is broken.
Or, in this case, until it becomes too dark to play at all.
After the 14th overtime period, PIAA executive director Dr. Russell T. Werner and tournament director Thomas Stouffer consulted the National Federation of High School Rules and announced only two more overtime periods would be played. The 15th passed without incident, and Sensky’s hard, low shot was the highlight of the 16th.
“It was just like a shooting drill shot we usually do in practice,” Sensky, the Hillers’ junior forward, said. “A fraction of an inch. If I would have pulled my leg around a bit further. . . after my foot hit it was when I looked up. I thought for sure, because he (Freedom goalkeeper Jeff Peragallo) had already fallen on the ground and it was going straight for the corner.”
‘It hit the inside post and took a real unlucky bounce,” Trinity captain Todd Hammond said. “I thought that was in for sure.”
The sharing of the title was obviously not the outcome either team had journeyed here for. But it was, as Richardson was quick to point out, better than no title at all.
“The kids are disappointed. Both teams would be disappointed, because you play all year to get it,” Richardson said. “But I think when they go back and reflect on it . . . they did the right thing. What else could you do? I don’t feel good winning a game on penalty kicks and I don’t feel good losing a game on penalty kicks.
“They were pretty disappointed over here. I had to talk to them for a bit, pull them all together here and make them realize they did win something.”