No letdown for Bentworth in state playoff opener
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Bentworth’s Ryan Colbert (20) works past Seneca’s Jed Brown (11) and drives on the way to scoring the Bearcats’ second goal of the PIAA playoff game.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Bentworth's Ryan Moessner unleashes a shot past Seneca defender Jed Brown. Moessner scored the Bearcats' third goal.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Seneca’s Josiah ZaSada (29) and Bentworth’s Isaac Reynolds clash at midfield.
Mark Marietta
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Bentworth’s Ryan Moessner, right, drives past Seneca defender Braden Kibbe in the PIAA Class A playoff match at Peters Township.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Bentworth's Ryan Moessner (10) moves past Seneca's Braden Kibbe (14) and lines up a shot in the final minute of the Bearcats' 3-0 victory.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Bentworth's Ryan Moessner, left, is met by Seneca defender Braden Kibbe (14) in front of the goal as the Bearcats work to seal their 3-0 victory.
McMURRAY – Bentworth didn’t show any signs of a letdown after winning its biggest game in program history four days earlier in a 3-0 victory over Seneca in the first round of the PIAA Class A boys soccer playoffs Tuesday night at Peters Township Middle School.
The Bearcats rallied for a 3-2 overtime victory over Charleroi on Friday for their first WPIAL championship in program history.
Teams generally have letdowns after such an emotional win, but Bentworth came out on strong and converted on its second shot on target as John Scott received a pass from Aiden McMurray and buried the opportunity to the left of Seneca goalkeeper Mike Peterson at 36:01 of the first half.
“It definitely is a good feeling to play in and win our first state playoff game,” Bentworth coach Nick Malarbi said.
Bentworth has a rematch with Burrell (16-4) on Saturday in the quarterfinals. The site and time have yet to be determined. The Bearcats defeated the Buccaneers, 2-1, in the Class A WPIAL semifinals.
“It (Saturday’s game) could be here (Peters Township) again, but you never know,” Malarbi said. “The last one was a tightly contested game that went into overtime, and I expect this one to follow a similar pattern. Burrell is a great team.”
The Bearcats (20-2) continued to pressure Seneca (13-8) and Peterson made two saves before Ryan Colbert gained possession and faked out several Bobcat defenders before tucking the ball inside the left of the post for a 2-0 advantage at 22:23 of the first half.
Moessner had a knee injury with five seconds remaining, but Malarbi believes he will be fine.
Scott nearly had a brace at the 17-minute mark of the first half, but Peterson made the save to keep the deficit at two.
The Bearcats had eight shots on target in the first half, and five attempts went to the left of the cage.
“I wish we would have been up 4-0 so I could have gotten some other guys in and maybe that injury doesn’t happen to Ryan,” Malarbi said. “We missed a lot of chances, which I attribute to a little bit of a hangover from Friday’s game. I know we had possession and the chances, which is good, but we just didn’t finish well tonight.”
Sophomore Ryan Moessner scored his 31st goal of the season one minute into the second half after receiving a feed from Scott.
Bentworth goalkeeper DJ Hays stopped five shots for the clean sheet.
Moessner nearly had a brace at the 37-mintue mark, but Peterson dove to his right to deflect the ball away from danger for his seventh save. Peterson had nine stops.
“Our keeper made some great saves,” Seneca coach John Pikiewicz said. “To be part of the final and the top 16 in the state is a great thing. I thought they beat us to a lot of 50-50 balls, and their first three steps were key.
“We had an early opportunity to score before they struck, and if we do, I think that would have set a better tempo. I think the better team is moving on, but that is not taking anything away from our guys. They look like a team that has a lot of guys that play year round.”