Moessner scores twice to help Bentworth fend off Freedom in OT
McMURRAY – Just when it looked like Bentworth’s reign as the best small school boys soccer team in the state was about to end, Adam Moessner made sure that wasn’t going to be the case.
The Bearcats were down a pair of goals in the second half to upset-minded Freedom, but Moessner scored with 11 minutes remaining in regulation to tie it and netted the game-winner three minutes into overtime.
And No. 1 Bentworth survived and advanced with a 3-2 win over No. 9 Freedom in the WPIAL Class A quarterfinals Wednesday at Peters Township Middle School.
“Adam is just an amazing player and when you need him he can put the ball in the back of the net,” Bentworth coach Nick Malarbi said. “Dillan (Colbert) did a lot up top to cause chaos and free up some space for Adam.”
The victory kept the Bearcats’ WPIAL four-peat bid alive. They’ll face No.5 Springdale in the semifinals on Monday.
Freedom pushed Bentworth to the brink and finished the season, 8-7-1.
“This was a scary one tonight,” Moessner said. “They scored a really nice goal, so it wasn’t like we were making mistakes and we had a few chances, so we knew we could score. We just needed to keep going at them.”
Moessner’s golden goal came after he was able to dribble around a couple of defenders in tight and slot the ball into the goal.
It sent the Bearcats into celebration in the corner and into the next round.
“(Caden) Hackinson served one in and I tried to take a touch and it got blocked, but the ball fell to my feet again and I just had to tick tock around them to get a shot off,” Moessner said.
An extraordinary individual effort from Moessner forced overtime. Moessner stole the ball from a defender in the 18-yard box and ripped a shot just underneath the cross bar to tie the game at 2-2.
“I was kind of lurking on the wing and he got the ball with his back to me and they didn’t talk to him, so I was able to go up there and steal it off of him,” Moessner said. “Then I just kicked it hard and it went in.”
After Freedom went to halftime with a 1-0 lead, Brett Casto doubled it four minutes into the second half.
Casto lined up for a free kick in the middle of the field from 30 yards and drilled it into the back of the net.
The two-score lead held until a bit of misfortune for Freedom allowed Bentworth to cut it in half in the 57th minute.
A free kick from the left side just outside the 18-yard box was served in by Moessner and after the ball bounced around and Casto attempted to clear it, but shot it into his own net. Garrett Allen got a head on the ball before Casto’s failed clearing attempt.
Freedom’s first goal game in the 26th minute on somewhat of a broken play. The ball bounced free on the right side in Bentworth’s end when Matt Haslett put his foot on a ball that went high in the air and arched down into the goal just below the cross bar.
Before and after the goal Bentworth had a bunch of chances that were left wanting in the first 40 minutes.
In the 6th minute Billy Moyer had a shot stopped by a diving Freedom goalie Brennen Vucinic. Three minutes later Moessner had a shot deflected by Vucinic and continued to trickle toward an open net, but Freedom’s defenders were able to clear the ball away before it crossed the goal line.
In the 18th minute Moyer put a free kick on goal from 33 yards and the ball was deflected into the net, but the play was deemed offsides, negating a goal.
After the Bearcats fell behind 1-0, they had a few more scoring opportunities go by the wayside. Moessner hit the post with a shot. A free kick from just outside the 18-yard box was drilled wide and the Bearcats had two corner kicks that didn’t amount to a scoring chance.