Apr 14, 2020 5 min read

HERSHEY – After the bottom fell out of his left cleat, Shane Pruitt spent part of halftime searching for a new shoe. Teammate Charlie Swisher came to the rescue.

Never mind the left shoe was one size too big. It turned out to be the perfect fit for the Peters Township High School boys soccer team.

Nine minutes into the first overtime of a tense, action-packed PIAA Class AAA championship match against nationally ranked Downingtown West, Swisher’s shoe turned golden for the Indians. And Pruitt’s left foot secured a place in Peters Township soccer history.

With 6:18 left in overtime, a sprinting Pruitt gathered a Nick Wilcox pass and his low shot went inside the far post to give Peters Township a thrilling 2-1 victory Saturday night at Hersheypark Stadium.

“I’ve got to give Charlie Swisher an assist on that one,” Pruitt said. “This is the greatest feeling I’ve had in a while. This is how you want to go out.”

The eight seniors for Peters Township (24-2-2) went out as PIAA champions as the Indians claimed their third state championship and the first since 1989.

Peters Township coach Bobby Dyer played on the back-to-back championship teams of 1988 and 1989. Turns out coaching one is fun too.

“You don’t realize what you do as a kid until you’re older,” Dyer said. “Right now, I’m just so happy for these kids. We remember the time we won and now these kids have that.”

As soon as Pruitt’s goal, his sixth of the state playoffs, slid past Whippets goalie Bobby Rosato, the senior striker raced toward the near corner and took off his jersey.

Immediately, he was mobbed.

“I don’t remember exactly what I was thinking. I just did whatever came to mind,” Pruitt said. “The only thing I knew to do was to not go down on the ground or else I’d suffocate.”

After falling behind 1-0 following a Joe Sales second-half goal, Peters Township refused to let its title hopes stifle.

Instead, the Indians dominated the final 18 minutes. Actually, they controlled play through most of the match.

“Even when they were up, I knew our team would do it,” Pruitt said. “We wanted it more.”

With time ticking away, Peters Township remained cool and made plays. With 7:09 left in the second half, Wilcox squeezed a pass into senior Mark Majoras. Downingtown West (23-3-2) attempted to draw the Indians offsides and appeared to relax for an instance. That gave Majoras, who scored a clutch overtime goal against Chartiers Valley in the WPIAL semifinals, enough time to place a shot far post to force a 1-1 tie.

For Wilcox, a junior who provides key minutes off the bench, assisting on both goals in a state championship win was something he never expected.

“All I have to do when I come in is hustle and get to the ball. That’s what I try to do,” Wilcox said. “I always wanted to play in a state championship and it would have been nicer to win in regulation. But winning a championship in overtime is what you dream about.”

The championship was not just the result of the play from Pruitt, Majoras and Wilcox. This one had team victory stamped all over it.

Goalkeeper Ryan Koepka, who had three straight shutouts entering the match, made a diving save – one of five saves he made – on a point-blank shot by Travis Cantrell early in the first half.

“That save was huge,” Dyer said. “He had the save and if it goes in, there’s a chance we could lose by four or five.”

Downingtown West certainly had the better of the play early. The Whippets created chances but they were all thwarted by the rugged Indians defense.

“Big players make big plays in big games,” Dyer said. “And it’s not just Pruitt. (Downingtown West) had three excellent forwards. Mark Lacy marked (Cantrell). Greg Weimer had (Chris Harmon) and took him out of the game. That kid’s a world-class player. Then Pat Russo cleared things up.”

As tough as Peters Township is defensively, Downingtown West entered with the reputation of a defensive-minded side and the Whippets backed that up during the opening moments.

Peters Township, which had scored 11 goals in its previous three matches, struggled to create any opportunities for 25 minutes. The Indians’ first chance came with 15:15 left before halftime when sophomore Wilcox got a cross to Pruitt, whose header went wide of net.

Pruitt nearly stuck six minutes later when went on a run, received a perfect pass and blasted a shot just inches above a leaping Rosato and inches above the crossbar.

They came so close on so many occasions.

That’s why the dramatic game-winner was so sweet.

“I knew we had it. I knew we were going to make a play,” Pruitt said. “It was just a matter of time for this. And what a way for the seniors to go out. For some of these guys, this is their last soccer match. To go out as state champions and to win like we did, this will be remembered forever.”