Deer Lakes boys post another 1-0 win, go back to WPIAL soccer final
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Monday, October 31, 2022 | 10:16 PM
Deer Lakes’ Ruger Beer celebrates his goal with Ryan Hanes during their WPIAL Class 2A semifinal against South Park on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022, at Peters Twp.
Deer Lakes’ Ruger Beer fires a shot to score against South Park during their WPIAL Class 2A semifinal on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022, at Peters Twp.
Deer Lakes’ Ruger Beer celebrates his goal with Collin Rodgers during their WPIAL Class 2A semifinal against South Park on Monday at Peters Township.
Deer Lakes’ Ruger Beer celebrates his goal against South Park during their WPIAL Class 2A semifinal Monday at Peters Township.
Deer Lakes’ Ruger Beer battles South Park’s Colin Kinevy for possession during their WPIAL Class 2A semifinal on Monday at Peters Township.
Deer Lakes’ Jacob Orseno battles South Park’s Daniel Battista for a header in the fog during their WPIAL Class 2A semifinal on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022, at Peters Twp.
Deer Lakes’ Peyton Kushon works against South Park’s Kirk Brdar during their WPIAL Class 2A semifinal on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022, at Peters Twp.
Deer Lakes goalkeeper Nick Braun makes a save next to Ryan Hanes during their WPIAL Class 2A semifinal against South Park on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022, at Peters Twp.
Deer Lakes’ Nate Litrun works against South Park’s Daniel Battista during their WPIAL Class 2A semifinal on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022, at Peters Twp.
Deer Lakes’ Wesley Boyle works against South Park’s Colin Kinevy during their WPIAL Class 2A semifinal on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022, at Peters Twp.
Deer Lakes’ Ruger Beer heads the ball next to South Park’s Colin Kinevy during their WPIAL Class 2A semifinal on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022, at Peters Twp.
Deer Lakes’ Ruger Beer celebrates his goal with Ryan Hanes during their WPIAL Class 2A semifinal against South Park on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022, at Peters Twp.
Deer Lakes’ Ruger Beer celebrates his goal against South Park during their WPIAL Class 2A semifinal on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022, at Peters Twp.
Deer Lakes’ Ruger Beer celebrates his goal with Ryan Hanes during their WPIAL Class 2A semifinal.
Deer Lakes’ Ruger Beer celebrates his goal with Ryan Hanes during their WPIAL Class 2A semifinal against South Park on Monday at Peters Township.
The Deer Lakes boys soccer team is heading back to the WPIAL championship game.
The Lancers got a goal from senior forward Ruger Beer with exactly 27 minutes left in the second half, and the Deer Lakes defense made it stand up in a 1-0 victory over South Park in a WPIAL Class 2A semifinal Monday evening at Peters Township’s Confluence Financial Partners Stadium.
“I thought it was going to be a 1-0 game,” Beer said. “To be honest, I thought it might go all the way to (penalty kicks). Both defenses are really strong.”
Deer Lakes, the No. 4 seed, will be gunning for its second WPIAL title Thursday when it takes on No. 6 Beaver, a 1-0 winner over No. 2 Quaker Valley in a shootout Monday at North Allegheny.
“This was a great win for the guys, but it’s not over yet,” Deer Lakes coach Aaron Smith said. “A goal was to get to Highmark. We talked about that all the way back in the preseason. Now, we’ve got one more win to get to be champs.”
The Lancers captured the Class 2A crown during the covid-affected 2020 season, defeating Shady Side Academy, 2-1, at North Allegheny.
The Lancers improved to 19-2 overall. Deer Lakes produced its third consecutive 1-0 victory in the playoffs and handed South Park (19-1) its first loss of the season.
“This feels amazing,” Beer said. “We’re on the road to Highmark. It feels better and better every single year.”
Despite the loss, the Eagles aren’t done. They will turn their attention to the third-place consolation game Wednesday and a shot at a berth in the PIAA playoffs.
“I told the guys after the game I was very proud of their effort,” South Park coach Jon Cantwell said. “I don’t think we played the way we had been coming into the game. We played a little more direct than we would’ve preferred. There were chances both ways. They took advantage of one of theirs, and we missed a few of the ones we had.
“We just have to refocus for Wednesday and be ready to play. It will be a tough turnaround. There is still a lot on the line. We still have a chance to get to states and make some noise there.”
Each team recorded eight shots, and Deer Lakes finished with a 5-4 advantage in shots on goal.
Beer broke the scoreless tie as he controlled a loose ball at about 8 yards and deposited it into the right side of the South Park goal past Eagles freshman keeper Cooper Hochendoner.
The score came just a minute after Beer came close to converting on another strong chance inside the box off a crossing pass from freshman forward Peyton Kushon.
The Lancers kept up the pressure and earned a corner kick shortly after the goal, but the South Park defense was able to clear.
South Park set up for a corner with 21 minutes on the second-half clock, and the Deer Lakes defense was up to the task with a clear out of danger.
The Eagles had another scoring chance with 10 minutes to play, but Deer Lakes senior keeper Nick Braun was there to make the save.
South Park made a frantic push in the final minutes and recorded a couple of dangerous chances, but the Lancers defense stood tall.
“Hat’s off to South Park,” Smith said. “They are a very good team. But I don’t know if they were tested with a team like us yet. Maybe? We felt confident going into halftime. We all knew it was going to come down to that one goal. We wanted to get that goal and then play that defense we’ve been playing all season.”
The first half was just as intense, and play was back and forth with both teams maintaining their fair share of possession and athletic moves to the net.
Senior forward Ryan Hanes delivered an early blast for Deer Lakes in the second minute from 20 yards, but Hochendoner was right there with a diving save to keep the Lancers off the scoreboard.
The South Park defense also turned away a Deer Lakes scoring chance on a corner kick in the ninth minute.
The Eagles came close to getting on the board with 13:50 to go until halftime. Sophomore Ryan Ellis delivered a free kick into the box from 50 yards, but the play ended up not bearing fruit.
Early in the second half, Deer Lakes freshman midfielder Collin Rodgers moved in and released a shot at about 10 yards while being closely marked, but Hochendoner was there to make the save.
A couple of minutes later, South Park senior Kirk Brdar sailed a shot high over the Deer Lakes goal and out of play as Braun came off his line to try and make a play.
“The intensity was such that for me, the game went insanely fast,” Smith said. “Every little play was about as crazy as the goal that Ruger scored. Every little touch on the ball was intense and could’ve shifted the game either way. The flow of the game was fast. That’s the way it should’ve been played as a semifinal against two great teams.”
Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.
Tags: Deer Lakes, South Park
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