Deer Lakes claws to double-OT win in school’s 1st PIAA playoff game

By: Doug Gulasy
Tuesday, November 6, 2018 | 11:15 PM

ERIE — A.J. Dorman saw his shot, and he took it.

Deer Lakes still is dancing as a result.

Dorman scored with 10 minutes, 54 seconds remaining in double overtime, giving Deer Lakes a 1-0 victory over District 10 champion Fairview in a PIAA Class AA first-round thriller at Erie’s Dollinger Field on Tuesday night.

“The emotions were high,” a tired Dorman said after the game. “Good times and bad times. There were some rough patches where I was getting a little scared, but I think some times where I think we were feeling good.”

Deer Lakes (19-1-1), the third-place team from the WPIAL, battled through nearly 100 minutes of scoreless soccer with District 10 champion Fairview on a cold, windy night but survived in the first state playoff game in school history.

The Lancers advanced to the quarterfinals, where they’ll play WPIAL runner-up Quaker Valley on Saturday at a site and time to be determined.

“It’s very exciting,” Deer Lakes coach Jordan Wiegand said. “I thought they had a few chances on us, especially when the wind was in their favor in the second half. … It was a little bit back and forth, very nerve-wracking that second half, but once we got to overtime I thought we had a pretty good chance to not go to penalty kicks.”

On the winning play, Dorman took a pass from Ronan Renter and put a shot through the legs of goalkeeper Ned Murphy and into the back of the net.

Dorman raced to the corner as his teammates mobbed him, reminiscent of a winning goal he scored in the regular season against Freeport.

“It’s just two teams battling each other very viciously, and something just can’t get through,” Dorman said. “Especially with the conditions. But I felt like the Freeport game again, the whole running to the corner again. It was fun.”

The winds gusted to as much as 40 mph Tuesday night, and Deer Lakes controlled the first half of play with the wind in their favor.

The Lancers fired shots at Fairview goalkeeper Ned Murphy, but he kept the ball out of the back of the net — aside from one play, when an offside call nullified a goal by Deer Lakes’ Devin Murray. Murphy finished the game with 12 saves.

Fairview, which didn’t have a shot on goal in the first half, started to make a push in the second half with the wind at its back.

Deer Lakes goalkeeper Jesse Greyshock made five saves in the second half and overtime periods, and Fairview’s Johnny Chase rang a shot off the crossbar in the final 10 minutes of regulation.

“It’s very crazy when the wind comes down on you how the ball just drifts with it,” Greyshock said. “It’s very wild how the wind can dictate the game, but the team was able to adapt and know how to adapt to the crazy wind.”

Dorman had a golden opportunity of his own in the 29th minute of the second half, taking in a pass from Michael Sullivan and breaking in on Murphy, but his shot hit the inside of the post, skittered along the goal line and rolled away without crossing.

“The gods were looking down and were like, ‘no, not yet,’ ” Dorman said.

He made the most of his second chance, and Deer Lakes hopes to do the same: The Lancers missed an opportunity to play Quaker Valley in the WPIAL championship game after losing to Shady Side Academy in the semifinals, but they’ll get their shot at the defending state champion Quakers on Saturday.

“It’s a tribute to them and the work they’ve put in,” Wiegand said. “Everyone’s bought in on this team. It doesn’t matter how you get the job done, just that you can. I really think we’ve proved that theory throughout the year.”

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Doug at dgulasy@tribweb.com or via Twitter @dgulasy_Trib.

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review Staff Writer. You can contact Doug at 412-388-5830, dgulasy@tribweb.com or via Twitter .

Tags: Deer Lakes