Deer Lakes battles past Beaver to win 3rd WPIAL boys soccer championship

By: Josh Rizzo
Wednesday, October 29, 2025 | 8:50 PM

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Zane Spence cradled the WPIAL Class 2A boys soccer championship trophy Wednesday night at Highmark Stadium, ignoring the steady rain that was streaming down.

The Deer Lakes senior defender was too proud continuing a family and program tradition to be brought down by the weather.

Spence headed in a shot with 11 minutes, 32 seconds remaining to propel the sixth-seeded Lancers to a 3-2 win over No. 9 Beaver in the WPIAL final. It was Deer Lakes’ third championship in the past five years.

The Lancers also beat Beaver, 1-0, in overtime during the 2022 final, when Spence was a freshman. Spence’s brother, Colton, who now plays at Slippery Rock, was a member of the Lancers’ first title team in 2020.

“It feels amazing. I’ve always looked up to my brother, and he did the same thing at Deer Lakes,” Spence said. “I do it for him, and I do it for my parents.”

Deer Lakes (18-3-1) will play the loser of the District 10 title game, which will be contested Thursday night between Fairview and Harbor Creek, at a site and time to be determined Tuesday in the first round of the PIAA playoffs.

Lancers coach Aaron Smith enjoyed watching all 12 of his seniors grow up. He was glad this group was able to avoid overtime.

“I like this one better,” Smith said. “That one gave me a heart attack. They are both equally great. I think back three years to how much younger they are and the seniors we had on that team. I have a lot of love for them, and they still come back around.”

Beaver (16-5) didn’t make life easy on the Lancers. Peyton Kushon gave Deer Lakes its first goal in the 35th minute.

The Bobcats evened the score in the 49th minute when Anthony Furda lofted a shot past Deer Lakes keeper Wesley Boyle that bounced softly into the back corner.

“We weren’t quite in our game plan in the first half,” Beaver coach Scott Hazuda said. “We got more aggressive in the second half. We needed to reset at halftime, reorganize and get into our game in the second half.”

Deer Lakes surged back ahead two minutes later by utilizing its most efficient attack, a set piece. Maddox Metzler leapt high in the box and snapped a header into the net to push the Lancers ahead 2-1.

“It’s my height,” said Metzler, who is 6-foot-1. “I play volleyball, too. It helps with my jumping a lot. I have the aggression to get on the ball every time. The team puts in great balls.”

Smith said Metzler and a few of the Lancers’ other tall players have become dangerous scoring options. Deer Lakes scored both of its goals in the semifinals on set pieces in a 2-1 upset win over Quaker Valley.

“It’s what we are looking for,” Smith said. “We have a couple of guys who are tall backs that get into it. They found out we can get out with some of these bigger schools and put the ball away on set pieces. That became our bread-and-butter at the end of the season.”

Beaver tied the score in the 64th minute when Caleb Kullen was waiting in front of the goal line for a rebound. Boyle made a leaping stop to stop the ball from sneaking under the crossbar, but Kullen was able to punch it in.

Deer Lakes pressed forward for a winner, and Metzler was able to swing a pass to Spence, who headed it in.

Spence earned his mark in program history.

“The first time around, I was a freshman and I don’t remember it,” Spence said. “This one I’m going to remember forever.”

Tags: Beaver, Deer Lakes