Deer Lakes boys again fall to Fairview in PIAA soccer playoffs

By: Jeff Uveino
Tuesday, November 11, 2025 | 9:59 PM

The end, no matter how far into the state playoffs it occurs, is never easy.

Especially with 12 seniors on the roster. Especially after an improbable WPIAL championship run.

The end finally arrived for the Deer Lakes boys soccer team Tuesday. The Lancers’ PIAA Class 2A playoff run ended against the same Fairview team that eliminated them a year ago.

District 10 champion Fairview (23-0) beat WPIAL champion Deer Lakes (20-4-1), 3-1, in a PIAA semifinal at Helling Stadium. Two early goals proved all the Tigers needed, snapping Deer Lakes’ 12-game unbeaten streak that stretched to Sept. 23.

“Against a team of that caliber, it’s very, very hard to climb out of a hole like that,” Deer Lakes coach Aaron Smith said. “(Fairview) has some dynamite players up top, and they were able to manage the game toward the end.”

Eli Iszkula scored for Fairview in the third minute. He scored again one minute later.

Those goals stood the whole way, even after Collin Rodgers got one back for Deer Lakes on a 21st-minute header.

“We went with about five different formations in the second half to try and get the second goal, but hats off to Fairview for managing that game and keeping us off the board,” Smith said. “We were confident that we had a legitimate shot, then we had a big error in the back which caused that third (goal).”

Danny Lindenberger scored Fairview’s third goal in the 53rd minute, finishing a scramble that resulted from a cross by Jackson Chiocco.

Deer Lakes’ lone goal occurred when Rodgers, a senior midfielder, headed home a throw-in by senior defender Larry Rommes after a deflection off of Fairview’s goalkeeper.

“(Deer Lakes) had a little more possession in the middle than we did, which we’re not used to,” Fairview coach Sonny Vidakovic said. “But we really limited them on long shots and long crosses. Credit to the defense and how we played.”

Deer Lakes last reached the PIAA semifinals in 2020, when it beat Fairview by 3-0 decision before falling to Lewisburg in the Class 2A final.

Snow blanketed the turf that evening. Heavy, in-game flakes only worsened playing conditions.

A last-minute site change prevented a repeat in this year’s rematch. PIAA moved the fixture from Franklin High School — which experienced substantial snowfall the night before — some 50 miles southwest to Ellwood City.

Fairview also eliminated Deer Lakes from the PIAA playoffs in 2024, via a 6-0 score in the Class 2A first round. The Tigers will meet District 4 champion Lewisburg (23-1) in the Class 2A final Friday at Northeastern High School in Manchester.

Deer Lakes won its third WPIAL championship this season, its first since 2022. The Lancers finished runner-up in Region 1 behind North Catholic before a 1-0, quarterfinal victory over the Trojans on their way to winning the WPIAL as the sixth seed in Class 2A.

Smith’s senior group bookended its high school career with WPIAL championships and avenged a 2022 PIAA tournament loss to Harbor Creek by beating the Huskies, 1-0, in this year’s first round. They beat District 3 runner-up Tuplehocken, 2-1, in the quarterfinals.

“I liked them when they were in eighth grade going in,” Smith said of his seniors. “They have talent, the work ethic and the drive. They left a nice legacy and also left a lot of holes to be filled.”

Tags: Deer Lakes