PIAA boys soccer preview capsule: Deer Lakes vs. Shady Side Academy

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, November 12, 2018 | 8:36 PM

Boys soccer

Class AA

Semifinals

Deer Lakes (20-1-1) vs. Shady Side Academy (14-6-1)

8 p.m. Tuesday, Mars

Winner plays: Winner of Midd West/Fleetwood

Coaches: Jordan Wiegand, Deer Lakes; Ed Ellsworth, Shady Side Academy

Players to watch: A.J. Dorman, Deer Lakes; Wally Navid, Shady Side Academy

Corner kicks: The Section 2-AA rivals square off for the fourth time this season, with a trip to Hershey on the line. Both teams are seeking their first trip to the PIAA championship game. The teams split their first three matches: a 2-2 draw and 3-1 Deer Lakes win during the regular season and a 1-0 Shady Side Academy victory in the WPIAL semifinals. Deer Lakes is coming off a 2-1 win over Quaker Valley in the PIAA quarterfinals. Dorman scored the winning goal with just more than three minutes remaining, his second winner in as many contests. He has seven goals in six games this postseason. Michael Sullivan also scored for Deer Lakes against QV. The Lancers, who start just two seniors, are making their first appearance in the state playoffs. Shady Side Academy won its second consecutive WPIAL championship this fall despite entering the postseason as the 11th seed. Over the past two seasons, Shady Side Academy is 17-13-2 during the regular season and 11-1 in the postseason with a pair of WPIAL titles. Last season the Indians fell to Oley Valley in the PIAA quarterfinals. Navid made sure that wouldn’t happen this fall, scoring a hat trick in a wild 7-5 win over Mercyhurst Prep on Saturday. Adrian Beckford and Max Farner both had a pair of goals in that game as SSA built a 5-1 halftime lead before a furious Mercyhurst comeback.

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

Tags: Deer Lakes, Shady Side Academy