Thomas Jefferson soccer beats Penn-Trafford in 1st round

By: Adam Brewer
Saturday, October 22, 2022 | 5:44 PM

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After an evenly played first half, the No. 3 Thomas Jefferson boys soccer team tilted the play in the final 40 minutes to their attacking zone.

But despite that offensive momentum, there still was no score.

The young Jaguars squad didn’t get frustrated, however, and cashed in twice in the final 13 minutes to secure a 2-0 victory over visiting No. 14 Penn-Trafford on Saturday afternoon in a WPIAL Class 3A first-round matchup.

“This game was nip-and-tuck the whole day,” TJ coach Michael Kulish said. “You can tell Penn-Trafford comes from a very strong section, and we knew this one was going to be a battle. I don’t care what the seeds are, every game in the playoffs is tough. They are well-coached, but I think our guys wanted it more and we stuck with our gameplan.”

The Jaguars (17-2) won their eighth straight game and have outscored the opposition 41-3 in the streak. TJ also improves to 6-3 in the first round of the playoffs since 2014.

“We got some solid chances early on, but their keeper was tremendous,” Kulish said. “We are really young and have a lot of youth in our lineup. They didn’t get frustrated and played within what they can do on the field. It was a gritty win, and I love the fight of our kids today. I want to give some credit to our coaches and our trainer, Jenna. They put in a lot of hard work for the program.”

TJ will play the winner of No. 6-Hampton vs. No 11 Ambridge in the quarterfinals Wednesday.

The Jaguars were the aggressors early on in the first half, tallying two quality scoring chances in the opening 10 minutes of play. TJ’s Anthony Orlando had a shot that went wide left at 35 minutes, 20 seconds, and then three minutes later Jacob Shoemaker had a shot that went high above the crossbar.

Off a free kick from 11 yards, the Warriors (9-9-1) registered their first shot off a header that was scooped out of the air by TJ keeper Sam Wessel at the 29-minute mark.

Both teams continued to battle for possession the remainder of the first half and exchanged scoring chances. TJ put pressure on late in the first half with solid shots coming from Robert Shoemaker and Ray Schrello, but keeper Cooper Sisson stood his ground for the 0-0 deadlock.

“We played a good first half, but then got a little tired near the end of the game,” P-T coach Sotiri Tsourekis said. “I hate to make excuses, but we have nine players battling the flu. I don’t think we were fully healthy, but give all the credit to TJ today. TJ got their chances to go in the net.”

TJ turned up the pressure right after halftime and was buzzing around the visitors net as they ripped five shots in the first 10 minutes of the second half. The home team even had a breakaway chance by Shoemaker nullified for being offside.

At the 27:19 mark of the second half, Shoemaker was fouled in the box and Andre Bekavac was awarded a penalty shot. Despite a solid shot, Sisson was on his toes and made a stellar stop. He finished with 11 saves.

P-T got off a long shot that was punched back into the field of play by Wessel and jump-started the offense break for TJ. After receiving a pass from Shoemaker, Orlando was able to work his way past the defense and let loose a shot from a couple of yards out for a 1-0 lead with 12:37 left in regulation.

The goal was Orlando’s 26th of the fall.

The Jaguars doubled their lead to 2-0 when Cody O’Hare came off the bench and scored with 10:01 left in the game.

“After Anthony’s goal, I made some substitutions and Cody was one of them,” Kulish said. “He has a knack of finding space and getting goals. He is our backup goalie, but he can put a good touch on the ball. Sometimes it’s all about being at the right place at the right time.”

Wessel earned the win in net for TJ after being credited with seven saves. The shutout was the Jaguars’ 11th of the season.

“To get the shutout was huge,” Kulish said. “I thought our guy in net played with a lot of confidence. The defense in front of him communicated well and cleared the ball when they had to. We limited their chances in the second half. There’s no ego on our team, and I couldn’t be prouder of our team.”

The Warriors were looking for their first postseason win since the first round versus Bethel Park in 2016.

Tags: Penn-Trafford, Thomas Jefferson