It’s hard to imagine now, but way back at the beginning of the season, Quaker Valley had a losing record. The Quakers won their first game before dropping the next two. What they have done since then is the reason that start has been forgotten.
The Quakers, now 23-2, have ridden a 22-game winning streak right into the PIAA Class 2A championship match. They face District 1 winner New Hope Solebury (17-6) at 1:30 p.m. Friday at Hersheypark Stadium.
At no point during this season did the team’s confidence waver. They knew that this squad could do something special.
“We were confident in that ability even when we were losing,” said Quaker Valley coach Andrew Marshall. “We knew there was a lot of potential.”
The combination of a high-scoring offense and stingy defense has made the Quakers unbeatable for well over two months. Dom Reiter has scored a school-record 54 goals. Some of his biggest scores were the game-winner in overtime to secure the WPIAL title and a late first-half score that broke a scoreless tie in the semifinals against Mercyhurst Prep that put the Quakers in the championship.
“Dom has been a leader amongst many leaders throughout the year,” Marshall said. “A lot of times he is the one that needs to put the goal in the back of the net.”
Quaker Valley has other capable scorers and facilitators, including Fritz Reiter, Dom’s twin brother, Franky Fernandez and Rowan Kriebel. Those players are physically gifted and also cerebral when it comes to making the right moves on the field and reading the flow of the match. Marshall said that could be an advantage when playing for a state title against a team that they have not seen before.
“They’re always analyzing the game and able to play as the game requires,” said Marshall. “You have to be ready for anything. That’s the approach that we have.”
The Quakers have scored 174 goals this season, good for the second-highest tally in the program’s history. Only the 1993 squad’s total of 195 goals is higher.
The Quakers have a rich history in boys soccer with seven state championships in 13 title match appearances. Perhaps the most revered squad was the 1996 team that went undefeated while collecting WPIAL and state gold. There is a tie to that team in Keller Chamovitz. His father, Sam, played on that 1996 squad.
The Lions won 1A titles in 2010 and 2011 before moving up in classification.
Class 1A
Winchester Thurston is playing in the state final for the first time in school history. They know all about it. The Bears came close before, but lost a nail-biter in the semifinals.
“We were so close in 2014 losing in double overtime to Sewickley [Academy] and this team, they’re so sick of hearing about 2014, they want to take that next step,” said Bears coach Adam Brownold.
The Bears (19-2) take on District 11 champion Moravian Academy (22-1) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Hersheypark Stadium.
Throughout the season, Winchester Thurston has had one of the most balanced teams. The Bears had three identical goal scorers among the WPIAL regular-season leaders. Beck Buchanan, Alex Hauskrecht and Diederik-Paul Schlingemann each netted 23 goals. After falling to Greensburg Central Catholic in the WPIAL final, the Bears have reeled off three consecutive wins in the state tournament, including a 2-1 victory against GCC in the semifinals.
First Published: November 15, 2019, 11:00 a.m.
