Parkland coach Scott Mang believes that his team can win a state championship this season if they could play in the first half the way they do in the second. He also admits that the first-half version of his team could get knocked out in the first round of the District 11 Tournament that begins next week.<\/p>\n
In Saturday afternoon\u2019s EPC championship game at Whitehall High School, the third-seeded Trojans did just enough in the final 40 minutes to overcome a 2-1 deficit and defeat No. 4 Freedom 3-2 in a thrilling championship contest.<\/p>\n
Javan Roustic delivered a sensational shot from well outside the box to tie the game at two with 8:21 remaining, less than two minutes before Ethan Frey got behind the Freedom defense to convert a breakaway into the game-winning goal with 6:28 left in the game.<\/p>\n
It was a continuation of a constant theme for the Trojans in the postseason, and specifically against Freedom, as Parkland scored twice in 84 seconds in Thursday\u2019s semifinal win over Northampton and twice in 19 seconds in last year\u2019s District 11 semifinal win over the Patriots to turn a 1-0 loss into a 2-1 win.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt seems like they just come in droves, quick,\u201d Mang said. \u201cIn the second half, we could be state champs, but we might get knocked out in the first game if that\u2019s how we show up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evan Plasco punished the sluggish start by the Trojans in just over six minutes as his long throw-in from the right sideline trickled back to him with several defenders still standing between him and the goal. The game-winning goal scorer in a semifinal shootout against Emmaus on Thursday danced past one defender, cut back to his right and blasted a shot that deflected off Parkland goalkeeper Matt Feiler and onto the crossbar before bouncing back down into the net to give Freedom an early lead.<\/p>\n
It took no time at all for Parkland to respond as junior defender Thomas Fairbairn was punished for a tackle on Parkland\u2019s Jacob Tawfik at the edge of the box to set up EPC MVP Alex Hurwitz with a penalty kick attempt he\u2019s yet to miss on the season.<\/p>\n
The West Chester University commit calmly stepped up and slotted the ball into the bottom-left corner to reset the scoreline after an exciting opening 10 minutes.<\/p>\n
The Patriots somehow survived a chaotic sequence off a Parkland free kick as goalkeeper Ben Rodriguez punched out the initial service, retreated to make a diving save and watched both Fairbairn and Liam Curtin make clearances off the line to keep the game tied at one.<\/p>\n
The next big opportunity was capitalized on by the Patriots as Fairbairn made up for his earlier mistake.<\/p>\n
On a dangerous free kick just outside the box, Caden Grimmer delivered a driven cross toward the penalty spot that was knocked down by Mason Duzant in a perfect position for Fairbairn to charge and volley the bouncing ball into the roof of the net with just 27 seconds remaining in the half.<\/p>\n
It looked like that goal would be enough for the Patriots to claim their first championship since a league title in 2021 with Alex Hurwitz\u2019s free kick just outside the box coming as the only real opportunity in the first 30 minutes of the second half to tie the game.<\/p>\n
Instead, Parkland found some magic from an unlikely source.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t usually take shots like that, and I was doubting myself at first, but I was like, \u2018What do I lose in taking it?\u2019\u201d Roustic said. \u201cSo, I just took the shot and it went in.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never felt anything like it. My mind was racing and my body felt all the adrenaline in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen he hit it, he didn\u2019t even know what to do,\u201d Mang said. \u201cHe just stood there. It was really surreal for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
The fifth-year coach of the Trojans couldn\u2019t say enough positive things about his spark plug off the bench who does so much more than his one goal on the season entering the day shows.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s new this year, but he\u2019s working his way into a bunch of different spots. One thing is that he\u2019s consistent,\u201d Mang said. \u201cYou know he\u2019s going to work. You know he\u2019s going to defend. I never expected him to hit [that] shot.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Trojans could\u2019ve sat back after getting the decisive game-tying goal they were searching for, but their hat-trick hero from Thursday night, Ethan Frey, who exited Saturday\u2019s game on a number of occasions with injuries, had more magic in mind.<\/p>\n
Eddie Curelar won the ball in the midfield for Parkland and played a bouncing ball over the top of the Freedom defense where Frey found a spot in behind, settled the ball, rounded the keeper and tapped in the winning goal to deliver the first league championship in four years for the Trojans.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were here two years ago. I played maybe a minute or two all game, but we lost in really bad fashion \u2013 3-1 to Emmaus \u2013 and when we got back here, the only thought was that no matter what happens, no matter how much we go down, no matter how much I get hit, you\u2019ve got to get back up,\u201d Frey said. \u201cIt\u2019s all in the heart. You\u2019ve got to keep going, and no matter the blood, sweat, tears\u2026I wanted the championship.<\/p>\n
\u201cI look at my trophies every night, and I only wonder how hard you work to get to where you go,\u201d he said. \u201cTo be able to win trophies, it\u2019s more than just to show up, kick a ball around and hope to win. You have to go for 80 full minutes, and if you don\u2019t, that\u2019s what can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
All-star accolades<\/p>\n
The all-EPC first team was recognized before the game with both finalists boasting a pair of nominees in Caden Grimmer and Angel Gaviria for Freedom and Alex Hurwitz and Eddie Curelar for the Trojans. The four semifinalists in the tournament, including Northampton and Emmaus, made up all but one spot on the team with Nazareth\u2019s Evan Crescenzo being the only other selection.<\/p>\n
Here are the full teams:<\/p>\n
First Team<\/p>\n
Sr. GK Ryan Nahf, Northampton<\/p>\n
Sr. DEF Lorenzo LoPiccolo, Emmaus<\/p>\n
Sr. DEF Angel Gaviria, Freedom<\/p>\n
Jr. DEF Noah Delgado, Emmaus<\/p>\n
Sr. DEF Blake Turner, Northampton<\/p>\n
Sr. MID Caden Grimmer, Freedom<\/p>\n
Sr. MID Alex Hurwitz, Parkland (MVP)<\/p>\n
Jr. MID Brennan Stack, Emmaus<\/p>\n
Sr. FWD Eddie Curelar, Parkland<\/p>\n
Sr. FWD Evan Crescenzo, Nazareth<\/p>\n
Jr. FWD Jacob Fallenstein, Northampton<\/p>\n
Second Team<\/p>\n
Sr. GK Colin Himelright, ES South<\/p>\n
Sr. DEF Jibril Settles, Whitehall<\/p>\n
Sr. DEF Gavin Lewis, Pleasant Valley<\/p>\n
Sr. DEF Matias Palma, Liberty<\/p>\n
Sr. MID William Quiros-Figueroa, Whitehall<\/p>\n
Sr. MID Diego Almanzar, Liberty<\/p>\n
Jr. MID Joseph Gonzales, Northampton<\/p>\n
Sr. FWD Anthony Suida, Emmaus<\/p>\n
Sr. FWD Connor Smith, PM East<\/p>\n
Jr. FWD Jariel Medina, Northampton<\/p>\n
Sr. UTIL Carter Shirk, Parkland<\/p>\n
Third Team<\/p>\n
Jr. GK Matthew Laquintano, Easton<\/p>\n
Sr. DEF Zachary Slenker, Parkland<\/p>\n
Jr. DEF Xavier Kieber-Emmons, Emmaus<\/p>\n
Jr. DEF Blake Lavenburg, Northampton<\/p>\n
Sr. MID Christian Pinheiro, Pleasant Valley<\/p>\n
Sr. MID Logan Espinal, Freedom<\/p>\n
Jr. MID Zayan Yasir, Parkland<\/p>\n
Sr. FWD Gabe Ferguson, Stroudsburg<\/p>\n
Jr. FWD Julian Park, Parkland<\/p>\n
Jr. FWD Jhustin Perez, PM West<\/p>\n
Sr. UTIL Evan Schultz, Becahi<\/p>\n
Sr. UTIL Elliot Flicker, Nazareth<\/p>\n
Sr. UTIL Cole Clifford, PM East<\/p>\n
Derek Bast is a freelance reporter who can be found on Twitter\/X at @derek_bast or reached by email at derekbast11@gmail.com.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Parkland coach Scott Mang believes that his team can win a state championship this season if they could…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":944985,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,4309,561,82,44019],"class_list":["post-944984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-high-school-sports","tag-soccer","tag-sports","tag-top-stories-tmc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/944984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=944984"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/944984\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/944985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=944984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=944984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=944984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}