North Pocono’s Andrew Geck, left, collides with Abington Heights’ Owen Phillips during the match at North Pocono Trojan Stadium Monday, October 12, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Abington Heights’ Carter DeSarno (10) and North Pocono’s Andrew Geck (20) compete for a header at North Pocono Trojan Stadium in Moscow Monday, October 12, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Abington Heights’ Jack Leuthe (17) controls the ball around the defense of North Pocono’s Aaron Pagotto, left, and James Koester at North Pocono Trojan Stadium in Moscow Monday, October 12, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Abington Heights’ Lucas Samala (18) keeps control of the ball from North Pocono’s PJ McLaine (2) at North Pocono Trojan Stadium in Moscow Monday, October 12, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
North Pocono’s Luciano Arcurie chests the ball during the match against Abington Heights at North Pocono Trojan Stadium Monday, October 12, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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North Pocono’s Andrew Geck, left, collides with Abington Heights’ Owen Phillips during the match at North Pocono Trojan Stadium Monday, October 12, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
MOSCOW — As Wes Illian lined up to take a direct kick, injured star forward Joey Pivirotto yelled from the sideline, “Visualize it going in!”
A few seconds later, Illian didn’t have to visualize it anymore. Neither did the players, coaches and fans.
The sophomore midfielder rocketed the direct kick into the left corner of the net to seal Abington Heights’ 2-0 victory over North Pocono and secure the Comets’ fifth straight Lackawanna League Division I boys soccer title Monday night at Trojan Stadium.
“I visualized it going in. I did what he told me to do,” Illian said. “It was my first free kick of the season. I had a little nerves, but I just kind of fired it in. Lucas (Samala) told me to just put it straight at the keeper and hit it as hard as you can and it worked.”
Illian also added an assist on Lucas Samala’s goal that broke the scoreless tie earlier in the second half.
“It feels great. It’s been a hard season,” Samala said. “Every game, it’s like a final, so we’re just trying to win one game at a time and we got to the last one and we put it away.”
The Comets graduated five seniors from last season’s PIAA Class 3A championship team, and lost their star striker Pivirotto, a two-time All-Region selection, to injury before the start of this season. They won their first two games before tying Scranton on Sept. 10. Then, they lost their first game in a year Sept. 17 to North Pocono. The teams were tied at 1 before Rocco Rava ripped a direct kick into the back of the net to give the Trojans the victory.
After that, Abington Heights won seven straight, including four Division I wins and a victory over undefeated Northwestern Lehigh, to set up Monday’s showdown.
North Pocono had scoring opportunities in the first half, but Billy Johnson proved ready for the moment. Logan Phillips ripped a shot from the right side, but the Comets senior All-Region goalkeeper dove right for the save. Later, Johnson had a great reaction to a header off a free kick to keep the game scoreless.
“I felt pretty confident,” said Johnson, who finished with four saves. “After what we did against them the first time, I really wanted to get this one. It meant a lot. I really hate getting swept by any opponent in the season. It just doesn’t sit well with me.”
Abington Heights’ back line of Connor Rooney, Connor Hiller, Sam James and Owen Phillips also stepped up for a defense that lost All-Region defenders Enzo Capozzi and James Mitchell and defender Aiden Gardner from last year’s team.
Rooney shut down several runs when he was the last defender in between the attacker and Johnson. He not only stifled attacks, but also cleared the ball to kickstart the offense. James made some key steals, especially in the second half.
“The defense played amazing,” said Johnson, who helped the Comets secure their eighth clean sheet. “I never had any doubts, even after last season. People were like, you’re losing your whole back line. But, we’re reloading, it’s not a rebuild. They’ve played amazing this whole season, and I’ve just had so much confidence in them.”
Abington Heights had an opportunity to take the lead one minute into the second half off Carter DeSarno’s direct kick, but Alwin Copertino made a diving save, one of his four, to keep the game scoreless.
“He did really, really well, and he’s doing much better as the season goes on just on his positioning and everything,” North Pocono coach Graig Arcurie said. “He’s pretty athletic. He’s able to get to a lot of saves that are going to the corners, and he did make a couple fantastic saves today. They had two nice shots on the goal and that’s why they scored them.”
A few minutes later, Rava received a nice ball into the box and faced a one-on-one with Johnson, but the Abington Heights keeper turned the shot away. It was one of several opportunities Rava, an All-Region player, created, but couldn’t convert.
“He had a couple chances when he got in there one v. one,” Arcurie said. “He put one wide, Billy made a couple good saves on him. He’s a great all-around goalkeeper, but Rocco does that to defenses. He’s able to put pressure on them with his quickness, and he’s a physical player. He’s a big part of what we do as a team.”
Finally, almost 60 minutes into the game, Illian had a nice touch to Samala, who curved the ball off his right foot and into the left side of the net for a 1-0 lead.
“Wes passed me the ball, it bounced a little bit, outside of the foot and bang, it was a goal,” Samala said.
Ten minutes later, the sophomore midfield capitalized on a bad touch in North Pocono territory, as he bolted for the ball and forced a foul just outside the box. That set up Illian’s rocket into the left corner of the net that sealed the victory and the Division I title.
“It means a lot to us because it’s been a hard season for us,” Illian said. “We’ve had so much to live up to, and every team is coming out flying even more than before. So, winning this title means a lot to me especially because it definitely was not as easy. It was probably twice as hard, but we came out with it.”
Second: Samala (AH) from Illian, 59:28. Illian (AH), 69:01; Shots-corners: AH 6-2, NP 5-2; Saves: Johnson (AH) 4, Copertino (NP) 4; Records: AH (12-1-1, 9-1-1), NP (7-4-4, 5-2-2).