By HUNTER O. LYLE
BRADFORD, PA – Bucking the trend of the past two years, New York snapped Pennsylvania’s win streak in the Corporate Cup Soccer Showcase, posting a 3-1 victory that put the Empire State back on top.
Over the past four years, Pennsylvania has held a grip on the annual All-Star game, winning three times in that span. That includes last year’s nail-biter, in which the Keystone State pulled out a 2-1 win in the event’s first-ever penalty kick shootout.
“I thought last year was super fun, but that game, it felt like we were crushed afterwards. I didn’t like that feeling,” said New York head coach Jason Derring, who coaches at Southwestern. “Win or lose, I wanted them to enjoy being in this environment and having this experience. So a big thing I stressed in practice was to just come out, show up, do exactly what you do to the best of your abilities and have fun.”
The game started quickly with both teams punching deep drives into hostile territory out of the gates. With tensions already flaring, pushing and jersey grabbing became the status quo, which ultimately played into New York’s hands.
Just after the seven-minute mark, Cooper Wilczewski (Allegany-Limestone) was heading towards the net with a head full of steam and the ball on a string. However, on his way to get a shot off, a defender collided with him, sending him to the ground and earning a penalty shot. Wilczewski rocketed a shot to the left of Pennsylvania’s goal tender, finding the back of the net and putting NY up early.
PA wouldn’t have to wait long to retaliate. Just six minutes later, New York passed back to their own goal keeper in hopes of clearing and starting a charge down the other side of the field. However, his kick whiffed, instead sending the ball directly to Aaron Bennett (St. Marys), who controlled it, battled past two defenders and punched in his own shot to bring the game back to even.
Over the next 24 minutes, both teams exchanged pushes past the midfield as the scoreboard remained deadlocked. Despite each finding good looks at the net, including a Pennsylvania shot that clanged off the crossbar, neither could get a leg up. That was until the 28th minute, when a two-on-one push from the right side gave Colin German (Portville) a gap in the goal. Making the most of his opportunity, German scored and gave New York a 2-1 lead heading into the break.
In the second half, it would be Pennsylvania that would control the tempo. Coming out with a renewed emphasis on crisp and accurate passing, the Keystone State relentlessly broke through the midfield. Despite letting off several shots towards the net, nothing was able to connect.
“I don’t know if it was really what we were facing (defense), it was that we couldn’t finish,” said Pennsylvania head coach David Reitz, who coaches at Brookville. “Even the shots that we did have, we didn’t test their keepers. We sent them high or we sent them wide.”
While PA swarmed with a mob of attackers, NY found lone wolf drives into enemy territory that used speed to break through the defense and quickly find looks in close. After nearly 30 scoreless minutes and a wave of Pennsylvania pressure, New York finally put the final nail in the coffin. Just before the 80-minute mark, Cooper Freeman (Randolph) found Aiden Cowburn (Wellsville) on a break from the right side. Keeping it on the ground, Cowburn’s shot slid right past a diving PA goalkeeper, all but sealing the outcome. With just under 10 minutes left, PA could do nothing to fight the tide. Instead, their two-year reign on the Corporate Cup was broken.
“The talent we have on this field is amazing and I love watching these guys do their things. What we had for the attack, those players fit my game and they all fit each other’s game,” said Derring. “They all have extreme confidence. They felt like they could go down through the defense at will and kept asking me to just let them go.”
In the postgame awards, New York’s Thomas Buffamante took home the Most Valuable Player award while Owen Doherty earned the Sportsmanship award.
“We were trying to get co-MVPs. I wanted Co-MVP’s because Ben Edwards and Tommy were absolutely fantastic and they shut them down,” said Derring. “(Pennsylvania’s) fantastic attack was shut down because of those two.”
For Pennsylvania, Jacob Alberts won the MVP and Case Seymour earned the Sportsmanship honor.
Although confessing that a win would have been nice, Reitz acknowledged that the Corporate Cup isn’t about winning or losing. Rather, it’s about growing the game and growing athletes.
“It’s a great experience and I think it’s for the kids more than anything else. And it’s great for soccer in Western Pennsylvania,” said Reitz. “We’re still a little bit as far as soccer vs all the other ‘real sports,’ at least where I’m at. So anytime we can get more eyes on the game in a bigger showcase like this, it’s only benefits soccer in Western Pennsylvania.”
SILVER MATCH
Setting the stage for their Gold Team counterpart, the New York Silver Team opened the Corporate Cup with a 2-0 sweep over Pennsylvania.
As the game started, both teams went through the process of feeling each other out, using a battle at midfield to probe for respective weak points in the defense. However, after getting off the first shot of the game at the five-minute mark, New York quickly set up shop on offense. Continuously keeping possessions alive with rebounds, they ramped up the pressure and sustained it as they searched for a look at the net.
Meanwhile, all Pennsylvania could do was try to hold them off with a collapsing defense that swarmed New York. When able to get control of the ball, PA struggled to get past midfield and were forced into one-and-done scenarios after finally gaining entry to the other side of the pitch. As the final minutes of the first half ticked away, PA began finding momentum with several waves of crashing offense, however, they still couldn’t find the back of the net. Neither, however, could New York and after the first 45 minutes, the game remained deadlocked at zero.
New York’s aggression returned after the break as they resumed their harassment of Pennsylvania’s defenders. The constant strain finally paid off in the 57th minute as NY’s Evan Turybury punched in a cross from Landon Barkley.
Getting a spark of life, New York dominated for the rest of the game as they took full control of the tempo. While Pennsylvania found scattered shots, NY burned clock as they maneuvered through traffic before testing the goal tender. They would ultimately score once more, sealing their victory, off a Barkley shot from the right side that narrowly missed the hands of Gannon McMaster in the net. With just eight minutes left, the game had been decided.
Along with the Silver match trophy, Barkley wound up hoisting another award after the win, earning New York’s Most Valuable Player award. Isaac Pihliblad earned the Sportsmanship award for NY while Alex Schott and Nolan Barnett won the same honors for PA, respectively.
