Zac Slevin, Cumberland Valley survive 2OT thriller over Warwick, reach 1st PIAA 4A final

HARRISBURG — Cumberland Valley coach Matt Billman, coming down from the adrenaline of nearly 120 minutes of heart-pounding desperation, pulled his club in for the message of sweet relief and validation.

“Only one team has made the state final since 1974. That’s you guys,” Billman said on a cold Landis Field as his players all caught their collective breath.

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In a rematch of the District 3 Class 4A final, the Eagles took down Warwick, 2-1 in double overtime to punch their tickets to the PIAA 4A boys soccer championship. It’s the first time the program has reached a state championship after PIAA semifinal losses in 1997, 2013 and 2020.

And now, Cumberland Valley will compete in the state title game on its own pitch.

Here’s how it all went down.

The stars

With just 20 seconds left in the second overtime period, junior forward Jayden Handy sent a pass to midfielder Zac Slevin in the box. Slevin tapped it in with his right foot past Warriors keeper Isaac Yerger for the golden goal.

Nico Paz initially put Cumberland Valley on the board in the fourth minute off a feed from Slevin, a fast start for a team that had taken two prior wins — 4-1 in the regular season on Sept. 14, 2-0 in the district final — over their fellow District 3 heavy-hitter.

But Warwick clapped back soon after. Sophomore Ben Carslon planted a shot just inside the right post during the 12th minute, netting the equalizer to draw an even 1-1 stalemate that held through halftime, regulation and the first overtime period.

Game-deciding moments

Warwick boasted a defense anchored by Lancaster-Lebanon League Section I MVP center back Ben Knouse, while Cumberland Valley’s studded back line has limited opposing teams to one or fewer goals in 22 of their last 23 games with Michael Hoy (five saves) in net. Those two steel curtains were on full display, and it was a game that featured a stifling press from the Warriors with seven saves from Yerger.

Slevin’s game-winning goal came from a tough maneuver by Handy to win out a one-on-one matchup and put the ball in front of him in the box. Slevin was right where he needed to be, crashing the net ahead of his golden strike.

Up next

Cumberland Valley (21-1-1) advances to the PIAA 4A final and will take on District 11 champion Parkland, a 2-0 winner over District 1 fourth-place Great Valley, in the state championship at Eagle View’s Rahal Field on Saturday at 10 a.m. Warwick ends its season 20-6 overall.

They said it

“We flat out got the start we wanted. We had talked really heavily about what we were doing in those first five minutes. We knew they’d come after us. We intentionally, purposely, doggedly said, ‘We’re in the moment, this game is for today, so we’re going to focus on that’ and talked about that, that’s all our sound bites. Not talking about what happened two weeks ago or in September.” — Billman on the Eagles’ hot start, and getting back to what was working for them early.

“After Jayden beat the guy, I thought he was going to shoot it, so I was just crashing the goal and it came right in front of me. I just kind of hit it in and couldn’t have cut it any closer with 20 seconds left.” — Slevin on his game-winning sequence from Handy.

“When we got that first goal, they started parking the bus a little bit after they scored. We knew we just had to stay connected and it’d eventually come, but it didn’t come in the first half, so we kept waiting and stuck to the plan and eventually got it. We had a lot of chances.” — Junior captain Lex Radosavljevic on Cumberland Valley’s back line adapting to what the Warriors were throwing at them, and the offensive end finding its late opportunity.

“We needed to execute a game plan and that team executed it for 80 minutes-plus, everything but 27 seconds in the last play of the game. So, the reality is Isaac, all the way to the top, did what we needed him to do and it worked and it kept them at bay. It gave us a chance and frustrated them a lot and they started kicking long balls so for us, we knew what we needed to do and it was really good, and that’s the way our team is. They did what they needed to do and it took them to the limit and that’s a very, very good team.” — Warwick coach Matt Wagner on the Warriors’ mettle.

“They did press us. I think we made a pretty good adjustment with how we switched to deal with that. Had some chances that didn’t go in, it’s just one of those games. Their goalie made some good saves, our goalie made a good save and that’s a training ground thing we work on repeatedly, the way that goal was kind of manufactured so to speak.

“I’m so glad Handy took the risk, beat the guy 1-v-1 and I’m so glad Handy trusted his teammates, put the ball in the middle and I’m so glad the guys responded and were in the right spot and Zac Slevin, that’s our biggest goal of the season.” — Billman on adapting to the Warriors’ press and Slevin’s golden goal from Handy.

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