Trending
JOHNSTOWN -- For nearly 100 minutes, the Cambria Heights boys soccer team went toe-to-toe with the top team in District 6 Class 2A.
The fourth-seeded Highlanders tied Monday's semifinal against No. 1 Westmont Hilltop midway through the second half, and they continually pressured the top seed into two frames of overtime.
But with the game just minutes away from penalty kicks, a scramble in front the goal allowed Westmont's Eli Brownlee to net the game winner as Heights was eliminated in a 2-1 loss.
"Our guys played to the best of their abilities today," Heights coach Adam Strasser said. "They played as best as they could. I'm so proud of their effort and how hard they played against the No. 1 seed. I felt that we had chances to win, and unfortunately the ball didn't fall our way, but I'm so proud of the effort."
After Cambria Heights nearly found the game-winner moments earlier, Brownlee delivered the decisive blow after Westmont Hilltop regained possession off a Highlanders clearing attempt.
Following a cross inside the box from Matt Messina that was originally punched away by Heights goalkeeper Owen Garrison, Max Marion headed the ball back toward the net. Brownlee, who rushed over 30 yards toward the goal as the chaos ensued, found the loose right in front of the net and buried the open shot.
"There was a lot of scrambling happening, and my brain was going pretty fuzzy at that point," Brownlee said. "I just saw myself wide open in front of the goal, and I'm so thankful that I was able to make a good touch and put it in the goal."
Something had to give Monday night as Cambria Heights' explosive offense -- which led all of District 6 with 92 goals -- faced a Westmont Hilltop defense that had allowed just eight all season.
For much of the first half, however, the two teams were at a stalemate.
The Highlanders controlled much of possession for the first half, but Westmont dictated the majority of the scoring chances.
The Hilltoppers had three corner kicks in the opening half and had several free kicks, but Garrison proved to be a thorn in Westmont's side throughout the night with 16 saves.
"Their goalkeeper made a huge difference tonight," Hilltoppers coach Ed Carona said. "There were quite a few shots where we thought there was no chance he was stopping it, but he stopped almost everything we threw at him tonight and made it really difficult. It was just save-after-save with him. He was very impressive."
Strasser also credited the three-year starting goalkeeper along with the play of his defense.
"Owen played a phenomenal game." Strasser said. "He had a ton of just remarkable saves. Noah Pierce did a great job organizing everybody back on defense, and I think all 11 guys on the field were functioning as one unit."
Cambria Heights nearly jumped ahead in the dying seconds of the first half following a corner kick by Ty McConnell, but the header attempt by Mason Kline went wide as the teams remained scoreless at the break.
The Hilltoppers finally broke the stalemate with 25:28 remaining in the second half after Max Marion stole the ball and sent a through ball to the back of the Heights defense.
Mandel snuck in undetected behind the Highlanders' back line and ripped an open shot into the back right corner behind Garrison to claim a one-goal advantage.
Westmont nearly scored moments later with another chance by Mandel, but a sliding tackle from Ethan Lechene kept the deficit at one.
That defensive play allowed the Highlanders to get back into the game, and with 18:36 remaining, they found the equalizer.
Although Westmont stymied a corner kick attempt, Heights maintained possession in the box, and McConnell's cross to the back post was converted this time around as Nate Conaway tapped home the loose ball.
Both teams had a chance to win the game in regulation as Garrison made a diving save on Mandel with 55 seconds left, and Wesner stopped a header by Mason Kline with less than 10 seconds remaining.
In the first overtime period, the Highlanders nearly won the game as McConnell broke free following a throw-in and sent a low shot to the far post, but the ball rolled just wide.
Another low shot from Andre Smithmyer moments later nearly slipped through as Cambria Heights continued to press.
"Every layer of our team played as hard as they could, and I thought we played great team soccer today," Strasser said. "We had a lot of looks on a really good Westmont team."
Cambria Heights will lose six seniors -- all of whom were in the starting lineup -- including Conaway, McConnell, Kline, Garrison, Nito Kutruff and Levi Link.
SCORE BY HALVES
Cambria Heights 0 1 0 0 -- 1
Westmont Hilltop 0 1 0 1 -- 2
Second half: WH -- Mandel (Marion), 25:28; CH -- Conaway (McConnell), 18:36
Overtime: WH -- Brownlee (Marion).
Records: Cambria Heights (12-5-3); Westmont Hilltop (15-1-3).