SLATINGTON — Schuylkill Haven knew it had a major challenge ahead of it Monday against powerful Moravian Academy.
Injuries and an ineligible player didn’t make it any easier for the Hurricanes.
Schuylkill Haven played well in the first half, but the Lions poured it on in the second half for a 6-0 victory in a District 11 Class A boys’ soccer semifinal at Northern Lehigh High School.
Jack Painter had two goals and two assists to lead top-seeded Moravian Academy (17-3-1), while Tom Bloxam added two goals. The defending state champion Lions will play for their second consecutive district title Wednesday against No. 3 Nativity (16-5). The Hilltoppers beat Pine Grove 2-1 in overtime in Monday’s other district semifinal.
The No. 5-seeded Hurricanes (12-8-1) reached Monday’s game with a 2-1 victory over Notre Dame-East Stroudsburg in the quarterfinals Saturday. Schuylkill Haven entered Monday with four players out with injury, while another was ineligible after he was red carded with 2 minutes left in the game during Saturday’s win.
The Hurricanes, who lost to Moravian Academy 8-0 in last year’s Class A title game, where able to keep up with the Lions for a half, but Moravian’s skill and firepower proved to be too much.
“It is awfully difficult (to defend them) to be honest with you,” Schuylkill Haven coach Vanco Georgevic said. “They are a good team, there is no doubt about it. They are better than us. You can see the number of players they have.
“Our support off the bench with four injuries and one ineligible player makes it more difficult to come into a game like this. We had to keep the starting team in there the whole time and you can not, I don’t care what kind of shape you are in, keep up the pace they are at.
“I am not going to blame everything on the injuries but they contributed to the game. They are a good team. They put the ball in the net and we couldn’t.”
Moravian Academy’s first goal came during the 15th minute when a long shot by Tanner Shane hit the cross bar and bounced straight down. Phil Astolfi was there to clean it up to make it 1-0. Painter then set up Shane in the 18th minute for a 2-0 Moravian Academy lead.
Schuylkill Haven had its chances in the first half.
Jordan McClintock got off a booming shot from about 25 yards in the 21st minute, but the shot sailed wide.
With under 2 minutes to go in the first half, Owen Pothering shot from about 25 yards down near the goal line. The ball headed for the far corner of the net but ended up just missing wide.
“I am proud of our kids,” Georgevic said. “They battled the whole game.”
The second half was all Moravian Academy. Painter scored in the 44th and 55th minutes, while Bloxam put in his goals in the 64th and 66th minutes. The Lions held a 13-0 advantage in shots on goal in the game.
Georgevic said after the game that his roster, numbers wise, was one of the smallest he’s had in the past 10 years.
Still, Schuylkill Haven got hot at the end of the regular season, winning four straight to get into the Schuylkill League playoffs as the Division II wild card. The Hurricanes ended up losing 3-2 to eventual champ Lehighton.
“It’s been one of those interesting seasons,” Georgevic said. “The number of games we had, we just couldn’t get things going because of injuries and not having a support for mature kids as far as that is concerned. But we came along up until the Schuylkill League playoffs.
“I am proud of them. It was a team that battled all season long.”
Game Summary
District 11 Class A Boys’ Soccer Semifinal
At Northern Lehigh High School
Sch. Haven (12-8-1) 0 0 — 0
Moravian Acad. (17-3-1) 2 4 — 6
MA — Astolfi (unassisted), 14:18
MA — Shane (Painter), 17:19
MA — Painter (unassisted), 43:56
MA — Painter (Astolfi), 54:40
MA — Bloxam (Lozano), 63:05
MA — Bloxam (Painter), 65:41
Shots on goal: Schuylkill Haven 0, Moravian Academy 13. Corner kicks: Schuylkill Haven 1, Moravian Academy 4. Saves: Schuylkill Haven (C. Handling 8, McGee 0) 8, Moravian Academy (Joseph 0, Eighmy 0, Shane 0) 0.