It was the nightcap at Eagle View stadium for a boys soccer meeting in the first round of District playoffs. Cumberland Valley, a year removed from the penalty kicks loss to Conestoga Valley which ended their 2022 campaign, was ready to extend their 2023 season past the first round and was tasked with the Comets of Penn Manor. This time around, CV came in prepared and won the affair 3-1 with a near hat trick from Lex Radosavljevic, who scored two goals for the Eagles en route to the first round win.
The Eagles didn’t let fans sit down with popcorn before they got on the new scoreboard at Eagle View. Just 50 seconds in, senior Michael Selan delivered a rocket to fit in with the Comets. A high velocity ball found it’s way into the bottom left corner of the net, opening up a strong outing for the Eagles.
“We went into this game winning that front foot, scored a goal three minutes in. The team started off so strong. There’s a real team buy in, we’ve been working for this all season. Everything’s been preparing for this moment. We’re going to play through, we’re going to work hard, and we’re going to win as a team.”, said Michael Selan, a senior captain who scored once to help the Eagles to victory.
Just nine minutes later, Penn Manor was ready to strike back for a chance to tie the twice beaten Eagles. They got a corner kick that instead of putting in the air, decided to go with a short pass on the ground to open up some high pressure play in the box, which ended with a score for Alexander Mowery. It tied things up with just nine minutes and thirty-five seconds out of the opener.
You’d have to wait 15 more minutes to find the next goal for either side, but Cumberland Valley found another chance off a corner. Zac Slevin inserted a ball that went past the goal but ended up on the head of senior Jake Snyder, who played the header to Lex Radosavljevic. Radosavljevic played the ball out of the air on his foot and into the net in one of the game’s highlight reel moments.
Aside from it being one of, if not the best play of the game, it game Cumberland Valley the lead back, and the Eagles held on to that lead for the remainder of the first half, going into the intermission with a one goal advantage.
ESPN’s Chris Boomer would love to see a Lex Radosavljevic, because he can make a highlight reel like nobody’s business with another impressive score in the second half, scoring again using the back of his cleat to poke a ball in off a Jake Dussinger assist. Another Radosavljevic gave Cumberland Valley three goals and a two goal advantage just three minutes out of halftime.
The Comets still had plenty of time for an upset, back they’d need to act fast. It took 14 minutes, the Comets put the ball in the box off a free kick leading to a header attempt that was popped up and over the goal by Michael Hoy. Another opportunity for Penn Manor went wide right on a shot attempt that kept the score 3-1, which is what the box score would read as the Eagles survived the first round and will advance to the quarterfinals.
The win comes in the first round of the PIAA District 3 4A bracket, a troubling bracket for Cumberland Valley last season. The setting was as similar to Tuesday’s as you can find. A girls-boys double header with the girls winning their contest convincingly, 4-1, back to back years, with the boys matchup to follow at 7.
In 2022, the CV boys team was seeded #3 and slated to face #14 seed Conestoga Valley. Conestoga Valley challenged the Eagles, resulting in 1-1 after regulation, then after two overtime periods. Finally, the two went to penalty kicks where the Buckskins handled Cumberland Valley in a shocking upset. Senior leaders like Jake Snyder and Michael Selan remember the bad taste well, and were ready to focus on what lies ahead for the postseason.
“We’ve spent the entire year really focusing on what we can control, what we want to do, and how we can play the game. I think there was a moment where we can all acknowledge what happened last year, but we have not been on a redemption mission or anything.”, said coach Matt Billman.
The Eagles go on to face JP McCaskey in the quarterfinals, a ten seed who upset seven seeded New Oxford in the first round. McCaskey is a 10-8-1 team while CV improves their record to 12-2-3 on the year.
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