Postseason heating up for area high schools

High school playoff soccer kicked into high gear on Tuesday night in Eastern Pennsylvania with several key boys soccer district matches.

This was on full display at a rain-soaked Radnor High School Thursday night, where the 10-men Raiders scored an equalizer with 12 seconds left, and pushed Phoenixville to a penalty shootout they won 3-0 to advance to the District 1 Class 3A quarterfinals.

Nationally-ranked Conestoga also advanced Thursday night behind a Mason Miller goal with a 1-0 win over Abington in District 1 Class 4A action and will continue their run on Saturday against Central Bucks East, which went undefeated en route to a state title last year. Three other Class 4A matches will be contested on Saturday while Class 3A will resume Wednesday with Radnor taking on Bishop Shanahan, and top-seeded Holy Ghost Prep hosting Pottsgrove.

In the city, the focus this weekend will be on the Philadelphia Catholic League title game, which will pit defending champion Roman Catholic and La Salle in a rematch of the 2015 title game at 5 p.m. Saturday at the South Philly Supersite.

Moving to Central PA, nationally-ranked Lower Dauphin beat Greencastle-Antrim 4-0 for their 22nd straight victory on Thursday with brothers Jackson Becher and Ryan Becher each recording a brace. Lower Dauphin will continue their run against Daniel Boone on Monday in the District 3 Class 3A semifinals while third-ranked Gettysburg play Fleetwood in the other semi.

Top-ranked Hempfield will take on Ephrata and three other games will be played Saturday in the District 3 Class 4A tournament. The second round in District 3 Class 2A will be played Saturday with top seed Tulpehocken taking on Middletown and three other games. The semis for District 3 Class A will be held Saturday evening with Camp Hill hosting Millersburg and Kutztown hosting Lancaster Country Day.

Playoffs for the PA Independent Schools Athletic Association will begin on November 4 with the championship slated for November 16 at Immaculata University. The Haverford School are the defending champs.

New Jersey

The state tournament doesn’t get underway until Monday, but hardware will be on the line this Saturday at Rowan University as Williamstown faces Cherry Hill West in the South Jersey Soccer Coaches Association Tournament final at 1:30 p.m.

The NJSIAA South Jersey Tournament kicks off on Monday. Clearview is the top seed in Group 4, Ocean City for Group 3, Delran in Group 2 and Haddon Township in Group 1. Christian Brothers is the top seed in Non-Public A while Gil St. Bernard’s is the top seed in Non-Public B.

The 2015 winners for South Jersey were Washington Township in Group 4, Toms River South in Group 3, Delran in Group 2, Schalick in Group 1, Christian Brothers in Non-Public A and Moorestown Friends in Non-Public B.

Delaware

The statewide Division 1 and Division 2 boys soccer tournament kicks off Tuesday, November 8. Salesianum School is the defending champion in Division 1 and Indian River is the defending champ in Division II.