Delco Christian knocks out Calvary Christian for first PIAA district title

Two years after they advanced to their first state final in a stunning penalty shootout victory on the same field, Delaware County Christian out-dueled Calvary Christian in a 3-0 win to capture the school’s first PIAA District 1 Class A boys soccer title on Tuesday night.

With the win, the 2023 PIAA state champions returned to the state tournament for the second time as the lone representative from District 1 in Class A and ended a run for their conference rivals that included Calvary’s first district title and state tournament berth a year ago.

“This is my 16th year coaching here and we’ve been knocking on the door for many of those years,” head coach Rob Atkins said following the win at Norristown Area High School. “I have a few silver medals in my office so this is just really special for these guys to get the district championship.”

Calvary attacking star Caden Redante nearly put the Cougars up early when he had a chance down the left side sky over the bar and a well taken poked shot from the right side of the box just miss the mark at the far post. The early salvos from Redante served as a wake-up call for the Knights as they started to turn the tide the other way and possess in Calvary’s territory.

Junior Justin Ma was the beneficiary of that momentum shift when he opened the scoring when he went up for a 50-50 ball in the air against Calvary keeper Kenny Davis and was able to get just enough of the ball to push it toward goal and in. Junior Cole Matthews doubled the lead eight minutes when he got free on the right side of the box and finished off a crafty run and combination play with Ma and senior captain Jude Sacks.

Despite the two-goal lead, the game felt close between two very familiar opponents and it wasn’t until Sacks scored a third from distance that it felt like DC had the separation they needed to cruise to victory.

“At halftime when it was 2-0 me and Jay (senior Jay Gricco) talked to the boys and told them this game is not even close to over,” Sacks said. “We knew we had to push for that third goal.”

Sacks got the third by scoring one of his best goals of the season in a game Atkins said was also among the best he’s played wearing the Knights badge.

“He showed senior leadership, showed what a senior captain is capable of,” Atkins said. “Jude is a very skilled player, and he, I think he showed that tonight

A red card on a breakaway on a tackle just outside the box by freshman defender Manny Cruz made the hill to climb a mountain for the 2024 District 1 champions but even the final score of 3-0 was not completely indicative of the sharp edge the game was played on between two teams that split the regular season home-and-home series.

Senior Brecon Williams, who like Sacks was a regular on the 2022 team that lost the district final to Faith Christian but won the state title after beating them in the semi on penalties, didn’t show up on the score sheet but was instrumental throughout covering large swaths of ground between the back line – where junior center backs Ian Kauffman and James Yost were thwarting attacks – and the front line. Junior goalkeeper Carter Dill’s involvement was mostly on goal kicks, an area he excels in and classmate Matteo DeBellis was a reliable presence throughout.

“This team is so special,” Williams said. “Everyone has such a strong bond. Just like the state run we had my sophomore year it feels amazing to be on the other side of the district final with a chance to do it again.”