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LEHMAN TWP. — It wasn’t exactly the way Wyoming Valley West hoped that its first state boys soccer game in six years would play out.
The Spartans received three yellow cards, came up empty on multiple chances and were shutout by District 3 No. 3 seed Cumberland Valley, 6-0, on Tuesday in the first round of the PIAA Class 3A Championships at Lake-Lehman High School.
The Spartans entered their first state game since 2009 playing some of their best soccer in years with just two losses in 19 games this season, but ran into a buzzsaw.
“It’s tough. I thought we played well for a half, stayed tough for a half,” Valley West coach Charlie Whited said. “If we capitalize on one of them maybe at 2-0, 3-0 maybe we have a chance to be in the game a little more; 6-0 doesn’t show the score of how hard we played. It easily could have been 3-0.”
Cumberland Valley opened scoring in the first half after both teams got off to a slow start. The Eagles broke through the Spartans defense first and scored when Christian Valen jumped on a loose ball and sent it past Spartan keeper Davis Weaver with 11:20 left for a 1-0 lead.
After that, the physical play and the chirping started to pick up. The first time that affected the match was when the Spartans committed a foul in the penalty box. Stephen Thompson connected on a penalty kick with 7:28 left pushing the Eagles’ lead to 2-0.
The Spartans came out in the second half with more energy than in the first 40 minutes, but just a few minutes into the half, Valley West was hit with a yellow card and their top scorer Mike Bazadona had to sit out. About two minutes after that card, the Eagles were given two yellow cards, and one more was distributed to Valley West.
Cumberland Valley responded to the intense action with its third goal. This time, Jack Regar struck the back of the net with 30:49 remaining for his first goal of the season and a 3-0 lead for the Eagles.
In a move to generate more offense, Whited moved defender Hunnter Maxwell to forward. That helped the team get more chances and control possession a little more, but the Spartans still couldn’t find the back of the net. WVW outshot Cumberland Valley 6-5 in the second half, but four of the Eagles’ shots went for goals.
A quality shot by Joyssen Gonzalez was saved by CV keeper Matt Zambetti, otherwise the score would have been 3-1 at that point and could have changed the match.
“His aggressiveness, his speed puts a lot of pressure on the team,” Whited said about Maxwell. “Joyssen (Gonzalez) got a shot off, but the goalie made a good save on it. …You get a goal and anything happens that can change momentum.But give them credit they’re a very good team. Very solid all over the field, well-coached and they controlled the game.”
CV took a commanding 4-0 lead with 11:07 remaining when a header by Gerry Garcia found the back of the net. The Eagles, who will play Central Bucks East in Saturday’s quarterfinals, flexed their muscles by adding two goals in the last 5:10.
“We were competitive late in the game,” Whited said. “We got tired, they took advantage of it and pretty much shoved it down our throat.”
PIAA Class 3A Championships First Round
Cumberland Valley Wyoming Valley West
Cumberland Valley`2`4`—`6
Wyoming Valley West`0`0`—`0
First half — 1. CV, Christian Valen 11:20; 2. CV, Stephen Thompson (penalty kick) 7:28. Second half — 1. CV, Jack Regar 30:49; 2. CV, Gerry Garcia 11:07; 3. CV, Sebastian Kelly 5:10; 4. CV, Ryan Bowman 4:10
Shots — CV 11; WVW 7. Saves — CV 2 (Matt Zambetti); WVW 4 (Davis Weaver). Corner kicks — CV 4; WVW 2.
