Brian Hyans’ goal with three minutes remaining pulled Council Rock South level in a 2-2 classic at Walt Snyder Stadium Tuesday night. The rivalry, now in its 25th season, began earlier in the fixture window than usual, but the intensity matched a mid-season game between two teams vying for the Patriot Division title. North and South finished first and second in the division last season.
North entered the game fresh off a 4-0 win over Penn Charter the day before while South beat Lower Moreland 3-1 over the weekend. South jumped on the hosts in the opening minute with a strike from Madden Burns that forced keeper Elias Berman to make a diving save, but North scored first four minutes into the game off some fine combination play. Shane Murphy found Ben Purcaro wide on the left, and Purcaro cut inside and slipped a ball to Jason Foulke, splitting two defenders. Foulke turned and snapped a shot to the far post that beat Noah Selekman for the 1-0 lead.
Following the goal, the game turned into a midfield battle with North’s Matt Brozyna creating multiple chances down the right side, drawing double teams. South’s Stephen Murray was involved in several South chances at the other end.
South found the back of the net midway through the half when Hyans sent a cross from the right side that found Carson Wade open at the doorstep for the tidy finish.
North created several quality chances on free kicks and long throw ins late in the first half, but Selekman asserted his physical presence in the penalty area, negating any opportunities for the hosts to capitalize on.
In the second half, the high heat and humidity began to affect the players as neither team gave in inch nor exerted any extended efforts to push for the lead. Five minutes in, Murray’s free kick from distance beat the North wall but not Berman. Much like the end of the first half, North tried to take the lead on free kicks, but the South defenders rose to the task and kept the danger to a minimum. Brozyna had a great look at the goal fifteen minutes into the half when he cut inside past several South defenders, but his shot hit Selekman near the center of the goal.
Midway through the half, South began to find some chances against the run of play. Rich Salvi almost snuck one at the near post on a corner, but he steered the ball wide, and Shane McGovern had a great opportunity on a through ball toward goal, but his toe poke beat a sliding Berman and trickled wide.
Like many of the North-South games in previous seasons, this one came down to the final minutes. With ten minutes to play, Brozyna drew a free kick near the top of the box, and his curling free kick was certain to hit the back of the net under the bar if not for an incredible top-hand save from Selekman. On the ensuing corner, Brozyna found Chase Murphy at the front post, and Murphy beat Selekman to the ball to head home the go-ahead goal.
Murphy said about his goal after the game, “Knowing the game was coming down to the end, and just putting a lot of effort, it was good to finally get that relief we needed to get ahead for a little bit.” The First Team All-League defender has played in his share of games against South and recognized the game against his rival brings a different set of emotions.
“There’s always a feeling of pressure. You’re always going to be nervous going into it. There’s going to be a lot of intensity. It’s always a battle.”
Murphy’s goal appeared to be the decisive play of the game, but in the closing minutes, South took advantage of their final chance. With just under three and half minutes to play, AJ Renshall sent a free kick into the box from forty yards out that passed through traffic and reached Hyans alone at the back post. Hyans had enough time to take a touch and bury the ball into the top of the net to make the score 2-2. North had one final chance from distance off a recycled corner that Selekman saved and pounced on the rebound to secure the draw.
“It’s brilliant,” South coach Alan Nicholl said after the game about his team’s ability to find the late equalizer early in the season. “They’ve shown it for the last couple weeks that they’ve got the bottle for it.” Nicholl said he had to make a few unexpected adjustments due to players cramping in the heat, yet those changes didn’t alter his team’s ability to climb back.
Nicholl said one of the positives for his team early in the season has been leadership. “I have a goalkeeper who is outstanding,” Nicholl said, referring to Selekman, one of his senior captains and an All-League honoree from last season. “After the first goal goes in, after we got down again 2-1 inside ten minutes to play, that type of discipline and leadership and maturity filters through the team and allows you to score a goal late to tie the game.”
Nicholl’s counterpart, Joe Stackhouse, said he had some players out due to injury and saw the game as an opportunity for some young players to get quality minutes, which will improve his squad’s depth over the season. “We’ve been successful over the years because we’re 16, 17 deep. Once we get to that point, then we’ll be okay.”
North beat South twice last season, and their only loss in the league came against Neshaminy. North crashed out of the First Round of the District 1 playoffs after a 1-0 loss to Souderton.
“We’re going to have a pretty good year,” Stackhouse added. “Tough to start the season against your number one rival, but It was a decent result. Not the result we wanted. We probably held the ball sixty of the eighty minutes. There are points of attack we’ve got to realize sooner, too. Matt [Brozyna] takes on people all the time, and we’ve got to get the ball to his feet and let him do his thing.”
Brozyna had an excellent performance through the midfield, creating numerous chances by breaking down the South defense off the dribble and short combinations. “I’m always trying to check back and get the ball in my feet, so I can get out and run with it,” he said after the game about trying to create space for himself. “If not, if I see a defender’s on me, I’ll try to spin them and run in behind them.”
Brozyna, who earned All-League last season, had a goal in the win against Penn Charter and almost scored again on his well-taken free kick late in the game. He said North is still trying to find their chemistry up front. “We’re playing good as a team. We’ve got the first and second step. We just need the third step and finish the ball. We can’t rely just on set pieces. We need to score off open play.”
North hosts St. Joe’s Prep on Thursday in what will be a very difficult non-league matchup, while South travels to face Archbishop Wood Thursday at Munro Park.
