Published: November 10, 2009 11:49 pm      

Hilltoppers blanked in PIAA first round

HOLLIDAYSBURG — Steve Meehan knew Palmyra had a good boys soccer team.

The Westmont Hilltop coach just didn’t realize how good the Cougars were until he saw them beat his Hilltoppers 5-0 on Tuesday in the first round of the PIAA Class AA playoffs.

“That’s the best team I’ve ever seen. Ever.” Meehan said. “If they aren’t state champs, I’d be really surprised. They were a phenomenal team.”

The District 6 champion Hilltoppers (20-2) couldn’t keep up with the Cougars (24-1), who outshot Westmont 28-6. Michael Thompson and Brett Jankouskas each scored twice in the first half to give Palmyra a 4-0 lead. Westmont kept the District 3 third-place team off the board in the second half until Jeremy Benner scored with 15 seconds remaining.

“I thought we played well,” Palmyra coach Craig Tyrrell said. “Our task is to keep the ball as much as we can, and possess the ball. If we have it, they can’t score. They hustled at first and tried to push the tempo, but we were able to compose ourselves.”

Palmyra was ranked No. 1 in the state before being upset in the district playoffs by Tulpehocken.

“I think this is a new start for us,” Tyrrell said. 

“We figured ‘Well that game is gone by, so now it’s a fresh league, pretty much.’ We’ll just take it one game at a time and see if we can get to the finals.”

Westmont only had a few scoring opportunities, with the best coming in the 18th minute.

Tyler Kleinmeyer sent a nice cross to Michael Burnheimer in the box, but Burnheimer’s shot hit the post and bounced out.

The second didn’t come until there were a little more than two minutes remaining, as Kleinmeyer had a breakaway, but his shot was stopped by Palmyra backup goalkeeper Nate McClellan.

The sophomore relieved starter Josh Lineaweaver, who didn’t need to stop a shot in the shutout.

Westmont keeper Aaron Stonecypher wasn’t so fortunate. The senior made six saves, including a spectacular diving stop in the 31st minute on a Kyle Schneider blast from 25 yards.

“He had some pretty good saves early,” Tyrrell said.

“Even when we started scoring a couple of goals, he still kept the game where if they scored one it would have been a different game.”

Despite the loss, Meehan was happy his team got a chance to play Palmyra.

“It’s going to be a real character builder, especially for our younger kids,” he said. “I’m so proud of our team, being top 16 in the state and getting to play a team like Palmyra and seeing what soccer is all about. I thought it was a great experience for everyone. I’m happy with our season. I’m proud of the kids. They’re great. One of the best seasons I’ve ever been a part of.”