Nov 10, 2015 5 min read

MARS – Whenever Canon-McMillan practices penalty kicks, Christian Snatchko is busy perfecting his approach in net.

With the Big Macs’ fate resting on penalty kicks Tuesday night, he didn’t need to make a save in the one-on-one situations. Instead, the Big Macs needed his right foot to advance to the PIAA Class AAA quarterfinals.

Moments after a ball went off his fingertips for a goal, Snatchko lined up and fired a shot into the top-right corner of the net in the fifth round of penalty kicks to send Canon-McMillan to a 1-0 win over Cathedral Prep in the first round of the state playoffs at Mars Athletic Complex.

After the Ramblers’ first attempt went off the left goal post, they scored in the next four rounds to put the match on Snatchko’s foot. A goal would give the Big Macs a win. Missing would send the shootout to a sixth round. He delivered.

“Whenever we were going into the last round, I knew I had to put everything into keeping us alive; either by saving or scoring,” Snatchko said. “I got a finger to the last one, but I couldn’t save it, so I just put it in. It scared me a little bit, but it went in.”

The Big Macs (19-3) advanced to the quarterfinals, where they will face Seneca Valley (16-2-1), which they defeated in the WPIAL semifinals, Saturday at a site and time to be determined. The Ramblers (16-5), meanwhile, are the fifth consecutive Class AAA District 10 champion to lose in the first round of the state playoffs.

After the second overtime ended with the two teams locked in a scoreless tie, Canon-McMillan head coach Larry Fingers had to decide which of his players to turn to in the best-of-five shootout. A few players suggested the five seniors, but Fingers did not want to ignore the heroics of sophomore striker Brandon Byer, who scored the deciding goal in the WPIAL final, or sophomore defender Jonah Moore. He drew up a list of five and ran it by his assistant coaches. Snatchko made the cut.

“His feet are really, really good. He’s good enough to play in the field for us,” Fingers said. “It’s a blessing that his feet are that good. It was kind of an unconventional choice putting him fifth, but we didn’t want to put three of our better guys later and it being too late. He got it done. He’s just a good all-around soccer player”

After Cathedral Prep’s Phil Cammarata’s shot rang off the left post in the first round, Canon-McMillan followed with goals by senior striker Nick Sodini, senior defender Alex Ablak, Moore and Byer. After the Ramblers drew within a goal when Antonio Simora’s shot went off Snatchko’s fingertips and into the back of the net, the Big Macs’ keeper shook off the frustration and won the match with a hard, rising shot.

“I’m pretty confident in myself, but I was still scared,” Snatchko said. “You never know what’s going to happen. Anything can happen at that point. You don’t have to be the better team. It doesn’t matter at that point.”

Canon-McMillan had back-to-back corner kicks with less than eight minutes remaining in the second overtime, but the first was deflected wide and the next was cleared quickly by a Cathedral Prep defender. The Ramblers had a scoring chance with less than two minutes remaining, but Snatchko caught a direct kick. He made nine saves for his 10th shutout of the season.

Both teams played conservative in the first half, utilizing four defenders and on offense, they methodically tried to draw defenders out of the midfield. The strategy created space in front for the Big Macs, but Byer’s sliding shot within five yards missed the net with just over 10 minutes left in the half.

The Ramblers struggled against the Big Macs’ physical defenders, but finally got a scoring chance six minutes into the second half when sophomore Zach Hein’s direct kick at the top of the 18-yard box was stopped by Snatchko, who made a diving save on the low shot. C-M only had two shots on goal and both came in the first half.

“I thought they were committed to defending,” Fingers said. “They did a pretty good job with that. I didn’t think we did very well getting to their goalkeeper. We thought we could take advantage of some things in the back. We really didn’t have a lot of good chances.”

The Ramblers almost advanced to the quarterfinals on a ball off the head of striker Brady Sittinger early in the first overtime. The 5-6 junior laid out for a diving header off a cross from sophomore midfielder Jose Luis Gomez, but the ball sailed a foot wide of the net.

It all came down to penalty kicks and despite the offense’s struggles, Fingers was confident with “one of the best goalkeepers around.”

“It’s a relief,” Snatchko said. “That was a rough game. We just couldn’t get anything going, but we’re moving on to the next round and that’s all that matters.