Nov 18, 2023 4 min read

MECHANICSBURG – Charleroi showed the state it belongs with the top teams in boys soccer Saturday afternoon in the PIAA Class A final against Delco Christian at Eagle Valley Middle School on the campus of the Cumberland Valley School District.

Unfortunately for the Cougars, they have to settle for a runner-up finish, as Delco scored in the first half and made its lone goal stand in a 1-0 victory for the first state championship in program history.

“The boys played well and stuck to the game plan for the most part,” Charleroi coach Jon Ducoli said. “For us to make it this fair with the type of talent that is out here is an incredible achievement for us.

“There are a lot of positives that come out of this game. The boys played like they have been here before. We are just going to reload and get ready for next season. It is a rich history for this team, and it is just going to get better.”

Charleroi finishes the season with a record of 20-2.

Delco scored on its first shot on target, as Griffin Schmitt blasted a kick to the center of the penalty area and Cortez Cardone headed the ball past Charleroi goalkeeper Nate Mazon for a 1-0 lead with 26:16 left in the first half.

“We had good opportunities with our headers, and we were able to cash in on one for the goal,” Delco coach Rob Atkins said. “I have been telling this team since August that I believe they are one of the two best teams in the state.

“We took down Faith Christian, which is an unbelievable team coming out of District 1. I don’t think anybody saw that coming. We lost to them 6-0 the first time we played in league play and 3-2 in the district championship, and then we were able to go into double overtime against them in the state semifinals and win on penalty kicks.”

The Knights (19-3-2) continued to put shots on target using headers, as Mazon stopped two with 20 minutes remaining. The senior goalkeeper made six saves.

“Nate (Mazon) stood on his head for us today,” Ducoli said. “We weren’t able to cash in on the opportunities we had for him.”

The Cougars’ Arlo McIntyre had a shot go wide left with six minutes remaining in the first half. Charleroi could only muster one shot on target in the first half and finished with three.

“In the whole state playoffs, Ryan Carroll has stepped up as a senior defender,” Atkins said. “I don’t know that he missed a clear or tackle the whole time. I knew Arlo (McIntyre) was a good player, and I think Ryan did a fantastic job on him. Our backline did a great job, and I also thought we did a great job of possessing in the first half.”

Mazon stopped two shots with 38 minutes remaining in the second half.

Cardone had a free kick from 30 yards out sail over the cage eight minutes into the second half. He attempted to score on his second header, but the shot went left of the net at 31:45 of the second half.

Joel Chambers had a shot go wide left for the Cougars at 27:30 of the second half and another shot went wide with 23:05 remaining.

Charleroi had a shot on goal that hit off the face of Delco goalkeeper Jake Matthews with 20:45 remaining.

Mazon made a ten-bell save on Cardone to keep the score 1-0 with 20 minutes left in the match before Schmitt broke free on a breakaway, but Mazon came out to block the shot away.

Delco had another chance after the block with Mazon out of his net, but the shot went over the cage.

Landon Barcus had the Cougars’ last shot on target with 14:05 remaining. Barcus had a shot blocked with two minutes left, and with Mazon playing off his line, Barcus had his last opportunity go over the net with 22 seconds left.

“Both sides definitely left their hearts on the field,” Ducoli said. “It was just who is going to capitalize on the opportunity first, and unfortunately, they did.”

Charleroi had the first shot on goal in the match, as an attempt seven minutes in came off a corner kick, but Matthews made the save. Matthews stopped three shots for the clean sheet.

Delco had a 6-4 edge in corner kicks.