PIAA Class 2A boys soccer finals primer: Quaker Valley vs. New Hope-Solebury

By: Bill Hartlep
Thursday, November 14, 2019 | 10:37 PM

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PIAA Class 2A boys soccer championship

New Hope-Solebury (17-6) vs. Quaker Valley (23-2)

1:30 p.m. Friday, Hersheypark Stadium

Coaches: Dave Bachart, New Hope-Solebury; Andrew Marshall, Quaker Valley

Players to watch: Justin Kruse, New Hope-Solebury; Dom Reiter, Quaker Valley

How they got here: District 1 champion New Hope-Solebury defeated District 3 champion Fleetwood, 3-2 in penalty kicks; District 4 runner-up Midd-West, 3-2 in double overtime; and District 4 champion Lewisburg, 2-1. WPIAL champion Quaker Valley defeated District 10 runner-up Fairview, 3-1; District 9 champion Punxsutawney, 4-2; and District 10 champ Mercyhurst Prep, 3-0.

Corner kicks: Quaker Valley is playing in the PIAA championship game for the 15th time in program history. The Quakers won titles in 1985, ‘91, ‘93, ‘95, ‘96, 2000 and 2017. The Quakers have reached the PIAA finals in three of the past four seasons. The seniors on the team made the trip the first time as freshmen, won it as sophomores, and now they get a chance to capture the second state title of their high school career. … Dom Reiter, Tommy Guild and Rowan Kreibel scored for QV in the semifinals. … Reiter entered the postseason with 46 goals and 111 points. Kriebel and Keller Chamovitz combined for 53 goals in the regular season. … The Quakers won their ninth WPIAL title with a 4-3 double overtime victory over Deer Lakes. … New Hope-Solebury has certainly shown an ability to win close games. In the PIAA tournament alone, it has won three one-goal games, including a first-round thriller that went to penalty kicks. … Kruse scored the game-winner in Tuesday’s semifinal win over Lewisburg. Davis Nagg also scored for New Hope. Kyle Campbell made two saves. … New Hope has played in three PIAA title games, winning in 2010 and ‘11 against Mercyhurst Prep. It lost to Seton LaSalle, 7-1, in 2006.

Bill Hartlep is the TribLive sports editor. A Pittsburgh native and Point Park graduate, he joined the Trib in 2004, covering high school sports. He held various editing roles before assuming his current position in 2019. He can be reached at bhartlep@triblive.com.

Tags: Quaker Valley