Plum fends off Norwin in spirited battle for section top spot
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Thursday, September 19, 2024 | 10:15 PM
Plum’s Gage Adinolfi celebrates after scoring against Norwin Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, at Plum.
Plum’s Andy Strasser (30) celebrates with Eli Wastchak after scoring against Norwin Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, at Plum.
Plum’s Austin Kolankowski scores against Norwin Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, at Plum.
Plum’s Austin Kolankowski celebrates after scoring against Norwin Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, at Plum.
Plum’s Kent Holmes battles Norwin’s Daniel Hartman for a header during their game Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, at Plum.
Norwin’s Daniel Maddock works against Norwin’s Marco Tommasino during their game Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, at Plum.
Plum’s Andy Strasser works against Norwin’s Elijah Baer on Thursday.
Plum’s Parker Berrott works against Norwin’s George Bunovich during their game Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, at Plum.
Plum’s Noah Smith works against Norwin’s Tristan Josephic during their game Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, at Plum.
Plum’s Noah Smith celebrates after the Mustangs scored the go-ahead goal against Norwin Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, at Plum.
Round one goes to Plum.
In a physical and spirited battle for first place in Section 1-4A, the Mustangs scored three first-half goals, which stood up through a Norwin second-half rally in a 3-2 win Thursday evening at Mustangs Stadium.
Plum, ranked No. 3 in WPIAL Class 4A by Trib HSSN, improved to 8-0-2 overall and 5-0 in the section, and the Knights fell to 6-4, 4-1 in the section.
The teams will meet again Oct 10 at Norwin.
“We hadn’t played them since 2019, but in all of those games, every one was close,” Plum coach Raf Kolankowski said.
“Norwin is a very feisty team. They never give up, and they played right to the end. It was a back-and-forth, physical game, and we were fortunate to get one extra goal than they did. We expect the same type of game in a couple of weeks at their field.”
Down two at halftime, Norwin cut the deficit in half at the 32-minute, 2-second mark on a penalty kick from senior forward Daniel Maddock after Mustangs senior Bryce Bobich was whistled for a foul in the box.
The goal was Maddock’s second of the game.
The Knights registered a corner kick with nine minutes on the clock, but the attempt sailed high and long of the Plum goal mouth where it was corralled by a Mustangs defender.
Maddock delivered a free kick from 25 yards with 3:20 left. The ball got through the Plum defensive wall, but Mustangs keeper Chase Eber was there to make the save.
Plum then flipped the field and maintained possession for almost the entire final three minutes.
Norwin was issued three yellow cards for dissent towards the officials. Knights coach Scott Schuchert declined to comment after the game.
The two Norwin goals snapped Plum’s four-game shutout streak. It also was the first time a team scored more than one goal on the Mustangs defense this season.
Plum’s three goals gave it 35 on the season through 10 games.
Norwin struck quickly, just 1:21 into the game as Maddock took control of the ball at 15 yards, rotated to face the goal and ripped a shot into the back of the net.
Plum answered right back at the 37:11 mark. Senior Gage Adinolfi tallied his sixth of the season from 13 yards.
Sophomore Andrew Strasser was denied in the ninth minute as his header from close range deflected off the post.
He wouldn’t be denied seven minutes later, with 23:17 left in the half, as he scored off a cross from Adinolfi to put Plum ahead, 2-1.
Plum then extended its lead with 17 minutes on the clock in the aftermath of its fourth corner kick of the half.
Senior Garrett Chandler, who took the corner, gained control of a loose ball, dribbled down the left wing and crossed it across the goal mouth where junior Austin Kolankowski finished it off for a 3-1 lead.
Norwin senior Dylan Moyer got a fairly decent look to the right of the Plum goal off of Norwin’s first corner kick of the game with three minutes to play in the half. But his twisting attempt from close range bounded to the right of the goal and out of play.
Plum got two additional shots on goal in the final two minutes with a Strasser header and a free kick from Garrett Chandler.
Brady McLaughlin started in net for Plum, and Eber spelled him for the final 40 minutes. Plum tallied nine shots on goal to Norwin’s three.
Knights sophomore keeper Reed Hoyle made six saves.
Plum seniors Zac Carnahan and Eli Wastchak left the game with injuries in the second half and didn’t return.
Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.
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