The Moon Area boys soccer team’s season-long winning streak came to a painful end Friday, as the Tigers dropped a 1-0 decision to Radnor in the PIAA Class 3A championship match at Eagle View Middle School in Mechanicsburg.
The loss was the first in 26 matches this season for Moon, which had been gunning for its first state title.
Friday was the second time Moon had reached the state championship game in soccer; the Tigers lost 4-2 to Council Rock in the 1985 title game.
This time, only one goal was scored, and it came just 2 minutes, 2 seconds into the match when Radnor’s Aidan Haas put one behind the Moon keeper off a corner kick.
Moon’s high-powered offense was limited to only two shots on goal – both by Tigers standout Aedan Costa – as Radnor goalkeeper J.D. Ball registered his 16th clean sheet of the season.
Moon coach Tyler Blake said that for whatever reason, his team came out flat, and that proved to be the difference.
“We didn’t mark on the corner three minutes into the game and they scored off that corner,” he said. “We never found a way to put one in and even it up.”
The Tigers’ only shot in the opening half was rebuffed by Ball in the 28th minute.
“Their goalie made an incredible save,” Blake said. “I don’t know how he got down on the ground as fast as he did.”
Blake said the Raptors pressed harder than the Tigers had anticipated but a couple of adjustments at the half made a difference.
“We were the better team in the second half,” Blake said. “But not good enough to generate enough quality chances to put in a goal. They were very clean in goal and very clean around the box. They won everything in the air. And they dropped a ton of numbers back, and we weren’t sharp enough to break them down.”
The Tigers were used to playing nail-biters; all three of their previous PIAA playoff games were decided by a single goal.
Moon made a late bid to tie the game and send it overtime, but a shot by Zechariah Balbach with less than a minute to play bounced off a Radnor defender and never reached the goal. Ball turned back another shot with just 20 seconds remaining in the match.
“The keeper came out and grabbed it,” Blake said of the last-ditch shot. “It was a quality shot.”
As expected, the Moon players took the loss hard.
“Initially, everyone was upset,” he said. “We knew going into the game we were 80 minutes away from completing a perfect season and winning a state title for the first time. But I told them afterward that this game doesn’t define their season or their legacy.”
Blake noted that Moon’s senior class went 62-6-2 over the last three seasons, a run that included two WPIAL championships – including this year – and a handful of state tournament victories.
“It’s tough to swallow today, but in time they’ll be able to look back on this season and the last couple of years and realize the impact they had not just on the program, but on the community and everyone who cares about them.
“They’ll realize it eventually.”
Moon athletic director Alan Alcalde said he and the entire Moon community were proud of the season the Tigers put together.
“Our school community is so supportive of our student-athletes,” he said of the team, which won its seventh WPIAL title. “They love to support their classmates and to see them go on this magical run this season was pretty special.
“We had students tailgating at a home playoff game, watching the championship game livestream during school (Friday), and even packed a fan bus to travel to Mechanicsburg for the game. To say how awesome our students and families are with supporting our teams is an understatement. It was just such a special experience and we were happy to have them along for the ride.”
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