Radnor High School | Archive | November, 2018

CHAMBERSBURG — Joe Caruolo has led a Radnor to a state final before, though with a twist.

Back in 2004, Caruolo was an assistant coach as the Raiders made it to Hershey, outlasting District 7’s South Park for the PIAA Class 2A title. The head coach then was Kyle Shilcock-Elliott, coaching his younger brother Keith, the youngest of three brothers named All-Delco.

Fourteen years later, Shilcock-Elliott long ago stepped aside from the day-to-day duties but stayed on to assist Caruolo, who after a stint coaching the Radnor girls team is the man in charge.

The fluidity of those dynamics speaks volumes about the community aspect that Radnor prizes. It also says a lot about how Shilcock-Elliott and Caruolo — contemporaries in school, All-Delcos at Radnor and Archbishop Carroll, respectively, who graduated in 1998 — work in unison.

“We recognize, understand and appreciate how much history means to us, both Kyle and I,” Caruolo said Tuesday, after his team beat Seneca Valley, 3-0, to advance to Saturday’s PIAA Class 4A final. “And we complement each other perfectly, so even when those roles are reversed, they’re not really, because we’re the same kinds of personalities that we were in ’04. To have the complement is huge. We really value and take great pride in the history of Radnor soccer.”

Radnor’s states berth will be the third in program history. It lost the Class AAA final to Fleetwood in 1980, led by legendary coach Bob Siemons. He was followed for another 14 years under Sam Holt, who mentored numerous All-Delcos (including the elder Shilcock-Elliott) and solidified Radnor’s standing among the area’s premier programs until he stepped down in 1998. The long-standing professional bond between Caruolo and Shilcock-Elliott, plus a rotating cast of assistants with experience in the community, is an extension of that continuity.

It’s no surprise, then, that Caruolo expressed his gratitude for that history that Holt preserved, for being able to step into the locker room at Chambersburg and tell his players that their accomplishment made them one of the best teams in a long line stretching back decades.

“To be a part of history and make your own history, that’s kind of what differentiates us from a lot of programs,” Caruolo said. “… It allows you to play for something special, to be part of that history.”

“This team has been a great group,” center back Bennett Mueller said. “We’ve all gotten along well together. (Caruolo and Shilcock-Elliott) have experience going through state playoffs in 2004, so they’ve definitely been there before and can help coach us to do the best we can.”

That level of engagement is necessary in an area like Radnor, a fertile recruiting ground for a plethora of private schools. And it’s helped inform the Raiders’ journey. Radnor (20-3-2) finished fourth in the Central League and earned the No. 7 seed in the District 1 tournament, requiring two away wins in playbacks to get to states as the district’s fifth and final entrant.

On the way to Hershey, they’ve topped the champions of District 3 (Cumberland Valley, 3-2), District 6 (State College, 2-1) and District 7 (Seneca Valley).

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Spring-Ford’s Sal Ibarra (12) possesses the ball while Radnor’s Eliot Hayes moves in to defend during Saturday’s game. (Thomas Nash – Digital First Media)

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Radnor’s Girls JV 8+ boat, composed of Brighton Dewitt, Tova Tachau, Maddie Johnson, Chole Sakowski, Avery Van Dusen, Isabella DiGiacomo, Audrey Margolis, Ali Bauer and Courtney Gallagher (cox) finished first, led from the start and looked back for 2,000 meters on a strong field. In the second half of the race Mount Saint Joseph and Villa Joseph Marie increased their stroke rate in an attempt to catch the Radnor crew, but Radnor rowing a lower, efficient rate extended their lead finishing eight seconds and one length of open water ahead of the rest of the flight.
Earlier in the afternoon the Radnor Girls Varsity 4+ of Madeleine Rubinstein, Amanda Vitt, Abigail Chapin, Abigail Frishman and Elena Owens (cox) advanced to the Braxton Family Trophy Final and finished fifth out of 21 overall.
Both Radnor Girls JV 4s finished third in the flights – the A boat was composed of Lindsay Eggert, Megan Frei, Taylor Stearns, Tara Osborne and Melissa Hun (cox) and the B boat was composed of Claire MacDonald, Kylie Slupe, Megan Miller, Sophia Hernandez and Florence South (cox).
One day earlier, at Frostbite Regatta on the Cooper River, the Radnor Girls JV 4+ and Varsity 4+ battled winds gusting 40 mph and whitecaps to finish second and third, respectively, in their flights. The JV 4+ boat included Lindsay Eggert, Megan Frei, Taylor Stearns, Tara Osborne and Caroline Spaniel (cox) and the Varsity 4+ boat included Madeleine Rubinstein, Amanda Vitt, Abigail Chapin, Abigail Frishman and Melissa Hunn (cox).

Radnor’s JV 8+ finished first at the Bill Braxon Memorial Regatta. From left is (top row): Courtney Gallagher (cox), Brighton Dewitt, Tova Tachau, Maddie Johnson, Chloe Sakowski, coach Margaret Gordon, (bottom row) Isabella DiGiacomo, Avery Van Dusen, Ali Bauer and Audrey Margolis.

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SOUTH LEBANON TWP. – When Ben Vollmer burst past Jack Lee, received a feed in full sprint and buried the shot in the back of the net, Lee felt he had some atoning to do.

Not two minutes later, the Radnor junior had accomplished just that with a goal of his own. The center midfielder’s Saturday was a microcosm of what many of the Red Raiders have done all season.

Radnor adjusted on the fly – to a blustery crosswind, to a State College team that struck first, to a full second half of defending – to notch a 2-1 win in the quarterfinals of the PIAA Class 4A tournament at Cedar Crest High School. The Raiders’ reward is a semifinal berth against District 7 champion Seneca Valley, which ousted Abington, 1-0, Saturday. Site and time are to be determined.

It’s the third time the Raiders, the fifth seed from District 1, have faced a district champ in states, eliminating District 3’s Cumberland Valley before taking down District 6’s Lions. As it has so often this postseason, Radnor found itself facing a deficit when Vollmer charged in past a stumbling Lee and latched onto a flashing through ball from right winger Marc Rodgers. Vollmer took a touch to wrong-foot a defender and lashed a shot to the far post that beat goalie Nate Congleton in the 14th minute.

“After that goal, I knew I slipped up there,” Lee said. “So I knew I had to get a goal back for us and get our energy back and get life for our team again.”

That Lee was in central midfield at all is a testament to his adaptability. He started the season at outside back, but the Raiders (19-3-2) have adjusted their core formation time and again. Ben Verbofsky has settled in at right back after stints in midfield. Bobby Kirsch hit the sidelines two weeks ago with an injury.

That’s why Lee, not the aerial presence that Kirsh or 6-foot-4 midfield mate Eliot Hays is, found himself in the six-yard box in the 15th as Bobby Hyrisko’s long throw rode the wind into a dangerous spot. Lee rose to nod it home cleanly, leveling the score 1:52 later.

With Hayes, Hydrisko and center back Bennett Mueller, the majority of Radnor’s goals this postseason have arrived via set piece. That’s not exactly the niche filled by diminutive midfielder David Azzarano, a creative player more comfortable with the ball at his feet than in among the trees. But Azzarano put his stamp on one of those set pieces in the 37th minute.

A corner kick had been cleared, one in which the Radnor bench exhorted Azzarano to fill the vacant space at the far post. So when Hydrisko’s ensuing long throw got a gusty assist, Azzarano heeded the advice, finding a pocket of green to his lonesome to plant a perfectly-placed header, rising just above goalie James Hook.

“I was like, OK, and I walked to the back post,” Azzarano said. “And then the ball came right to the back post. It was pretty much coach’s goal.”

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Radnor defender Josh Savadove, left, and goalie Henry Cooke, seen after the District 1 Class 4A second round last month, had another win to celebrate in the PIAA quarterfinals Saturday, a 2-1 victory over State College. (Pete Bannan/Digital First Media

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HERSHEY — The operative word for Eliot Hayes Tuesday night was “unbelievable.” Three times on the turf at HersheyPark Stadium, the Radnor midfielder dropped the “u” word, one for each goal the Raiders scored.

And the combination that Hayes offered on his two goals was a perfect blend of the textbook and the exceptional. Some might say, unbelievably so.

Hayes scored twice, including the game-winner in the 76th minute, as Radnor overturned a two-goal deficit to notch a 3-2 win over District 3 champion Cumberland Valley in the first round of the PIAA Class 4A tournament.

The Raiders advance to Saturday’s quarterfinals against District 6 champion State College, which toppled Norwin in overtime, 2-1. That game is at a site and time to be determined.

Radnor (18-3-2) is in that position because of Hayes. His winner in the 76th was by the book. The 6-4 midfielder rose at the near post to get his head on a perfect Jackson Birtwistle corner-kick delivery to the edge of the six-yard box. With Bobby Hydrisko setting the screen (read: fortuitously whiffing on a back-heel attempt) on the line, Hayes powered the ball through the bodies and into the net.

“All our corners were going high, which I like because I’m taller than mostly everyone,” Hayes said. “So I saw the ball come in and I jumped for it and I headed it. It was headed toward the goal and I flicked it in. And Bobby was here to let the ball go past him, which was great because the goalie didn’t know what was going on. It was unbelievable.”

Though the more consequential goal on the score sheet, Hayes wouldn’t have been in position to pound home the winner if not for, well, Hayes at the end of the first half. The Eagles (17-5) were running roughshod over the Raiders early with two goals in a 14-minute span. Dominik Nitecki netted the first on a superb passage of play that included his original shot getting blocked after the Eagles strung together a dozen passes. Then Nitecki played a magical cross-field ball from the right wing to the left channel for younger brother Patrick to sting a shot against the grain and make it 2-0 in the 27th.

But Radnor regrouped. It switched up its midfield formation to flatten out with three central mids, stopping Cumberland Valley from picking its way up the field level by level. And it summoned the toughness that results from the crucible of playbacks to nab District 1’s fifth and final states bid.

“We’re dogs. We come back, we fight,” Hydrisko said. “We know what it’s like to come back, so we never lose hope.”

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Radnor’s Eliot Hayes, here winning a header over Henderson’s Sam Martin in the second round of the District 1 Class 4A tournament, scored twice Tuesday to send the Raiders past Cumberland Valley, 3-2, in the opener of the PIAA tournament. (Pete Bannan/Digital First Media

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RADNOR — The celebration was on, and Jahmir Rider still had the football. He did not want to let go. You can’t blame him. Radnor’s top wide receiver caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Sean Mullarkey at the buzzer to send the third-seeded Raiders to a thrilling 27-25 victory Friday over No. 14 Marple Newtown in the first round of the District 1 Class 5A tournament. It was Radnor’s first playoff victory in school history. No. 11 Unionville awaits next week.

Even if was the school’s 100th, this will be one nobody soon forgets.

“There are no words for what just happened,” Rider said. “I can’t describe that. That is the greatest feeling in the world. I can’t. …”

He trailed off. He could barely talk. The Raiders (9-2) were down 25-21 with one minute, 48 seconds remaining. They had no timeouts and had to go 63 yards. They had spoiled three previous chances to put the game away. A historic season came down to this drive and Mullarkey delivered.

The senior quarterback survived a sack — remember this play — and got the Raiders to midfield. He connected twice with Teddy Girton to get to the 12. Two incomplete passes later, there were four seconds on the clock. One play.

“Someone caught it,” said Mullarkey, who legitimately didn’t know postgame that it was Rider who hauled it in. “I just couldn’t believe it.”

Radnor coach Tom Ryan said the play was a combination of two different plays he runs. He called for a spread formation and an empty backfield to give his playmakers some space. It was something they had never practiced. Girton and Rider both ran to the middle of the field and actually collided in front of a defender just as Rider caught it. The throw was on the money.

Once the touchdown signal came, the entire Radnor side rushed the field. Players, coaches, students, everyone. There were hugs, there were tears, there were looks of bewilderment. The first playoff victory in the first playoff game ever had a Hollywood ending.

“As far as excitement, as far as thrilling, I don’t think you can write it up any better than that,” Ryan said. “Our kids responded and I’m really at a loss for words right now. I’ve coached over 300 games in my career and this is at the top of the list.”

It almost didn’t happen.

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