Abington defeated WC Henderson 3-1 in Friday’s PIAA 4A Tournament final to capture the program’s first ever state title. Andrew Robinson was there to capture all the action. (Photos courtesy of Andrew Robinson)
PIAA 4A State championship final
Abington 3, WC Henderson 1
MANCHESTER >> The chant rang across the pitch at Northeastern Senior High School and echoed back.
“Randy Garber. Randy Garber. Randy Garber,” the massive crowd of Abington students, parents and loyalists chanted. “Randy Garber. Randy Garber. Randy Garber,” the echo replied as the force of the chant bounced off an apartment building behind the field at Northeastern Senior High School.
Friday was a historic day for Abington boys’ soccer, crowned state champions of Pennsylvania for the first time. It was also a milestone day for its patriarch, a fixture on the touchline for more than 30 years who marked his final stand with the one thing missing from his storied legacy.
“It was a long time coming,” Garber said on the field. “We were prepared for this, we trained hard for it, we scouted for it and to finally put it together and score the goals that we scored early, it was a treat.
“It could have been a drawn out 0-0 game going into overtime because both teams were very defensive-minded but we scored three times in the run of the play which is unusual for us.”
The Ghosts’ postgame on-field celebration included the current team, its coaches - several of them former players under Garber - Garber’s family and some of his extended family - namely his former players.
Henderson had been one of the best teams in District 1 all season, the Warriors holding the top seed in the Class 4A power rankings almost from the dawn of the season, but it wasn’t going to be their day. The Warriors were a good team but on Friday, Abington was leagues better.
The first 40 minutes the Ghosts put together on Friday was remarkable. They were on the front foot from the outset, all three of their goals were brilliant, the midfield won the ball and dictated play, and the backline and keeper George Hooven were a fortress.
“It’s amazing, I’m honored,” Ghosts junior co-captain and central midfielder Sean Westmoreland said. “That’s one word I can say, I’m honored to lead this group and be a part of this group. I don’t know what I’d do without them honestly.”
From the early ball that fullback Kevin Kelly lofted in to force a save, Abington was hunting. The field at Northeastern, an interim fill-in host this year with Cumberland Valley’s Eagle View Middle School unavailable, might have been tailor-made for Abington with its tight length and narrow width which seemed primed for some continued set piece mastery.
Instead, all three of the Ghosts goals came from the field, implementing a mix of bravado, skill and tenacity.
Cooper Blynt’s came first. The sequence started off a ball that Westmoreland played in off the right side that both Blynt and a Warriors defender jousted for just inside the 18-yard box’s perimeter.
Blynt swung through with his right foot, the ball instead clipping both players and emerging behind the defender as Blynt broke through, re-loaded onto his left foot and fired with pinpoint accuracy into the upper 90. It was a wonderful goal and one the striker was still trying to put together after the match’s conclusion.
“We clashed, we both tried to kick at the same time, I was going for the shot and he kind of blocked it, but it bounced around and with my left foot, pretty much perfect to the top corner,” Blynt said. “It’s what you gotta do.
“I’ve been playing soccer since I was four years old, I feel like it came naturally to me but, oh my god, that was probably the best moment of my life, I would guess.”
Blynt’s goal came with 25:24 left in the first half. Abington threatened again in short order when Christian Hinkel put a header on target off one of Carter Shannon’s patented long throw-ins, but the lead would stay at one a few more minutes.
Then it was Hinkel taking a turn and heading upfield on a marauding run. The power forward, who came in as a sub, orchestrated an electric effort as he touched through a pair of defenders, angled in toward goal and launched a blast that even a valiant try by the Henderson keeper couldn’t deny to make it 2-0 with 17:44 left before half.
“They’re really good, they’re in the state championship, but at practice and in the last few games, I’ve just been gaining more and more confidence to dribble and take people on,” Hinkel said. “I went at them, I got a bit lucky and finished. It was amazing.
“At practice, I scored a goal that was quite similar just a few days ago, so I was really feeling confident, and I wanted to score.”
Hinkel didn’t have an easy season. A bad toe injury sidelined him for a while, and even in the state playoffs, he was still battling some nagging issues, but every time he stepped on the field, the physical forward seemed to influence a game.
His efforts on Tuesday only solidified what was trending toward a very good morning for the Ghosts.
“I knew I had it in me, I knew I could play at a high level and I’ve always felt like I was one of the best players on the team,” Hinkel said. “It was states, this is my last time to show it and contribute to the team so I just gave everything I had and it paid off.”
Hinkel would factor into Abington’s third goal as well, one that embodied a bit of everything this Ghosts team prides itself on. Shannon again launched a throw-in, this time down the touchline as opposed to across the field, that Hinkel was able to settle in.
His initial attempt to play the ball was blocked, but Hinkel recovered and seeing a flash of a black shirt across the box, he sent one across to the far post.
That’s where Jaza Vasquez would meet it. Vasquez is a technical wizard with the ball at his feet, but this effort would require something different, and Vasquez met the moment with a leaning header that finished the play with 7:20 left in the half.
“No one knew I was going to score a header but you gotta do what you gotta do,” Vasquez said. “That meant diving in the box. The ball was right there so I dove for it.
“This team, we’ve been hustling all season, the coaches told me all season if the ball is on the other side of the box, I have to get in and finish.”
Hinkel could have taken the ball himself after the deflection. After all, it had worked earlier in the half, but the forward didn’t want to mess with a good thing.
“I kind of saw Jaza in the area, I definitely saw a jersey, and I trust my guys to finish,” Hinkel said. “These last couple of games we’ve been playing with a completely different level of energy, and we were saying before the game if we came out the way we’d been playing the entire state playoffs, no one could stop us.”
Abington finished the season 22-2-3. The Ghosts only losses came to Haverford, one in the first game of the season and the other in the District 1 title match on Nov. 1, which Westmoreland called a tipping point.
The junior captain knew the rest of the season would hinge on how he and his teammates responded to the loss and over the last two weeks, that response has been emphatically on display.
“That gave us a lot of motivation going to states,” Vasquez said. “We knew we could win it. We knew we were a good team. We just had to prove it.”
“We’ve been so hot recently,” Blynt said. “We just won 4-1 against a team (Seneca Valley) that I think MaxPreps had ranked No. 14 in the country. I scored two goals against them, and we’ve just been on a roll, we’ve played so great recently.
“I feel like it led into this, I knew it was coming.”
Garber could tell his players were dialed in.
“They were hungry, they really, really wanted it,” the veteran coach said. “It was a good, good game. These guys wanted it a whole bunch because it had been so long.”
Hinkel said getting the first state playoff game at home was massive, the Ghosts had a big crowd and they scored a few goals to re-ignite their confidence. They didn’t slow down after that, twice making a nearly two-and-a-half hour drive to Chambersburg to beat the two best teams in the WPIAL then finishing the run against a quality Henderson side.
“We told ourselves, ‘We’re not losing another final,’” Westmoreland said. “We came all the way here, this far, we’re not losing. That was the mindset and of course, Garber, right, in one of his last games, he deserved everything and we played for him.”
Prior to the opening tap, Henderson had the bigger student section. The Ghosts players weren’t worried.
They knew reinforcements were on the way, a couple of their fan buses delayed on the almost two-hour ride up to Northeastern. As the match got underway, a stream of maroon-and-white clad Abington supporters filed in, the section reaching its zenith just as the scoring started.
“We knew there were going to be a lot of people, we couldn’t even get all our fans out here,” Hinkel said. “The buses were late, but we could see them all streaming in. The fans are everything, we’re so thankful for everyone that supported us.”
Abington had thoroughly dominated the first 40 minutes, but there was a lot of match left. Henderson was totally capable of taking the game back so there was no early coronation at half, instead, the Ghosts harped on what they needed to do to finish it off.
They won the first 10 minutes of the second half and while it wasn’t a clean run to the final whistle, the efforts of Westmoreland, Owen Gesing and Dennis Kozyak in the middle continued to keep the Warriors from pushing everything forward.
“In the speech, I said there were 40 minutes left in the season no matter what, there’s 40 minutes in some of these guy’s careers, 40 minutes, let’s make the most of it,” Westmoreland said. “Let’s fight, let’s come out on top and let’s put a stamp on Abington history.”
If they needed any extra push, the players needed only to look over to their sideline.
“The motivation was right there, we were doing it for Garb,” Vasquez said. “He’s a great coach and we know it was maybe his last year, so we were doing it for him. We did it together, as a family.”
At the back, (Carter) Shannon and Kyle Kretschman were terrific in the air as the Ghosts had to defend seven corner kicks. Senior co-captain George Hooven also played strong in the box, only conceding a late goal on a penalty kick after a handball inside the 18-yard barrier.
Hooven anchored a pretty robust Ghosts defensive unit all year but amazingly, it was only his first season playing between the posts for the varsity group.
“My sophomore year, I played keeper for JV but last year I played the field for varsity,” Hooven said. “We just trusted each other and talked to each other. We’re a family, it all comes together that way.”
Garber has had other talented teams. A few of the best players he’s had were there on Friday. This group had its own transcendent characteristic.
“They liked each other, they bonded together, they trained together, they were a close-knit group,” Garber said. “We only have eight seniors, it’s a big junior class but they just seemed to jell and as the season went on, they only got better and better. Some of the big players like Cooper and Hinkel the last four games, they came out of their shell.”
“Everybody was together, everybody is a family,” Westmoreland said. “Every single one, I would die for, I would fight for. Everybody would say the same.”
The ending on the field may not have been as smooth as the Ghosts wanted, but their ceremonial dousing of their coach was. As the final 10 seconds approached, the players poured a cooler over Garber’s head - the longtime coach venting that most of it went in his ears - before storming the field in jubilation.
“We had to end on something special for him,” Blynt said. “We had to win something for him, so we won this.”
Abington’s last team state title in any sport came in 1981. By any measure, Friday was a day for the history books.
The performance more than matched it, as did the echoes across the field celebrating the man who led them there.
“We’re the No. 1 team in the state,” Hooven said. “That’s all you need to say, right?”
FOR GARBER
The passing of the torch is a symbolic moment, but a truly strong transition is one that’s implemented over time. That’s been the case the last few seasons at Abington, where Garber has ceded more and more to his protege Isaac Pitko, an assistant coach and former player.
Next year, Pitko will lead the Ghosts as Garber announced Friday he plans to step down. His own children are grown, his granddaughter Addison Hayden just finished her high school career at Abington and will be off to college and it felt like time.
As they crossed the field to join the team for medals and the trophy presentation, Pitko put his arm around Garber’s shoulders and shared a few words with his mentor.
“It’s a good finish, it’s a good end,” Garber said. “Isaac is going to take over next year. He’s got an excellent team coming back.
“I have no idea what I’m doing, whether I’m going to stay and be part of it, I haven’t decided yet. I have to talk to my family and see what’s going to happen, but he will be just the fifth coach of Abington in 102 years.”
The players had an idea they were possibly taking the field for a final time with Garber as their head coach.
His impact is felt across the roster.
“He’s the best coach I’ve ever had and I’m pretty sure it’s the same for most of these guys here too,” Blynt said. “He’s so influential. He’s played in so many professional games, played in college games, he knows what he’s talking about and when he talks to you, it benefits you to listen.
“It means so much to us, it was great, I was so happy.”
The final few minutes of the match got a bit chaotic with Henderson’s PK and a yellow card on Abington spotting the Warriors another dangerous free kick but they held on. That frantic finish was all washed away with one motion too once Garber got drenched.
“The last couple minutes were actually a bit stressful but the last few seconds, we knew we’d finally accomplished it and Garber had finally accomplished it,” Hinkel said. “He completely deserves it, he’s the greatest coach I’ve had.”
In a unique gesture, Garber had all his assistants line up across from the players in the medal line. After each player got their medal from Garber, they went down the line of coaches for a handshake or hug before walking by the fan section and back into line.
“It was one of the best feelings I’ve ever had,” Westmoreland said. “He deserves it so much, I’m so happy for him, he’s the best coach ever.”
After the team got the trophy and took its group photo, the group on the field made sure it went to Garber so he could raise it himself.
“He deserves it, he should have more, but he deserved this one,” Hooven said. “That was our motivation this week, let’s get Garb his state title.”
Scoring Summary
1st Half
A - Cooper Blynt
A - Christian Hinkel
A - Jaza Vasquez (Christian Hinkel)
2nd half
H - Jack Overton (PK)
ABINGTON 3 0 - 3
HENDERSON 0 1 - 1
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