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Diaz's late goal helps Biglerville soccer advance past Oley Valley


Bryan Diaz pocketed the game-winning goal with 1:07 left in Biglerville's 3-2 victory against Oley Valley in District 3 Class AA boys' soccer preliminary round action Saturday afternoon at Musselman Stadium.

The winning goal came off a throw-in from Connor Griest. Jose Cernas slipped it to Diaz in close quarters in front of the net, and Diaz knocked it home.

"Connor threw it in towards me, like he does a lot," Diaz said. "It went to Jose and he knocked it my way and I ran and hit it in."

Biglerville (14-7) wasn't out of the woods, though. The Lynx had one solid scoring chance left in the final 15 seconds, but Cody Daron cleared that away after blocking the shot, and the clock ran down to zeroes.

Daron had tied the score on a penalty kick with 8:11 to go in the second half. He went to the lower right corner following a foul drawn by Jared Dotson-Jones.

"We've been giving up free-kick and set-piece goals all year," Oley Valley head coach Shawn Meals said. "We didn't finish our opportunities and they did. Give them credit, Biglerville is a good team."

Oley Valley (8-9-1) took a 1-0 lead with 34:04 to play in the first half when Nash Williamson knocked in a loose ball following a corner kick that produced a scrum in front of the Canner net.

The Lynx had a chance to double their lead 12 minutes later but Mitchell Thomas denied Sebastian Williamson's try.

Biglerville didn't create its first shot on goal until Brendan Shannon tied the score with 4:21 to go until intermission.

"We were fortunate to reach halftime tied," Biglerville head coach Jebb Nelson said. "Their defense did a good job of taking things away from us, especially in the first half. They had a stopper and a sweeper back there that contained us pretty good."

Sebastian Williamson put Oley Valley in front, 2-1, with 36:27 left in the match. He scored with a header finish after Ethan Laverdure popped a pass over Thomas as the keeper charged off his line to challenge.

Oley Valley held a 9-3 edge in shots on goal and an 8-2 advantage in corners.

"It felt like we were being outplayed today," Nelson said. "We weren't playing the same as we played when we beat Dallastown last week or even against Gettysburg when they beat us on Tuesday."

Speaking of Gettysburg, the Warriors — who, at 19-0, are the No. 1 seed in the Class AA tournament — are next up for the Canners. Gettysburg has beaten Biglerville by scores of 6-1 and 5-1 this season. The Canners get a third crack at 7 p.m. Monday at Gettysburg Middle School.

"We know how good Gettysburg is, they're great," Nelson said. "They've got a chance to win the state title this year. We're going to have to be on our game and everyone will have to be at their best on Monday night. We can beat them, but we'll have to play our very best to have a chance to."

Oley Valley11—2

Biglerville12—3

First Half — 1. OV, Nash Williamson, 34:04. 2. Big, Brendan Shannon, 4:21.

Second Half — 3. OV, Sebastian Williamson (Ethan Laverdure), 36:27. 4. Big, Cody Daron (PK), 8:11. 5. Big, Bryan Diaz (Jose Cernas, Connor Griest), 1:07.

Shots on Goal — OV 9, Big 3

Corners — OV 8, Big 2

Goalies — OV, Nate Boyer (0 saves), Big, Mitchell Thomas (7 saves)