KINGSTON — Wyoming Valley West answered Delaware Valley’s first goal Tuesday night very quickly.
The Spartans, despite pressing hard, couldn’t find a solution to the second one.
Reagan Decker scored on a header with 14 minutes to play as Delaware Valley defeated Valley West 2-1 for its first District 2 Class 4A boys soccer title since 2020.
As the game ended, a brief melee broke out between the two teams near a field hockey goal well off the playing field that left two Spartans lying on the field. A Kingston Police officer was talking to a Del Val player afterward.
“We’re still trying to figure it out,” Del Val coach Aaron Stark said. “I was screened by everything that happened and they all went flying into the field hockey goal. Emotions were running high, it was a great game, I hope that doesn’t tarnish it.”
As for the victory, Del Val (14-6) will advance to the PIAA 4A state playoff where the Warriors will play the District 1 fourth seed on Tuesday. Valley West ended its year at 11-6-1.
Decker’s game-winner came on a corner kick by Declan Mead from the left side. He raced in from the right at an angle to knock in the score.
“Throughout the season, I’ve been just hanging around the far corner,” Decker said. “My coach was yelling (and) I was (going) ‘Shhh,’ because they didn’t know I was there. I just kind of run around the back post and most time when Declan Mead gets it over the keeper, I’m right there to finish it.”
Valley West answered Del Val’s first goal in just 12 seconds. The Spartans couldn’t get a tying goal in the final 14 minutes.
The Spartans had three solid chances. Noah Fetko had a shot deflected that resulted in a corner with 11 minutes left. Aidan Kaminski had a shot saved about two minutes later. Then in the final minutes, the Valley West fans thought they had a tying goal, but Noah Geisinger’s 40-yarder hit off the football goalpost crossbar and bounced in.
Del Val took a 1-0 lead at 36:36 of the first half on a goal by Jason Nagy. Valley West tied the score 12 seconds later when Kaminski connected on a hard grounder off a pass from Chase Evanoski.
Valley West also had some strong runs early in the game.
“We just couldn’t capitalize on them unfortunately,” Valley West coach Charlie Whited said. “Opportunities, you’ve got to take care of them. If you don’t take care of your opportunities, it can come back to bite you a little bit.”
The Spartans were also called for numerous offsides against Del Val’s flat four defense.
“We run a real high line and we live and die on the offside trap with a flat back,” Stark said.
District 2 Class 4A Championship
Delaware Valley 2, Wyoming Valley West 1
Delaware Valley` ` `1`1 — 2
Wyo. Valley West` ` `1`0 — 1
First Half: 1. DV, Jason Nagy (Mateo Alvarado) 36:36; 2. WVW, Aidan Kaminski (Chase Evanoski) 36:48; Second Half: 3. DV, Reagan Decker (Declan Mead), 66:59.
Shots: DV 11, WVW 9. Saves: DV 5 (Luke Peereboom), WVW 7 (Grayson Ader). Corners: DV 3, WVW 8.
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