BERWYN, Pa. (BVM) – The old motto in sports has been “defense wins championships.” For the Conestoga High School boys’ soccer team, the 2021 Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletics Association Class 4A state champion epitomized that saying.

Led by senior goalie Charlie Smith and center back Simeon Dorsey, Conestoga gave up just five goals and registered 21 shutouts. Between their Oct. 19 match against Great Valley to their championship game against Seneca Valley on Nov. 19, the backline did not give up a goal during that stretch.

Despite their dominant defense, Conestoga’s offense had to overcome an equally stout Screaming Eagles defense, who shut out 15 opponents themselves, during the championship game.

While scoreless in the first half, the Pioneers would get the lone goal of the game off a header from senior forward Jayce Tharnish two minutes into the second half.

After holding Seneca Valley scoreless for the final 37 minutes, the 2021 squad became the first team in school history to go undefeated for a whole season (26-0), while winning a Central League title, a district title, and a state championship in the same season.

During the celebration afterward, the only thing head coach David Zimmerman could feel was relaxed.

“We’ve gotten to a point where if we don’t win a state title, people would’ve been disappointed no matter what we did,” Head coach David Zimmerman said. “So once we won, it was more relief … for me at least.”

The high expectations set for Conestoga come from having won three state championships in 2011, 2016 and 2017 prior to the 2021 season. Between the 2011 and 2016 title was when the school made the transition from Class 3A to 4A.

Zimmerman, who won the 2021 National Boys Soccer Coach of the Year, has been coaching for 20 years and has racked up 301 wins. 

To keep the team consistently dominant, for Zimmerman, it comes down to two factors.

“We’ve had good players,” Zimmerman said. “You can only do so much with what you have and we’ve had relatively talented players.”

“The second thing is the coaching staff,” Zimmerman added. “I have had three assistant coaches for a very long time. We are very comfortable and we all know our roles.”

The 2021 boy’s soccer team was a veteran-laden team that suffered heartbreak during the 2020 season.

After losing in overtime of the 2019 PIAA quarterfinal against the eventual-champion North Penn (the last time Conestoga has lost), the Pioneers finished the 2020 regular season 14-0. Despite this, Conestoga did not make the playoffs because the Central League shut down the playoffs due to COVID-19 concerns.

Facing off against defending-champion Seneca Valley in 2021, the only thing on the Pioneers’ mind was revenge from what happened in 2019 and 2020.

“It was sort of a double revenge tour if you will,” Zimmerman said. “One of our motivations going into it was ‘Seneca Valley has our title and we’re going to take it back.’”

For their efforts, seven seniors received accolades following the season.

Senior Sebastian Tis led the way for the Pioneers, scoring 13 goals and dishing out 11 assists. For his efforts, he was named to the all-state team by the Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association. He also received Center League MVP and Pennsylvania Soccer Player of the Year to go with an All-American and the all-Main Line first team selection.

He was joined on the all-Main Line first team by Dorsey, midfielder Colin Wurth and Smith. They were followed on the second team by defenders Lorenzo Vargas-Clarke and A.J. Nordone to go with Tharnish on the honorable mention team.

While having many talented players on the 2021 roster, the Pioneers will have to replace seven of those starters due to graduation. Out of all the seniors that graduated, three of them are going on to play college soccer, including Tis’ commitment to Lafayette College.

Two junior defenders, Brady Costin and Tommy Barausky, received selections to the all-Main Line second and honorable mention teams, respectively. In the upcoming season, Zimmerman will have Costin, the MLS U16 Delco NEXT club member, playing midfield.

Another player returning that is expected to be in the starting lineup is Andrew Bennett. He was injured all last season, but looked good prior to his injury, according to Zimmerman.

With only a “handful” of starters returning, Conestoga goes into the summer with a roster of question marks. For Zimmerman, it’s just what he likes.

“We’re gonna have a lot of players that are unproven that will need to prove themselves,” Zimmerman said. “In some ways, as a coach, it’s more interesting to have a lot of question marks. It’s like a puzzle that you have to solve…The starters coming back obviously will be critical because they have more experience.”

Another factor Zimmerman credited as to why Conestoga is consistently at the top is the culture he and the coaching staff have in place. The new generation of players learn from the coaches and older generation of players what it takes to play for the Pioneers.

With almost a completely different starting lineup going into September, the same should apply as the five-time state champions look to run it back.

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