Cumberland Valley boys soccer bumps ticket back to District 3 4A finals over Wilson

MECHANICSBURG — All season long, the outside noise you encounter in this moment is something Cumberland Valley has inevitably had to contend with it. That usually happens when you come off a district championship.

And so far, the Eagles have worn their earplugs and kept their heads down. But now they can come out because the moment has come. Top-seeded Cumberland Valley is back in the District 3 Class 4A boys soccer title game after a 3-1 win over No. 4 Wilson at Rahal Field on Tuesday.

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The Eagles are one win away from repeating as District 3 4A champions and are in the hunt for their 11th District 3 banner overall.

Here’s how it all went down.

The stars

Three different Eagles found the back of the net as Sascha Sanders, Ben Metz and Chayse Snyder each put away one goal. Zac Slevin also had an assist and Michael Hoy made a pair of saves in net.

Trailing 3-0, the Bulldogs got on the board with 1:30 left when Tommy McFadden – a 2024 BCIAA All-Star selection – broke through for a late goal off a feed from Cole Kaufmann. Dylan Mummolo made three saves for Wilson.

Game-decisive moments

Cumberland Valley struck first in the 19th minute. Senior captain Jake Dussinger took a corner kick from the left side, but the Bulldogs defended it. Slevin immediately prepared for another corner at the other end, positioning himself and keeping the ball low near the pitch, where Sanders hit it for a 1-0 lead in the first half.

During the 58th minute, Metz took a snipe from more than 25 yards away. The ball ricocheted off the crossbar and curved in unassisted, stunning even the Eagles’ sideline as they took a 2-0 lead.

Snyder scored his goal on a penalty kick in the 66th minute to balloon Cumberland Valley to a 3-0 cushion.

Next

With the win, Cumberland Valley (17-1-1) advances to the District 3 4A Championship and will face No. 2 Warwick, a 3-0 winner over No. 11 Mechanicsburg, on Saturday at Landis Field at 3 p.m. Landis Field. 16-4-1) awaits his pairing for the opening round of the PIAA 4A tournament.

They said it

“It’s great for our entire team, especially our seniors. It’s great, all year we’ve tried to stay in the moment, take each game as it comes and try not to focus on the next one because it clouds what we’re trying to do. But now that we’re here, we’re excited. We’re ready to go. We are ready to win our second district title.” – Dussinger on his return to the District 3 4A finals.

“I saw I had a lot of space, I think they were a bit in the box, they thought we were going to play there and I just called for the ball. I thought, ‘Okay, I have so much room, I might as well give it a try.’ It was a great shot, I don’t think I could have done it again.” — Metz on his unassisted goal from more than 25 meters away.

“Our season is still alive. Most people don’t even play, so we’ll learn from this. We faced a very good team tonight and we didn’t give our best, but we got the players in place and I still think we can still have a shot at the final tournament.” – Wilson coach Moss Grande on looking ahead to the PIAA 4A tournament.

“We saw a few things, how (Wilson) defended, and at the end of the day Zac played a great ball-in and that caused some problems, and we talked about chasing the ball in different situations and those who bounce back, and Sascha just tied it up. What a great hit.” – Cumberland Valley coach Matt Billman on adjustments to corner chances.

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