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Boys Soccer: Dallas edges Tunkhannock in district quarterfinals

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<p>CLARKS SUMMIT &#8212; Pittston Area fell short in the quarterfinals of the District 2 Class 3A boys soccer playoffs, but Patriots head coach James Bell believes the group should be proud of what they&#8217;ve started.</p><p>No. 2 seed Abington Heights, backed by a solid defensive effort, shut out No. 10 seed Pittston Area 3-0 Wednesday afternoon.</p><p>The Comets will host No. 3 seed Dallas in the semifinals at 3:30 p.m. Monday.</p><p>&#8220;No (boys) team in the history of the program has made it to the second round of the (district) playoffs and where these kids were two years ago, when I took over the program, was not second-round playoff material,&#8221; Bell said. &#8220;Next year, we&#8217;re losing eight seniors, who all start, but I have 11 freshmen coming in. It&#8217;s going to be a battle, but hopefully we can come together as a group, build off this year&#8217;s success and come back even stronger.&#8221;</p><p>Abington Heights (14-1) took a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute when Jimmy Lefchak converted a penalty kick after Pittston Area was whistled for a foul inside the box.</p><p>Evan Florey gave the Comets a 2-0 lead in the 38th minute by placing a shot in the top corner of the net after controlling the ball off a direct kick from Cole Madera.</p><p>Pittston Area goalkeeper Kyle Mlodzienski made five of his seven saves in the first half to keep the Patriots within striking distance. </p><p>&#8220;Kyle has come up big this year,&#8221; Bell said. &#8220;He&#8217;s kept us in a lot of games all season, unfortunately our record doesn&#8217;t dictate the play but sometimes that&#8217;s just the way the ball rolls.&#8221;</p><p>Pittston Area (3-12-1) struggled to generate many quality chances on offense. The Patriots managed just four shots on goal, including an attempt on a penalty shot by Dominic Stella that was turned away by Comets goalkeeper Jackson Danzig.</p><p>&#8220;Today was a disappointment because I thought we could have competed a little bit better, especially in the offensive third of the field,&#8221; Bell said. &#8220;We just couldn&#8217;t keep our shape. The way we play, we like to intercept the passing lanes and build from the wings to the middle. If you can&#8217;t keep the shape, you&#8217;re not going to be able to get numbers forward in time because nobody is in the right spot.&#8221;</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Abington Heights 3, Pittston Area 0</strong></p><p><strong>Pittston Area`0`0` &#8212; `0</strong></p><p><strong>Abington Heights`2`1` &#8212; `3</strong></p><p><strong>First half &#8211;</strong> 1. AH, Jimmy Lefchak (penalty kick), 26:32; 2. AH, Evan Florey, 2:09. <strong>Second half &#8211;</strong> 3. AH, Florey (Luke Abdalla), 33:48.</p><p><strong>Shots &#8212;</strong> PA 4, AH 9. <strong>Saves &#8212;</strong> PA 7 (Kyle Mlodzienski), AH 4 (Jackson Danzig). <strong>Corners &#8212;</strong> PA 3, AH 5.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Robert Tomkavage</p><p>rtomkavage@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Robert Tomkavage at 570-704-3941 or on Twitter @rtomkavage.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Abington Heights blanks Pittston Area in D2-3A boys soccer quarters