Candelario’s game-winner was a picture worth framing for the Tigers

Josh Candelario has been watching Fleetwood soccer for as long as he can remember.

When his big moment in the spotlight finally arrived the junior wing knew exactly what to do: He found the nearest television camera and ran straight towards it, to make sure he got his 15 seconds of fame.

First, though, he made sure to deposit a goal into the back of the net, the difference-maker in the Tigers’ 1-0 win over Oley Valley in a BCIAA semifinal Tuesday night at Ray Buss Field.

“I knew when the ball was coming what I had to do,” Candelario said of his magic goal, not the 40-yard sprint that ensued as he looked for the nearest camera lens.

The top-seeded Tigers (14-5) advance to the Berks championship game Thursday at Tulpehocken against seventh-seeded Exeter, a 1-0 winner Tulpehocken. The boys title game will be part a championship doubleheader and follows the 5:30 tip between the Wyomissing and Wilson girls.

Tigers coach Keith Schlegel wasn’t so sure back in August his young team would be playing for any championships this season. There were a lot of parts to replace from a team that reached the Berks and District 3 Class 3A championship games.

“We had a lot of things to change,” Schlegel said. “We have guys that played a lot, but they’ve never owned a position on the field as a starter, and that takes a lot of coming together.”

It came together pretty quickly for the Tigers, who lost just one game in league play, by a goal to Gov. Mifflin in a crossover. They went 8-0 against their Berks II competition and copped the No. 1 seed in the tournament.

It’s been a little tougher in the playoffs. They needed a pair of goals from freshman Davin Millisock in a one-goal comeback victory over Brandywine Heights in the quarterfinals.

Against the fifth-seeded Lynx (13-5-1) it was tough sledding again as they went without a goal for more than 60 minutes. Oley’s speed gave them fits, and they had to dodge some dangerous scoring opportunities in the first half.

“They’re a good team,” Schlegel said of Oley Valley. “Every time we’d lose the ball, it was like instant fast break for Oley. It’s tough. Those two guys up top are just so dangerous. Every time the ball’s in the air you’re like: ‘Oh, no, Chase (Reifsnyder) or Danny (Turchi) is gonna run by us.’ “

The Tigers had just four shots on goal — one of them in the first half. It was evenly played throughout, take away a few seconds when Candelario found himself alone on the left wing, about 28 yards out with 18 1/2 minutes remaining.

He knows his coach like to be aggressive with the ball and to put shots on goal, and he didn’t hesitate.

“No,” Candelario said, when asked if he considered passing the ball back into the middle of the field to give a teammate a better look at the goal. “I knew.”

He had watched how Lynx goalie, Tyler Drobek, positions himself, and thought he saw an opportunity.

“As soon as I got the ball (shooting) was the only thing on my mind,” he said.

Schlegel brought Candelario off the bench early in the game to give his offense a boost. He likes his speed and ability to get around the edges, and Candelario did that immediately.

“He got a corner kick right away,” Schlegel said. “He had a cross right away. It’s important for us to get around the edges; that’s how we play.”

The Lynx managed just four shots. They penetrated deep into the crease several times but the Tigers’ dug in defensively and held firm. Little got past them, and keeper Mitch Barr didn’t have to play hero too often.

“I knew that when they get the ball into the middle they’re dangerous,” said junior defender Baxter Biehl, who made a key stop in the closing minutes. “I knew it would be my job to clear it out of there.”

The Tigers are back in the championship game for the second straight season, and third time in four years. Schlegel downplayed last year’s championship game loss to the Lynx 5-1 as a motivating factor, but his players didn’t.

“We’ve been talking about what went down on our field last year, and this year we had to bring it in,” Biehl said. “We knew we could not let them beat us on our home field. The last two years in the county they’ve been on top of Fleetwood. This was our year.”