COLONIAL PARK — With two elite defenses on the field, it’s not surprising that it took only one goal to win a District 3 championship.

Chambersburg, the No. 10 seed, blinked just once and top-seeded Warwick pounced. And that made the Warriors the Class 4A champions with a 1-0 victory over the Trojans in a game at Landis Field on Saturday evening.

Adan Barrientos

“Against a really good team like that, it’s really hard to be perfect for a whole game,” Trojan coach Corey Grove said.

Chambersburg (12-4-4), playing in the district final for the first time in the program’s 57 years, almost was perfect at the defensive end.

With just 17:11 left in regulation in a scoreless battle, Warwick’s Levi Hoover worked himself inside the Trojan defense when a teammate reversed the ball to him. Hoover took a shot that was saved by Chambersburg goalkeeper Tyson Shanholtz. But the rebound fell to Hoover’s feet and he was able to roll a shot into the goal before anybody else could recover.

“They have a rotation of five guys up top and they’re good,” said Trojan center back Adan Barrientos, who had an exceptional game. “We knew we had to contain them, and we did, except for that one moment … and they scored.”

Warwick (21-2-1) managed to get off 12 shots and Shanholtz made 5 saves, but the Warriors never had another clear-cut opportunity. At least 8 times, Chambersburg defenders were able to block a potential shot.

Grove said, “We told the defense it had to be patient and stay on their backs, so we didn’t give them much room. Our guys back there are relentless and they sacrificed their bodies to block those shots.”

Barrientos was joined in the back by Adrian Olvera, Will Smith, Noah Brena and Elijah Herbert.

The Warriors did a good job of winning the middle of the field, but the Trojans were effective at times taking the ball down the wings.

Twice in the second half, Chambersburg moved the ball down the right wing and got behind the defense. Both times, dangerous crosses — by Benny Interiano and Noah Mulewich — were stopped before a teammate could reach them because Warwick keeper Isaac Yerger read the play correctly and came off his line to grab the ball.

Yerger was also an integral part of the Warriors’ buildup, receiving many back passes and distributing the ball to teammates upfield.

“He might have been the best keeper we’ve seen so far,” Grove said.

Chambersburg possessed the ball pretty well, but was not able to create many chances. It had only 6 shots in the game and forced just two saves by Yerger.

Mulewich said, “We go into every game the same way — we believe we can possess the ball with anybody. Tonight, we were just unlucky to not put one in the back of the net. I’d say 100% we played one of our better games and we still believe in ourselves.”

“I wish we had created more chances, but we played fantastic,” Grove said. “But without Edwin (Ramirez, injured last week), our best midfielder, we had to move Mulewich back from striker, and that changed several pieces.”

Chambersburg will begin play in the PIAA Tournament on Tuesday against the runner-up from District 1. The pairings will be announced Sunday, but the Trojans will play on the road.

Grove said, “The guys didn’t want to hear this (after the game), but I tried to explain to them how proud they should be. No other Chambersburg team had gotten to wear these medals. And it was a very good performance.”

Warwick 1, Chambersburg 0
Chambersburg           0       0      —    0
Warwick                      0       1      —    1
Second Half
W — Levi Hoover, unassisted, 63rd minute
Shots — Chbg 6; War 12. Shots on goal — Chbg 2, War 6. Corner kicks — Chbg 1; War 2. Offsides — Chbg 1. Fouls — Chbg 3; War 5.