vikingssportsn As the 2026 regular season starts to wind down, the Hopewell HS Boys Soccer team is battling for the 4th and final playoff spot in Class 2A/Section 2.
North Catholic, Beaver and Ambridge have the first three spots locked up as Hopewell, Mohawk and Elwood City compete for the final spot.
On Monday, thanks to continued stingy defense and impressive play from goalkeeper Tallon Coleman and a special day from Quincy Sannan, the Vikings picked up an important victory over Riverside.
With the win, here are the updated standings in Section 2.
North Catholic: 7-0-1
Beaver: 7-1-1
Ambridge: 6-2-1
HOPEWELL: 4-4-1
—————————
Mohawk: 4-5
Ellwood City: 3-5
South Side: 2-7
Riverside: 0-9
Hopewell wasted little time jumping into the game offensively, finding the back of the net within the opening few minutes. Nykyeron Leonora started the opportunity with a shot that the Riverside goalkeeper was able to get a hand on, but Sannan was there to collect the rebound and finish the play, giving Hopewell the early 1-0 lead.
Hopewell continued creating offensive runs even when they didn’t result in goals. Aggressive defense from Aaden Gonzalez helped disrupt Riverside before Dylan Ankrom cut off the middle and sent the ball forward to Jayden Shoemaker, who went 1-on-1 before dishing it off to Sannan, who scored but it was called back for offsides.
Parker Hoth and Sannan would later connect on a touch-and-go sequence, while Elijah Persi-Jones used his speed to get the ball and move it to Sannan for another opportunity. Later in the match, on a corner, Hoth got his head on the ball before Shoemaker followed with an attempt that was stopped by the Riverside goalkeeper.
Riverside would get an opportunity of its own when Coleman came out of the box to clear the ball. Riverside regained possession and sent a shot toward the goal, but Coleman recovered and came up with a diving save.
Hopewell extended its lead to 2-0 on a special connection. Aaden Gonzalez would deliver a corner into the box, where Kaleb Gonzalez connected with a header for his first varsity goal, as his brother picked up the assist.
The offense continued to move the ball well, including a give-n-go sequence from Tyler Armour to Hoth, who would once again find Shoemaker, who got a shot on goal, but it was stopped.
The Vikings continued building from the back as Dominic Buchanan got a foot on the ball before Persi-Jones picked it up and moved it to Sam Wrzesniewski who would find another attempt for Sannan.
Right before halftime, Hopewell put together one of its strongest passing sequences of the game. Persi-Jones again found Hoth, who moved the ball to Sannan, who then connected with Gonzalez, who played it back to Sannan, who buried the shot. Hopewell now led 3-0.
Riverside opened the second half with offensive pressure however; Coleman came up with several saves along with getting defensive help from Buchanan, Persi-Jones, Wrzesniewski, Hoth, Justin Dennis and Elijah Rodriguez, who broke up chances for Riverside.
Wrzesniewski would continue to provide defensive pressure throughout the match while also finding opportunities to contribute offensively. Early in the second half, he would deliver a good cross into the box to create another good Hopewell scoring opportunity. Buchanan was also able to connect several deep passes and free kicks from the back line all the way to Hopewell’s offensive zone.
Sannan would eventually strike again on a pass from Caine Sullivan, who battled in the midfield to get the ball to Sannan. Hopewell now led 4-0.
Hopewell locked it down in the second half defensively. James Pistorius would make several good defensive reads. One well played run would involve Pistorius who was able to find Gabriel Gold for a give and go back to Pistorius who would pass the ball to Josh Liptak for a scoring opportunity.
Another strong buildup started with Kaleb Gonzalez finding RJ Arthur, who used a back foot pass to connect with Aaden Gonzalez, who got a shot on net, but the Riverside goalkeeper got a hand on the ball to send it over the net. That play resulted in a corner as Liptak would take it and placed it well in the Hopewell box, but Riverside would break up the play.
The match ended as Coleman recorded another shutout and Hopewell came away with very encouraging passing sequences between defense and offense for the Vikings.
Hopewell will return to action tonight as they host first place North Catholic. The JV match will begin at 6 PM, while the varsity will get underway at 7:30 PM.
