HORSHAM – Any boys’ soccer squad facing West Chester Henderson knows that Warriors’ keeper Dylan Arrison is a weapon with his foot on restarts, in addition to his acrobatics in goal.

District 11 champion Parkland, and head coach Scott Mang, were well aware of Arrison’s potential impact, and yet the senior was a truly dominant force on Tuesday evening in the PIAA Class 4A Semifinal clash at Hatboro-Horsham.

Arrison turned aside 11 shots on goal by the Trojans, and also delivered a play that had the crowd buzzing for a very long time: a key goal in the final minute of the first half from 64 yards out. That’s right, Arrison booted in a free kick from the other side of midfield to help power the Warriors to a 3-1 triumph and a berth in the state championship game on Friday.

“(Arrison) is next level. He was punting the ball 70-80 yards with the wind,” Mang said.

“When I saw it go in the net, it was one of the best feelings ever, especially for a keeper,” Arrison added.

Now 22-3-1 overall, Henderson’s only loss in its last 20 outings came to eventual champion Haverford in the District 1 Quarterfinal. The third-seed from the district, the Warriors will face the District 1 runner-up, Abington, with the state championship on the line Friday, at 10 a.m., at Northeastern High School in Manchester.

“I am immensely proud of this group, especially our senior class,” said Henderson head coach Chaz Wilson. “Before the season they were a little bit worried about what this year could be. I told them after our opening weekend tournament, and we beat Central Bucks South – who is one of the most talented teams in the state – that if they embrace our identity, they have the goods to accomplish whatever they want to accomplish.”

It’s important to remember that the Warriors went undefeated in the regular season and won the District 1 crown in 2024. And eight key seniors were lost to graduation.

“In 24 games last season, we scored 74 goals,” Wilson pointed out. “Sixty four of those goals were by seniors and two were own goals. So the team on the field today returned eight goals from last year’s team.

“This is a different group with a different style. Kudos to these kids for embracing what we are trying to do.”

It was, however, a disappointing end for Parkland (23-2-1 overall). The Trojans’ seniors captured district titles in 2022, 2024, 2025, and advanced to the state final in ’24 before falling in double overtime.

“We are 34-0 in our league the last two seasons,” Mang said. “Our seniors put together four years. People play a lifetime and pray for a district championship, or to get to a state final.

“These guys don’t even know how good they have been. Maybe they can appreciate it in like 20 years.”

Immediately after falling behind 1-0 early, Henderson turned the momentum around quickly with a pair of goals in a 4:17 span of the first half. The comeback started with the equalizer from senior Ralph Mendoza on a follow off a free kick.

Moments later Chase Reitnour put Henderson ahead for good on a similar play, where a free kick bounced off the near post and the sophomore defender found the back of the net with 20:04 on the clock.

“I told the boys at halftime that sometimes you need to make a bogey on the first hole,” Wilson said. “It kind of gets rid of the nerves and settles you in to get to work.

“After (Parkland) scored, we buckled in, put them under a lot of pressure and poked a couple in. That gave our boys confidence.”

And then, with 18.9 seconds on the clock, Arrison booted it in, on the fly with the wind at his back, from an astounding distance on a free kick. Arrison took the kick from his own 44 yard line and Parkland keeper Matthew Feiller got a piece of the shot but was unable to control it.

“Dylan put it in a tough spot and it was a tough ball to judge by (Feiller),” Wilson said.

“That ball coming over the top, that thing was knuckling, coming from a long way and in the lights,” Mang added. “(Feiller) didn’t know whether to punch it or try to catch it.”

Arrison entered the day with four assists on the season. But afterwards he acknowledged that it was his first goal, as a goaltender, since he was playing under-10 soccer more than seven years ago.

“This whole season I’ve wanted to score a goal,” he said.

With a fierce wind at its back for the first 40 minutes, Henderson had a 4-0 edge in corner kicks and a 6-2 advantage in shots on goal.

“That wind was horrible,” Mang said. “If it was 2-1 going into the second half, I thought we’d be OK.

“We chose to have the wind in our face for the first half. If I had to do that over again, I would probably flip it. But the kids wanted to do that because we wanted the wind at our back in the second half.”

West Chester Henderson goaltender Dylan Arrison (0) battles Wyoming Valley West’s Maks Iracki (10) during the PIAA Class 4A First Round of the State Playoffs on Nov. 4. FRANK LAURI / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

In the final period, the Trojans dominated the play, but were unable to score again. With seniors Lincoln Fritz and Anthony Bautista leading the way, Parkland peppered Arrison with nine shots on goal, but failed to get one past him. The Warriors did not register a shot on goal in the second half.

“I was hoping we’d score one more because the wind was a beast,” Wilson said.

“Our team identity is on defense, and when the wind is howling that hard, it has a huge impact on the game. We had a lot offensively in the first half, and we had nothing in the second half.”

Fritz notched his 17th goal of the season in the opening nine minutes of play with a shot from distance that found the top left corner of the net for the Trojans’ lone tally.

“Sometimes you just run into a better team, and Henderson is an awesome team,” Mang said.

“Theire back line is tight, and they had eight or nine (players) behind the ball the entire second half. And at that point up two, you can defend a little bit more.”

Wilson added: “Parkland is a very good team. They are powerful offensively. And even though we are a good defensive team, they are from a different district, so you never know what you are going up against.”

Arrison is one of a dozen seniors on the current roster, along with other standouts like captain Jack Overton and defenders Jake May and Ben Bailey among others. This group has now accomplished something that the 2024 seniors never did: a spot in the PIAA State Championship Game.

“I’m not surprised one bit,” Arrison said. “Technically, if you would have told me back in August that we’d be in the state final, that’s a big achievement no matter how good your squad is.

“Coming off of last season, losing eight key seniors, I am just so proud of every single kid on this team. I can’t believe it, but at the same time I knew this team had the grit to get it done.”

West Chester Henderson 3, Parkland 1

W.C. Henderson 3 0 – 3

Parkland 1 0 – 1

W.C. Henderson goals: Mendoza, Reitnour, Arrison.

Parkland goal: Fritz.

Goalie saves: Arrison (WCH) 11; Feiller (P) 6.

 

 

 

https://www.mcall.com/2025/11/11/arrison-henderson-top-parkland-to-advance-to-state-final/