“Get greedy and put one in the back of the net.”

Those were the words of Jim Thorpe boys soccer coach Mike Dudak during halftime of Thursday’s District 11 Class 2A quarterfinal contest against Pine Grove.

It only took one to break a scoreless tie, as the Olympians’ Timothy Dudak found the back of the right side on a free kick from the 15-yard line at 21:40 of the second half to give Thorpe a 1-0 victory and a trip to the tournament semifinals.

The first half saw the Olympians (12-4-3) having the advantage of ball possession, but Pine Grove had the better scoring chances. The Cardinals’ Ethan Hannevig had several rushes toward the net, but each time JT goalkeeper Jacob Geiser dashed out from his goal mouth to snatch the ball away from Hannevig and Vladimir Debruyn.

Pine Grove had five free kicks in the half, but couldn’t get to the front of the net and anything past Geiser. Thorpe’s best scoring chance was off the foot of Dawson Meckes, whose shot was saved by Cardinal goalie Isaiah Thompson. The PG keeper had first moved to his right before he dove to his left to make the save.

In the second half, the Olympians were more aggressive on the attack for the first 12 minutes. Noah Geiser’s shot sailed over the goal at the 34-minute mark. After the Cards had a brief period of offensive rushes to the net, the stage was set for Dudak’s game-winning goal.

“I told him if he ever gets a scoring chance in close with a free kick, he should hurry the shot before the defense and goalie get set,” said Coach Dudak. “And that’s exactly what happened. They weren’t ready when Timothy kicked the ball, and their goalie dove to his right too late.”

With 13 minutes left to play, Jacob Geiser made a big save. He appeared to be screened in front of the net, yet he managed to get his hand on a shot to his left side. Five minutes later, Geiser stopped Hannevig again on a point blank shot. Pine Grove continued to pressure JT’s defense, but each time it managed a shot, Geiser came up big.

“Our defense has been outstanding all year long,” said Dudak. “We’ve given up only 12 goals all season, the lowest in our league.”

Once Jim Thorpe took the lead, they clamped down on the Cardinals even more, but Dudak urged them to still take a scoring opportunity if one should come.

“I told them to take no risks,” he said, “but don’t park the bus.”

Thorpe’s best chance to take a two-goal lead was Gabe Heany’s point blank blast with three minutes to go, but it was saved by Thompson.

Thompson finished with six saves, as did Geiser for Jim Thorpe.

ONE PROUD DAD ... When asked how exciting it was for JT coach Dudak to have his son score the game-winner, he replied, “I was not his coach, but his proud dad when his shot went in.”

BEAT YOU TO THE BALL ... Geiser was outstanding in net for JT. Several times he rushed from his box to scoop up the ball and beat an attacker before he could get off a shot.

UP NEXT ... The Olympians now advance to play top-seeded Allentown Central Catholic in a semifinal game on Tuesday, Nov. 2 at a site yet to be determined. The Vikings sport a 14-3-2 record and have a 5-0-1 record in their last six games.