Conestoga, Salesianum finish in top 10 of final national high school rankings

Salesianum School and Conestoga both finished in the top 10 of the final USA Today/United Soccer Coaches poll for fall boys high school soccer released on Tuesday.

Salesianum School finished the season 17-1-0 en route to the school’s eighth straight Delaware Division 1 state championship. Their only loss was to St. Benedict’s, which finished the season ranked No. 1 after posting a perfect 19-0-0 record. The Sallies were dominate on both sides of the field, scoring seven or more goals in a game six times while keeping a clean sheet in 11 of their 18 games.

Conestoga finished ninth in the rankings after posting a 25-0-1 record en route to both a district and state title in Class 4A. The Pioneers won the state championship in 2016 but suffered a defeat in the district final to rival West Chester Henderson. The offense - led by Chris Donovan - scored five or more goals in 12 of their games while the defense held opponents to two goals over the final 10 games of the season. Their lone blemish was a 2-2 draw with The Haverford School on September 22.

Two other teams from greater Philadelphia received votes for the United Soccer Coaches Top 25: Class 3A state champions Lower Dauphin and Parkland (Allentown, Pa.).

Six teams from the region finished the season in the Region III rankings with Conestoga coming in second behind St. Benedict’s, followed by Lower Dauphin at No. 4, Parkland No. 6, Camp Hill No. 12, Chestnut Hill Academy No. 14 and Northwestern Lehigh 15th. Salesianum topped the Region IV rankings while Appoquinimink is 12th.

Conestoga finished third in the TopDrawerSoccer.com FAB 50 while Salesianum is 13th, Parkland 19th and Lower Dauphin 21st.