Manheim Township hopes a golden moment changes the trajectory of its boys soccer season
Jack Bowman just started running. Across the field, away from his teammates, as far as he could go until there was nowhere left to hide.
A few minutes earlier, when overtime began, Bowman's coach said he'd been waiting for a dogpile. One of those exhilarating moments when good fortune fell Manheim Township's way.
Bowman delivered a golden goal from about 25 yards to defeat Penn Manor 4-3 Thursday. That's when the run began.
"I didn't know what to do with myself," the striker said. "Eventually, I found a corner."
Then everyone found Bowman.
Here's the thing about dogpiles: They seem like a good idea until you're at the bottom of one. Bowman remembers getting punched by Andrew Aszmus and feeling the crushing weight of a dozen bodies or more. Then he screamed for everyone to unpile.
"It was crazy," senior Asher Kennel said. "Once it came off his foot, I was confident. When it hit the back of the net, I was like, 'This could be the turning point of our season.'"
Bowman started playing soccer when he was four. He started dreaming about being on Township's varsity once he reached seventh grade.
This is his last year. The season when it's all supposed to come together. It hasn't happened as planned for Township, which enters the week at 6-7.
A collection of hard-luck losses, including OT defeats against Warwick, McCaskey and Penn Manor, have left the Blue Streaks fifth out of six teams in powerful Section One of the Lancaster-Lebanon League.
"I feel like we've started to click with everything except the end result," said coach Kevin Baker, the man who requested the dogpile and then became part of it. "I told the guys we just need that one moment. We can look back and that's the moment it started."
Bowman was the perfect player to provide it. He's a captain along with Gaven Emig and the guy the team relies on for goals.
The senior had three against Penn Manor. It was his first high school hat trick. He last put three into the net as a center back for PA Classics in the spring.
When Bowman was growing up, he played different sports every year. The one he always played was soccer. That became his favorite.
"This is the thing I'm most passionate about," Bowman said. "When I wake up, the first thing I think about is practice or a game or what I want to do involving soccer today."
Township hopes the goal against Penn Manor alters the trajectory of its season. The Blue Streaks followed it up by defeating Exeter Saturday and are 12th in the District Three Class 4A power ratings.
The goal may alter the trajectory of Bowman's life. He has been contemplating whether to keep playing in college or focus solely on academics.
"From that game, I don't know, I think I'd enjoy it," Bowman said. "The feelings you get from the sport are unlike anything else. It might have changed my perspective for the next four years."
Township faced a tough rebuild this season. The Blue Streaks lost 10 of the 11 starters who reached the district championship game in November. The only returner was Kennel.
Keeping the tradition alive, leaving a legacy as Baker puts it, was placed on the shoulders of the seniors who remain: Bowman, Kennel, Emig, Aszmus, Chase Engle, Max Martenson and Zeke Eisenberg.
"The senior class is quality," Baker said. "They really are. Really good guys who are selfless and put the team first. Through the frustrations and the heartbreaks, they come back the next day. They keep working and picking guys up."
No matter how Township's story unfolds from here, the Blue Streaks will always have Bowman's golden goal as a lasting memory.
Athletic director Tim Hollenback recorded the celebration and posted it on the school's Instagram feed. Bowman said he watched the video more than once.
"That'll definitely be one of the moments I look back on and smile about," he said. "I'll relish it."
Except, maybe, for the dogpile.
