Downingtown West beats Neshaminy

Another lopsided victory. Another shutout.

And another appearance in the PIAA Class AAA state championship.

The Downingtown West boys' soccer team secured that last night, defeating Neshaminy, 4-0, in the state semifinal at West Chester East.

"We know if we can play our game, we can beat anybody," said senior forward Chris Harmon, who scored three goals last night.

He has a point.

The Whippets (25-1) have outscored opponents by 60-4 since a Sept. 29 loss to West Chester Henderson. Last night marked their 19th shutout of the season.

Now, the District 1 champions face a familiar foe in Peters Township in Saturday's 7 p.m. final at HersheyPark Stadium in Hershey. The District 7 champion Indians defeated District 1 fourth-place team Central Bucks East, 2-0, in last night's other semifinal.

The championship is a rematch of last season's final, won by Peters Township.

The Whippets are looking for their first state title since the old Downingtown High split into two schools - Downingtown West and Downingtown East - in 2003. Downingtown won state titles in 1989, 1998 and 1999.

Last night's victory also enabled the Whippets, ranked No. 1 in Southeastern Pennsylvania by The Inquirer, to sweep this season's three meetings against the second-ranked Redskins (16-7-2).

It also marked Neshaminy's third semifinal loss in four seasons.

Dominating play, the Whippets had a 10-1 advantage in shots on goal. Downingtown West backup goalkeeper Pat Taylor (one save), playing in place of the suspended Bobby Rosato, didn't even break a sweat.

The game basically was over after Harmon scored the first goal in the 42d minute.

The Whippets extended their cushion to 2-0 on Andrew Solimeo's header in the 54th minute. Then Harmon added a goal in the 60th minute to put the game out of reach. His final goal made it 4-0 in the 68th minute.

Neshaminy 0 0 - 0

Downingtown West 0 4 - 4

Goals: DW-Chris Harmon 3, Andrew Solimeo.

Saves: N-Alex Smith 6. DW-Pat Taylor 1.