A year after staying home at the end of the regular season, the Hampton High School boys' soccer team is headed to Hershey.

Last season's postseason miss, only the second time the Talbots had been left out of the playoffs in six years, will be followed by a trip to the PIAA title game, only the second one in program history and the first since 1990.

Hampton will play District 1 champion Octorara at 2 p.m. tomorrow for the PIAA Class AA boys' title.

The Talbots continued their run through the playoffs Tuesday with a 2-1 win against Palmyra, the third-pace team from District 3, at Hollidaysburg. After a 1-0 loss to Mars in the WPIAL title game, Hampton started its PIAA playoff run with shutout wins against Clearfield, 2-0, and West Allegheny, 1-0 in overtime.

The WPIAL title game marked the third time Mars had knocked off Hampton this season. And Hampton coach Chuck Kelley, and probably the entire Hampton team, was expecting to see the Planets again in the PIAA semifinals. Kelley did not scout anyone else after having seen Mars twice during the regular season in section matches and in the WPIAL title game.

"We planned on playing Mars," Kelley admitted. "With the upset on Saturday [Palmyra edged Mars, 2-1], I was making phone calls Sunday to find out some stuff on who we were playing."

It did not take long for Palmyra to find out about Hampton.

Five minutes into the match, senior co-captain Zachary Carter collected a long volley from another senior co-captain, Chris Hunkele. Carter sent a volley into the upper corner of the net.

"The whole talk before the game was 'Let's go after them,'" Kelley said on the bus ride back from Hollidaysburg.

"We wanted to play our [style of] soccer and I told them 'Don't be afraid go out and play.' Zach volleyed it into the net and there was nothing the goalie could do."

Hampton went into the locker room holding onto a 1-0 lead, but Palmyra struck halfway through the second half to tie things up. With less than five minutes left to play, it was Carter again, this time taking advantage of a rebound and knocking it in for the deciding goal and helping send Hampton to Hershey.

The Talbots headed to Hershey on the verge of a 20-win season. They are 19-4 overall going into the state title game. The only other team to defeat Hampton besides Mars was Class AAA Butler, 2-1.

"It has been an outstanding year, the kids have bought into trying to play good soccer," Kelley said. "They believed in one another and putting their own goals aside."

Last season, a 4-2 loss to Freeport near the end of the season denied Hampton a trip to the playoffs. Scoring goals was a recurring problem last season for Hampton.

"We were a good team last year; we just couldn't score," Kelley said.

"That is what hurt us. We were competitive with everyone. These kids have just rallied. The juniors and sophomores from last year have stepped it up."

Kelley said Carter's best position is actually defense, but with the Talbots' need for more scoring, Carter was moving around the field from midfield to forward.

"Zach is an amazing defender, but with us needing to find goals, we had to move him," Kelley said. "We play him as a forward and midfielder and he is not getting the fair assessment of what his abilities really are."

Carter along with Hunkele provided Hampton with one of the best one-two scoring punches in the WPIAL. Hunkele started as a center midfielder.

"Chris Hunkele is another kid who people really have not put a lot of weight into his ability," Kelley said. "He is a strong midfielder who wins balls."

Goalie John Lichina has been a rock in net all season long for Hampton. He played a hand in four postseason shutouts and may have had his best game in the 2-1 win against Palmyra.

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