No one on the Hampton High School boys' soccer team was born when the Talbots last reached the PIAA title game.

Yet this group of Talbots had all the experience necessary to reach the state title game and it did just that.

Hampton reached its first state title game since 1990, falling to Octorara, 2-1, on Saturday. The game capped a 19-win season that proved to be an improvement of 10 wins over last season.

There was no offseason for Hampton coming into this year. It was a continuous stretch of soccer that started after a disappointing regular season with no playoffs. Hampton's juniors and seniors played on the North Stars soccer club under-17 and under-16 teams coached by their coach at Hampton, Chuck Kelley.

Four seniors from Hampton playing with athletes from different area schools won the U-17 Boys' Premier National Championship in Virginia Beach in late July. The U-16 boys' team, made of up eight Hampton juniors, also reached the national tournament at Virginia Beach.

"You can see it paid off with where we are, the WPIAL final and the state final," Kelley said. "It is based on these kids' dedication year-round. They have seen some of the best competition around and that prepared them for the high school season."

The appearance in the national tournament was the second consecutive year for the players.

"We have had other teams go to nationals but two years back-to-back, that is quite an accomplishment," Kelley said. "Normally we have a couple months off in the summer but our players have a little different commitment.

"They want to play year-round. Not everyone gets to go to the national tournament. That definitely helped us get to the state finals."

The seniors who were a part of the U-17 team were Chris Hunkele, the Talbots' leading goal scorer, Zach Carter, Zach Mancini and Nathan Sobtka.

After a disappointing 9-6-3 season last year many would think Hampton came into the season with no momentum but thanks to the success of the club teams in the offseason, the Talbots came into this campaign on a high note. They nearly finished on a high note, too.

In the regular season Hampton finished 13-3 and in second place in Section 2-AA behind Mars. The Planets defeated Hampton twice in the regular season. In the playoffs Hampton defeated Mount Pleasant 3-0, South Park 1-0 and West Allegheny 2-1 to reach the WPIAL title game where it fell to Mars once again.

In the state playoff bracket Hampton shut out Clearfield, 2-0, and West Allegheny, 1-0, but after District 3 Palmyra upset Mars, the Talbots were able to avoid their nemesis. In the semifinals Hampton defeated Palmyra, 2-1, to advance to Hershey. In the state title game, Hampton fell behind Octorara 2-0 but had a chance to tie. Evan Wilson cut the deficit in half late in the second half but a missed penalty kick in the first half proved costly.

"They had two goals off throw-ins that we didn't defend well," Kelley said.

"They made some plays and we didn't. In the second half we were much better and we had some chances."

Reaching both the WPIAL and state final was a culmination of nine years of work for Kelley who started at the school with former coach Tom Geis back in 2000. Kelley left in 2005 to coach at Butler but returned the following season.

"I think it is a nice accomplishment for what we have been doing over the past nine years," Kelley said.

"For these players to be prepared to play at this stage, it has a lot to do with having a solid foundation. It has been the same philosophy that is why the program each year is a playoff contender."

Mike White's "High School Sports Edition" videos are featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.