Greensburg Central Catholic beats California in WPIAL playoff battle of short-handed teams

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Thursday, October 17, 2024 | 10:28 PM

Purchase Photo Options

Four soccer players, four cheerleaders, two cross country runners and two basketball players are moving on in the WPIAL girls soccer playoffs.

That is the makeup of the team at Greensburg Central Catholic, which cruised to a 10-0 victory over host California on Thursday night in a matchup of short-handed teams in the Class A preliminary round.

Both had only 12 girls in uniform. Both had to substitute sparingly, if at all. Yet there still was a stark contrast at Trojan Stadium.

GCC (6-7) is a longstanding power in WPIAL soccer, whereas this is the first time California (4-9-1) has fielded a girls team. The Trojans previously had a co-operative agreement with Monessen but managed to stand on their own feet this fall.

Both teams tiptoed around the odds and made the postseason, GCC to keep a 27-year playoff streak intact, California to set a foundation for future teams.

“There were a lot of times this year where we didn’t think we’d even have a team, and there were times we wanted to quit,” said senior forward Riley Kerr, who set a playoff career high with five goals to power GCC, which earned the No. 16 seed with the win and the right to play Springdale (13-1) for a third time this season.

“You have to work a lot harder with so few girls,” Kerr said. “There is no room for fighting or drama.”

GCC will meet top-seeded Springdale, a fellow team from Section 4, at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the first round at Freeport.

If the momentum carries over, the Centurions might have a shot at the Dynamos.

Seniors Addison Vacanti and Sophia Fisher each scored twice, and senior Sienna Voetsch also found the back of the net for GCC.

“The girls were nervous at first, but they settled down and played one of their better games,” GCC coach Derek Cuthbert said. “We had several different girls score tonight, which was nice to see. We finished our opportunities and the girls were clinical.”

Kerr, a St. Francis (Pa.) commit who upped her career goal total to 122, registered a first-half hat trick to give the Centurions a 3-0 lead at halftime.

The shots kept coming, and it was 6-0 just five minutes into the second half on goals from Vacanti, Voetsch and Kerr.

“I’m happy with the way we have played together as a team,” Kerr said. “I thought the second goal tonight calmed us down.”

California, which raised the bar for future teams by making the playoffs in its first season, was outshot 20-6.

“Our first year, to make the playoffs, with only one sub most of the year, it says a lot about these girls,” California coach Sarah Meiss said. “Our team has a lot of heart. They scored 10 goals on us, but we never stopped. When they came off the field, we could say, ‘Look what we built.’”

Junior Jayla Peterson, known for her exploits in basketball, played goalkeeper for the Centurions and made four saves to earn the shutout.

Cuthbert knows the climb will be steep against Springdale, which beat his team 9-2 and 7-1.

“We’ll have to stay disciplined,” he said. “If we do that, we can be on the field with them. We have to respect them, but we can’t fear them. Any given day.”

Cuthbert referenced last year’s first-round loss to South Allegheny as an example. The Gladiators were the No. 12 seed and knocked off No. 5 GCC, 2-1 in overtime.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: California, Greensburg C.C.