Bentworth uses late goal to get past Sewickley Academy, win program’s 1st WPIAL soccer title

By: Greg Macafee
Thursday, October 30, 2025 | 9:21 PM

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Bentworth coach Tyler Hamstra and the Bearcats girls soccer team knew they’d have a chance to capture their first WPIAL Class A soccer championship Thursday night.

On a wet and rainy night at Highmark Stadium, it played out how they’d hoped.

With 1 minute, 33 seconds left in regulation, sophomore forward Brielle Dillon sliced her way through Sewickley Academy’s defense and finished off a pass from Madelyn Johns. Dillon’s shot, her fourth of the match, skipped through the goalkeeper’s hands and legs and trickled into the back of the net, earning No. 2 Bentworth (19-1-1) a 1-0 win over top-seeded Sewickley Academy (18-2).

“The defense was trying to stop me, so I just knew I had to shoot the ball when I had the chance,” Dillon said of her game-winning goal. “I got really lucky that it went in between her legs, but I think it had to do with the rain. I’m just really grateful that we were able to win.”

Hamstra added: “We joke a lot, and this isn’t to offend anybody. The girls are very well aware of it. But we say, ‘We can go out there and get a girls soccer goal.’ Something skipping fast on the ground, a ball in the air, something like that. It’s pretty fitting that’s the way it is because anything can happen on a wet turf field for sure.”

The Bearcats have been red-hot this season and carried a 16-game winning streak into their championship matchup. However, this season as a whole has been a culmination of the work that they’ve put in over the last few years.

“This group, when they were young, almost three years ago, we had a 14-year playoff streak and it was one of the biggest in single-A. It got lost, and they were so down,” Hamstra said. “The boys won the WPIAL title that year and they were like, ‘Someday, we can get there.’ We took a big step last year and then were able to get there this year. So, the journey means the world to me to be here. It’s absolutely fantastic.”

The Panthers didn’t make it easy, however. Throughout the first half, they controlled possession for the most part as freshman midfielder Claire Karsman and junior forward Emma Eannarino created several opportunities.

Nine minutes into the match, Eannarino ripped a shot from outside the 18-yard box on the left wing that was knocked down by Bentworth goalkeeper Julia Brandau to keep the match deadlocked. That wouldn’t be the only time Brandau would be called upon.

Karsman, who registered nine total shots and two on goal, earned her closest opportunity with just over a minute remaining in the first half when she ripped a shot from the top of the box. Brandau dropped to her knees near the right goal post and pushed it to the side.

“She was just awesome,” Hamstra said of his junior goalie, who made 11 saves. “She looked like a veteran out there and put so much work in this offseason because she knew it was going to be her time. It was awesome.”

To Bentworth’s liking, things started to open up in the second half and the Bearcats took advantage with counterattacks and free kicks.

Junior midfielder Bella Moyer came close on two different free-kick opportunities, sailing one just over the crossbar behind goalkeeper Gabby Edmunds and hitting it on the second. But, along with Bentworth, the Panthers had opportunities of their own.

With 25 minutes left in the second half, Eannarino sent a cross in from the right wing and found Makenzie Dice in the middle of the box for a header. Brandau was able to make the save with a goal-line stand.

Sewickley Academy’s closest opportunity came with around 18 minutes left in the match. The Panthers created a corner kick opportunity and sent a ball into the middle of the box. It was deflected in front of the goalmouth, pushed away by Brandau, and then cleared by senior defender Meredith Allender.

“If you were to measure it, I’d say about a hair,” Brandau said of how close the ball was to being a goal. “But, you know what? The most important saves are those goal-line saves where you just have to slide and get it out of there. I had to rely on my defender, Meredith Allender, to get it out of there, and she did it.”

Eventually, after multiple opportunities in the second half — the Bearcats had two shots in the first half compared to six in the second — Bentworth was able to break through when Dillon found space in the box.

The goal concluded a back-and-forth affair that saw Bentworth capture its first WPIAL title in program history. But, despite the nature of the contest, Hamstra and the Bearcats felt confident throughout.

“I felt like there was no way we weren’t going to win this because something was going to bounce out,” Hamstra said. “You could see the way everything was. Their attackers weren’t really getting good attacks or good combinations. They were really off their game a little bit because that’s one heck of a team. Coach (Gary) Weber does a great job there. But I just thought we were going to get on some type of ball. I told them, ‘This rain is a blessing.’”

After nearly capturing their first WPIAL title since 2004, the Panthers will advance to the PIAA tournament along with the Bearcats and look to extend their season in the state tournament.

Greg Macafee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Greg by email at gmacafee@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Tags: Bentworth, Sewickley Academy