Burrell girls relish opportunity to play for program’s 1st state title

By: Michael Love
Thursday, November 13, 2025 | 5:09 PM

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The Burrell girls soccer team received a police escort for the final few miles back to the high school after Tuesday’s 2-1 victory over section rival Freeport in a PIAA Class 2A semifinal clash at Fox Chapel High School.

The Bucs didn’t let a seven-game losing streak to the Yellowjackets, including three setbacks this season, keep them from reaching their goal of playing for a state title Friday evening.

“Everyone who was there (at Fox Chapel) and even those who weren’t there and are still hearing about it, there is just so much excitement,” junior co-captain McKenna Miller said at practice Wednesday afternoon.

“Being in school (Wednesday) was a lot of fun.”

Juniors Katie Koehler, off a corner-kick assist from fellow junior Eva Wilson, and Makiah Buchak, off of a pass from freshman Kendall Coury, provided the necessary goals to lift Burrell past Freeport to an opportunity for gold.

Buchak, who has had a knack for scoring big playoff goals the past three seasons, leads the team with nine tallies. Wilson, a corner-kick specialist, leads the way with eight assists.

The Bucs, 15-7-2 overall, will take on District 12 champion Archbishop Wood at 7 p.m. Friday at Northeastern York High School.

“It was just a great opportunity to finish off an opportunity early on and set the tone in (Tuesday’s) game,” said Koehler, who also scored in Burrell’s quarterfinal win over Bedford on Saturday.

“We played with so much energy, at both ends of the field. We kept pushing the offense, and our defense played so well.”

Burrell, in the postseason for the 10th year in a row, is 11-5 in playoff games — WPIAL and PIAA combined — over the past three seasons. The Bucs will play for a state title for the first time.

“It’s just been the bond that all the players have and the love we have for each other,” said Miller, who owns a team-best four goals in this postseason and eight for the season.

“Our goal has been to go a step further each year. We got back to the WPIAL title game, and it was tough that we came up short there again, but we met our goal of going further in the state playoffs to where we are now playing for a state championship.”

Burrell’s run developed after it was slotted as the No. 8 seed for the WPIAL playoffs. The Bucs beat Belle Vernon in the first round before upsetting No. 1 South Park and No. 4 Mt. Pleasant to reach the WPIAL title game at Highmark Stadium.

The Bucs rebounded from the title-game loss to Freeport and began the PIAA tournament with a 2-1 win over Cathedral Prep. They avenged a 1-0 loss to the Ramblers in last year’s state first round and set the stage for the close victories over Bedford and Freeport.

“We are all pretty excited to be able to extend our season like we have,” sophomore co-captain Parker Moore said as a biting wind at Wednesday’s practice accompanied temperatures in the upper 40s, a far cry from the 80s and 90s the team faced preparing for the season in August.

“We always hoped to get this far, and the conditions in the middle of November come along with that. We don’t mind putting on extra layers and getting out here for practice. We’re doing it for a great reason.”

Team effort in goal

Senior Casey Brancato decided to play soccer this fall and earned the Bucs’ starting goalkeeper spot.

She helped lead her team to a 9-4-2 record with eight shutouts before suffering a concussion in a nonsection game against Plum late in the regular season.

Junior Leah Waldsmith, who scored seven goals in the regular season, took over keeper duties in the regular-season finale against Peters Township and stayed there as the WPIAL playoffs began.

When Brancato was cleared to return, it was agreed that Waldsmith, who has made some standout saves throughout the WPIAL and PIAA playoffs, would stay in net with Brancato at the ready should her keeper services be needed.

“Casey’s been the perfect teammate,” coach Frank Nesko said.

“ ‘Team above me’ is a good way to put it. Casey said she wanted what was best for the team. When she got healthy, I went up to her, and she said she and Leah had already talked about it. It was best, she said, that Leah stay in net. They made that decision together. It shows their maturity. She is ready to play, but she also is right there supporting her teammates.”

Waldsmith and the defense didn’t allow a goal until the WPIAL title game and surrendered just a single tally in each of the three PIAA matchups.

“I hadn’t played goal in a couple of years, but I still knew what I needed to do,” Waldsmith said.

“They threw me in to see if it was a good fit, and it has worked out. It felt good to get back into it. I knew I had to do it for the team. I’m glad I’ve been able to help the team win all of these games. We’ve all played with so much energy, especially in these state playoff games.

“Casey and I are very close, and she was so completely understanding about me staying in there. It was just the best decision for the team. We both knew that and talked a lot about it. This is her first year playing, and she improved so much.”

Seeing triple

For a couple of years before this season, a lot of talk surrounded the pending varsity arrival of the talented Coury triplets: Kendall, Peyton and Chase.

The freshmen were thrust into starting jobs and have made an impact for a youthful Bucs team with just one senior in the current starting lineup. That one senior is Mikayla Coury, who is not related to the triplets.

“I didn’t know that I would be starting at the beginning of the season,” said Kendall, a midfielder/forward.

“All three of us came in wanting to do what we could to help the team, just like anyone else. After we earned those starting spots, we wanted to continue to work hard.

“It has been such a great feeling to share this experience with my whole team but especially with my sisters.”

Peyton, the oldest by a couple of minutes, has delivered on the stat sheet in a number of games this season. She and Chase are designated midfielders/defenders.

“It’s so cool playing with Kendall and Chase,” said Peyton, who has suited up with her sisters in soccer since they were 4.

“People on the other team who don’t know we are triplets probably are on the field saying, ‘Hey, didn’t I just see her?’ We’ve come along well this season with a lot of help from the upperclassmen.”

Added Chase: “There was a little bit of nervousness for us at the start. But it’s gotten more and more exciting as the season has gone on. It’s a great feeling to contribute and help the team make it to the state title game. It’s just been a great experience.”

Breaking down the Vikings

Archbishop Wood needed a penalty-kick shootout to advance to Friday’s title game. The District 12 champion (14-6-1) topped previously undefeated District 11 champion Northwestern Lehigh, snapping its 54-game winning streak.

The Vikings lost to District 11 runner-up Allentown Central Catholic in last year’s quarterfinals.

Archbishop Wood enters its third PIAA title game seeking its first title. The Vikings lost 1-0 to Peters Township in the 2010 Class 3A championship game and fell to Moon, 1-0, in the Class 2A title contest in 2012.

Senior midfielder/forward Paige Eckert scored both regulation goals against Northwestern Lehigh and tallied her team’s first of the shootout. She also led the way with two second-half goals in the Vikings’ 3-1 win over District 3 champion Trinity in the quarterfinals.

“We’ve been trying to find out some info,” Nesko said. “We weren’t able to get any video. Our request was denied. So we’ve done the best we can by going online and also talking to people. But we’re going to go into it with our game plan and play our way. If we have to adjust as the game goes on, we’ll adjust.

“To be totally honest, I find it hard to believe that there is going to be a better team out there than Freeport. They were an excellent team with so much talent. They were worthy to be in this position to play for a state title.”

Nesko said he, the coaches and the players have talked about being thankful for this opportunity.

“While the (cold and windy) conditions aren’t great, we’re still out here doing what we love to do. Many teams would love to be where we are. We were out here freezing on Monday, and I said that I was wishing for the days of August when it was so warm. In August, we were wishing for it to be cooler.”

Season transition

Friday’s title game coincides with the first day of winter preseason practices, and close to a dozen Bucs soccer players are on winter sports teams.

Though some fall workouts were missed because of their soccer responsibilities, those players will get fully up to speed early next week.

“We have two wrestlers (Koehler and senior Carmen Birers), and then there are eight to 10 girls who play basketball,” Nesko said. “The (winter) coaches can’t wait for them to get there to those practices, but at the same time, they are super excited to see them keep going and play (for a state title).

“Basketball and wrestling translate so well to soccer and vice versa. With the skill sets, it makes them so much better in each sport. We encourage them to play other sports.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

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