Burrell strikes twice in 2nd half to advance to PIAA semifinals, rematch with Freeport

By: Paul Buriak
Saturday, November 8, 2025 | 9:32 PM

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Windber — The Burrell Bucs scored a pair of goals less than three minutes apart in the second half to rally from an early deficit and advance to the PIAA Class 2A girls soccer semifinals with a 2-1 victory over Bedford at Windber Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The District 7 runners-up improved to 14-7-2 and will face section rival Freeport on Tuesday at a site to be determined, whereas the District 5 champion Bisons concluded a 19-2 campaign.

Bucs junior midfielder McKenna Miller put home the winning goal with 18 minutes, 8 seconds remaining in the contest on an assist from Katie Koehler, who had tallied the equalizing score just 2:47 earlier.

Miller’s clutch shot was the result of what proved to be a prescient halftime adjustment by Burrell coach Frank Nesko.

“We made a position switch and moved McKenna Miller to the 10 to try to help us get a little bit more offensive pressure,” Nesko said. “Moving her to the attacking midfielder spot gave us more of a presence to be able to shoot the ball from range.”

Junior goalkeeper Leah Waldsmith picked up the win in net for the Bucs as she stopped 7 of 8 shots. However, Bisons goalkeeper Rebekah Costal also turned in a valiant effort between the pipes as she turned away 22 of 24 shots.

Bedford held the early momentum after striking quickly. The Bisons got on the board 3:01 into the contest when junior Alyssa Leydig found the back of the net on a shot from the left side. Senior Rachel Leydig notched an assist on the play.

That margin held for the remainder of the first half, but the Bucs came out strong after the break and controlled the action for much of the last 40 minutes.

“It took us about 15 or 20 minutes to get our legs under us,” Nesko said. “I liked what we were able to do in the back end of the first half, and we just told them to keep doing what they were doing.”

The Burrell defense stymied the Bisons attackers as the game went on.

“It seemed like every time we got the ball, we couldn’t find an open person to escape anywhere and possess the ball,” Bedford coach Jeff Thomas said. “Then we tried switching to a 4-4-2, but that didn’t really help.”

The Bucs knotted the score at the 20:55 mark of the second half when junior Eva Wilson launched a corner kick from the right side that connected with Koehler, who beat Costal from short range to make it 1-1.

That set the stage for Miller’s go-ahead tally soon after, as she took a feed from Koehler and blasted a shot straight on net from around 15 yards.

“We didn’t play as well as we thought we would in the first half,” Miller said. “We knew we had to step it up in the second half, and that first corner was a big energy-getter and motivated us. I knew that Katie can throw the ball really far, so I figured I could post up target in the middle of the box, and I just turned and scored.”

Bedford was unable to answer the rest of the way to keep its season alive, but Thomas expressed appreciation for the efforts of his squad’s seniors.

“They brought the team a long way this year,” Thomas said. “The leadership was great, and we’re going to miss them. We still are young, and we just have to get ready for next year.”

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