Deer Lakes girls soccer gets crucial win vs. Valley

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, October 12, 2022 | 10:03 PM

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The Deer Lakes girls soccer team was in must-win mode Wednesday as it hosted Valley in a Section 2-2A game at Lancers Stadium.

And a win is what the Lancers got.

Freshman Bryanna Simonetti scored with 29 minutes, 57 seconds left in the second half off an assist from senior Annabella Vergerio, and the advantage held up the rest of the way in a 1-0 victory.

The win kept Deer Lakes (8-6-1, 4-6-1) alive for a spot in the WPIAL playoffs.

“It was a really good feeling to get that goal and win this game,” Simonetti said. “It was a great team effort tonight.”

Valley, which is seeking only its second WPIAL playoff berth in its 20-year history, was denied that goal Wednesday. The Vikings fell to 6-7 overall and 5-6 (15 points) in the section. They stand two points ahead of the Lancers for fourth place with one game left.

It all comes down to Monday. Deer Lakes needs to beat Knoch and have Valley lose or tie Burrell (10-2-3, 7-2-2). If the Vikings beat Burrell, the Lancers are eliminated, regardless of their result.

“We were really flat Monday at Apollo-Ridge,” Deer Lakes coach Frank Accetta said concerning Monday’s 3-1 loss to Apollo-Ridge.

“So we came in here tonight with no room for error. Now, it’s the same Monday at Knoch. Hopefully, the girls give the same strong effort Monday they gave tonight and let the chips fall where they may.”

Deer Lakes won its first one-goal section game this season after losing the previous five and tying Burrell, 0-0. One of those one-goal losses was a 2-1 overtime setback Sept. 19 at Valley.

“After losing eight starters from last year, the girls have battled all season. I am really proud of them,” Accetta said.

More than a dozen Section 2 games have ended in ties or have been decided by one goal. Valley is 3-3 in such games.

“When the talent is rather equal, it all comes down to passion and who wants it the most,” Valley coach Tim Beckes said. “They got one more tonight than we did. Now, we’ll see how everything turns out on Monday. We want to earn our way in with a win. We’ll see how it goes.”

About six minutes before Simonetti’s goal, Valley senior keeper Darnae Jackson made a diving save to her right to rob Simonetti.

Jackson made eight saves on 10 Deer Lakes shots. Seven of the 10 came in the second half.

The Lancers kept up the pressure looking for an insurance tally.

Valley pushed up in the final minutes in search of the equalizer.

Senior Jordan Kirkwood, who scored both Vikings goals in the win over Deer Lakes, fired off a clean shot from about 10 yards with 20 seconds left, but Deer Lakes junior Brooke Kostyak was there to make the save and preserve the win.

Valley finished the game with six shots on goal.

The Vikings delivered the game’s first shot on goal, an attempt at 22 yards from Kirkwood in the sixth minute.

Deer Lakes countered a little more than three minutes later as Vergerio moved the ball into the box and shot from about 12 yards. Jackson was there to gobble up the ball as the game remained scoreless.

Lancers junior forward Kylie McCoy made a run after gaining possession near midfield at the 27:05 mark. But two Valley defenders were on her the whole way, and she didn’t get a proper shot off before Jackson was there to end the play.

A shot by McCoy from 10 yards with 2:02 left in the first half rang off the crossbar. Jackson scooped up the deflection to prevent any rebound attempt.

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.

Tags: Deer Lakes, Valley