Freeport blanks Quaker Valley to set up another meeting with section rival Burrell
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Tuesday, October 28, 2025 | 10:16 PM
Freeport’s Nia DiSanti celebrates after scoring the game-winning goal against Quaker Valley during the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals Tuesday at Hampton.
Freeport’s Camryn Woods gets a shot off past Quaker Valley keeper Ava Hajok and Nia DiSanti puts the game-winner in off the shot during the WPIAL semifinals Tuesday at Hampton.
Freeport’s Camryn Woods celebrates with Nia DiSanti after the game-winning goal against Quaker Valley during the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals Tuesday at Hampton.
Freeport’s Cecilia Schlegel traps the ball in front of Quaker Valley’s Avery Persuit during the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals Tuesday at Hampton.
Freeport’s Nia DiSanti and Quaker Valley’s Eliza Rahm battle for possession during the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals Tuesday at Hampton.
Quaker Valley’s Annabel Miko traps the ball in front of Freeport’s Teresa Hanak during the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals Tuesday at Hampton.
Quaker Valley’s Maddie Gatehouse makes a save against Freeport during the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals Tuesday at Hampton High School.
Freeport’s Camryn Woods gets a pass off past Quaker Valley’s Maddie Gatehouse during the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals Tuesday at Hampton.
Freeport’s Camryn Woods gets a header off past Quaker Valley’s Annabel Miko during the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals Tuesday at Hampton.
When the Freeport and Quaker Valley girls soccer teams found out that No. 8 Burrell had shut out No. 4 Mt. Pleasant in the first of two Class 2A semifinals Tuesday evening, they knew there was going to be a rematch.
It was going to be either the Quakers and Bucs for the second year in a row at Highmark Stadium or a continuation of the intense Section 2 rivalry between Freeport and Burrell.
Thanks to second-half goals from senior Nia DiSanti and sophomore Cecelia Schlegel, the latter has come true. Freeport’s 2-0 win over Quaker Valley at Hampton High School puts the Yellowjackets in the WPIAL championship game against Burrell at Highmark Stadium.
“I am glad. (Burrell) deserves it,” Freeport coach Steve Kukic said. “We had two good games against them this year. We know what they did in the playoffs last year. They made that run, and they did it again. It didn’t surprise me one bit that they beat South Park and Mt. Pleasant. It’s going to be a hell of a game. We definitely know each other. (Burrell coach) Frank (Nesko) and I are buddies. It’s going to be a great time whenever we play.”
It will be the third meeting this season between the Yellowjackets and Bucs. Freeport won the first two games, 3-1 and 1-0. The title game at Highmark will take place at a date and time to be announced by the WPIAL on Wednesday morning.
QV (14-3-1) will take on Mt. Pleasant in the third-place game Thursday with a trip to the PIAA playoffs on the line.
The game-winner from DiSanti came with 20:20 left and was a close-range shot into an open net off an assist from junior Cam Woods.
“I knew (Cam) was going to get it over to me,” DiSanti said. “I had faith in her. They all went to her, and that left me wide open. I just had to finish it, and I did.
“WPIALs, here we come. We were fortunate to beat North Catholic three times this season, and we know it will be a challenge to beat Burrell for a third time. They are a great team. But we’re ready to go to Highmark and win a WPIAL title. We are going to have to compete hard like we do every time.”
Schlegel’s goal with a little more than nine minutes remaining gave Freeport some much welcomed breathing room.
From there, the Yellowjackets offense kept up the pressure and almost scored a couple more times.
Freeport (18-1) outshot QV 10-4 in the second half.
”We played a really good first half but just weren’t creating the dangerous opportunities,” Kukic said.
“But we made a few adjustments, and we just kept at it. I think we kind of wore them down a little bit, even though we barely subbed. We were ready for this game. We had a lot of energy. We played well. It was just about getting those real dangerous scoring opportunities, and they started to come in the second half, for sure.”
The Yellowjackets came within inches of taking the lead with 30 minutes left as Woods got loose on a breakaway with a Quakers defender on her heels. QV keeper Ava Hajok came out to assist her teammate, and Woods was able to get the ball past both.
As the ball slowly rolled to the goal, QV junior Maddie Gatehouse came in and swept the ball off the goal line and out of danger.
QV had strong opportunities with free kicks from Annabel Miko with 25 and 17 minutes left. Miko’s first shot rang off the football crossbar two feet above the Freeport goal and the second sailed high of the goal and out of play.
Freeport owned the majority of possession in the first half and came away with a few strong chances.
The Yellowjackets earned a corner kick in the 23rd minute, and sophomore Elena Jenkins lifted the ball into a scrum of players from both teams in front of the QV goal.
Woods was right there and headed the ball toward the goal. However, the ball shot right to Hajok, who made the save.
Woods delivered a strong shot on a free kick from about 35 yards that sailed just high of the QV goal with 8:46 to go until the break.
QV tallied its first shot on goal of the game with three minutes on the first-half clock as senior Ari Bosh fired off an attempt that was hauled in by Freeport keeper Alyssa Alcorn.
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: Freeport, Quaker Valley
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