Latrobe girls continue to make history, advance to WPIAL soccer semifinals

By: Jose Negron
Thursday, October 27, 2022 | 9:38 PM

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Days after earning the program’s first inaugural playoff win, Latrobe secured its first trip to the WPIAL semifinals Thursday.

The fifth-seeded Wildcats scored in each half and held things down with shutdown defense in a 3-0 victory over fourth-seeded Thomas Jefferson in the Class 3A quarterfinals.

Latrobe (12-2-2) advances to take on top-seeded Mars on Tuesday. The Fighting Planets are in the midst of a 79-game streak without a loss. They defeated No. 9 Franklin Regional in overtime Thursday.

“It’s still setting in, but the ladies played their hearts out,” Latrobe coach Jamie Morrison said. “We’ve focused on bringing an intense mentality, and they showed up and played their game. I could not be more proud of what they did.”

The Jaguars (17-3) suffered defeat for the first time since Sept. 19, when they dropped two straight games against Moon and Elizabeth Forward. They had won 11 consecutive games entering Thursday.

“We just didn’t have an answer,” TJ coach Sean Richter said. “They’re really good. They move the ball fast, they’re proactive and they’re relentless.”

Latrobe showed little difficulty generating scoring chances and capitalizing on them while going up against a TJ team that had allowed nine goals all season. The Jaguars had not allowed three goals in a game all year.

Goal scorers for the Wildcats were Annalyse Bauer, Regan Reilly and Robin Reilly.

“It really speaks to their unselfishness,” Morrison said of her offensive contributors. “They’re willing to move the ball around and give the shot to the girl with the best opportunity. It’s about the team success, not necessarily about individual success. At the end of the day, we’re looking to get that ‘W,’ so whoever puts the ball in the back of the net, they’re willing to lift them up and celebrate with them. It’s a great team culture that we have.”

Bauer scored the lone goal of the first half with less than 25 minutes until halftime.

Robin Reilly delivered a through ball to Regan Reilly, who then sent a cross pass in front of the net to Bauer. She buried a wide open shot in close for the 1-0 lead.

The Wildcats had six total shots in the first half, with four coming on goal.

In the second half, they continued their offensive pressure, and a two-goal advantage was reached less than 10 minutes in.

That’s when Lauren Bell sent a cross to Regan Reilly, who found the back of the net by beating TJ goalkeeper Abby Atkinson.

Just over five minutes later, Latrobe capped the scoring on Robin Reilly’s tally from about 25 yards.

Despite the three goals allowed, Atkinson made plenty of big saves for TJ. She stopped a shot on a Regan Reilly breakaway early in the first half and finished with eight saves.

“I’ve been saying it all year: She’s not just a keeper on a good defensive team. She’s a good keeper,” Richter said. “She made big saves for us tonight.”

TJ finished with six total shots, but only three were on goal.

Latrobe goalkeeper Sofia DeCerb made saves on all three shots, with the first coming on an Emma Martinis attempt early in the opening half. Her second save came with the Wildcats clinging to a one-goal lead in the second half. With TJ’s leading scorer, Natalie Lamenza, all alone in front of her, DeCerb made a save with her right foot to help preserve the advantage.

“It was fun to play a team like that,” Richter said. “They’re definitely up there among the top teams we’ve played this year.”

Tags: Latrobe, Thomas Jefferson