Lola Abraham’s 5 goals against South Allegheny propel Riverview to 1st WPIAL title match

By: Michael Love
Tuesday, October 31, 2023 | 9:29 PM

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Lola Abraham had five shots in the first half of a WPIAL Class A semifinal against South Allegheny on Tuesday at North Allegheny.

The attempts by the Riverview senior were solid, but the Gladiators defense was marking her closely and keeping her from getting the Raiders on the board.

South Allegheny’s hopes of continuing that strategy against Abraham fell apart in a 4-minute, 27-second span in the second half.

She scored her first of the game at the 35:32 mark, tallied one on a penalty shot 49 seconds later, and with 31:05 left in the game, she had five.

It was more than enough for Riverview, which held South Allegheny to no shots on goal in the second half and advanced to its first WPIAL championship game with a 5-1 victory over the Gladiators.

“At halftime, as a team, we settled ourselves and knew our chances were going to continue to come,” Abraham said. “We had the possession going forward. We knew that if we kept shooting, one would eventually go in. Once that first one went in and we had the momentum, it really helped us take control of the game.

“It’s been incredible seeing the progress of the program, from when we didn’t even have a team (2020) to now where we’re going to Highmark for the WPIAL championship. There is a strong environment, from the team, the coaches and the school and community, which are helping us succeed.”

Riverview, which improved to 19-2 overall, will play for the Class A crown at 6 p.m. Friday against Freedom at Highmark Stadium.

“It’s surreal,” Riverview coach Sean Abraham said. “The girls have been working so hard for this all season. Our goal from the start was to play for a WPIAL championship, and the girls have had that confidence through every game. We knew we had the potential. It was just a matter of getting them to play well together.”

The Raiders’ victory Tuesday also clinches the program’s first trip to the PIAA playoffs.

South Allegheny fell to 13-8 overall.

The Gladiators’ season is not over. They will play in the third-place consolation Thursday against Springdale with a PIAA berth on the line.

“They’ve been through the adversity this season,” South Allegheny coach Andrew Dyson said. “We’re the 12th seed. No one thought we would be here. We knew we could be here because we had those seniors who have been battled-tested and are great leaders. We are still playing. We have that opportunity (Thursday). We’ll be ready.”

Abraham’s five goals give her 12 in her team’s three WPIAL playoff wins and 68 for the season. Riverview finished with a 13-2 advantage in shots on goal.

“She’s a dynamic player,” Dyson said of Abraham.

“She’s a Pitt commit. It’s a challenge to defend her. We had a great game plan in the first half. In the second half, we kind of got caught off guard a little bit.”

On Abraham’s first goal, South Allegheny senior Abigail Allan looked to help Gladiators keeper Ella Lotz defend, but Allan and Lotz collided, giving Abraham an open shot at the net.

Allan suffered a leg injury on the play, was down for a couple of minutes and had to be helped off the field. She did not return.

Dyson said her status moving forward was unknown after the game.

“When we lost (Allan), it kind of changed things for us and made it harder,” Dyson said.

“She went to go get an X-ray. I feel terrible for her. She’s a player who has grown so much and grown on me for years.”

Riverview had the better of possession in the first half, going into the break with a 10-3 shot advantage and 5-2 shots-on-goal advantage.

South Allegheny got on the board with its first shot of the game in the 14th minute.

A long through ball entered the box deep in the Riverview zone. Raiders senior keeper Chiara Brun wasn’t able to gain control of the ball, and it got away from her.

Gladiators senior Lily Dranko outraced a Raiders defender to the ball and booted it into an open net from 5 yards for the score.

“It took a bad bounce,” coach Abraham said.

“But the girls remained confident and focused. We talked about it at halftime. We were getting the chances. I give their keeper (Lotz) a lot of credit. She did really well for them.”

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: Riverview, South Allegheny