Mt. Pleasant girls advance to WPIAL Class 2A title game on Riley Gesinski’s OT goal

By: Jason Black
Tuesday, November 1, 2022 | 10:17 PM

The Mt. Pleasant girls soccer team had to put in a little extra work, but it was well worth it as the second-seeded Vikings secured their spot in the WPIAL Class 2A championship by defeating third-seeded South Park, 1-0, in overtime in a semifinal Tuesday night at Peters Township.

Junior Riley Gesinski found the ball off a scrum from a corner kick and sent a shot into the net to give the Vikings (19-1) the victory.

Mt. Pleasant will play fifth-seeded Avonworth for the WPIAL Class 2A title at 11 a.m. Saturday at Highmark Stadium. Avonworth advanced by upsetting top-seeded North Catholic in the other semifinal.

In a match that could have gone either way, the Vikings created the one scoring chance they needed to punch their ticket to the finals.

“South Park came to play,” Mt. Pleasant coach Rich Garland said. “They gave us everything they had, and it was a fun game all across the board. But our work isn’t done yet.”

Earlier in the season, Mt. Pleasant earned a 3-2 win over the Eagles (14-6). But as Tuesday’s match wore in, it became increasingly clear one goal would determine the winner.

“Both teams were much more organized,” Garland said in comparison to the regular-season matchup. “Each team knew what the other team’s strengths were. We didn’t give up too many set pieces, and it just so happens we were able to capitalize on a set piece.”

For much of the game, neither team mustered a ton of offense as lanes were closed off, rushes were shut down and shots were mostly limited to the outside.

Mt. Pleasant keeper Laurel Rummel did have to go high in the air to snare a corner kick approximately 15 minutes into the match. It was one of the few quality scoring chances the Eagles generated.

“I don’t think that we really gave up any dangerous chances deep in our end of the field,” Garland said, crediting Rummel and the Mt. Pleasant defenders for being stout in the Vikings’ 15th shutout of the season.

At the other end, South Park did an effective job limiting the Vikings’ quality looks as well. Eagles keeper Gianna Cardillo stopped Rylin Bugosh and Morgan Gesinski in the first half to keep the game scoreless.

Then in the second half, Bugosh had a chance to give her team the lead, but her shot ripped off the side of the net. South Park also had a chance to take the lead off a corner kick, but the ball was booted out of danger before it crossed the line.

Then with under five minutes left in regulation, Morgan Gesinski drilled a shot at the net. Cardillo got a piece of it and deflected the shot off the top of the cross bar, keeping the game scoreless.

The match headed to overtime, and with 9:43 left in the extra session, Riley Gesinski came through with the golden goal. When she saw teammate Bugosh line up for a corner kick, the second one in quick succession, she instinctively knew to get to the front of the net.

Gesinski found the ball at her feet and somehow managed to get a shot off. The ball seemed to deflect straight up into the air, but when it came down, it landed in the back of the South Park net.

Players on both teams seemed to be stunned that the ball fell into the cage, but the surprised feeling quickly turned to joy for the Vikings.

“I was just hoping, and if it came to me, great,” Riley Gesinski said.

While the details of the golden goal were a bit fuzzy for Gesinski, one thing is clear. She and her teammates have a shot at the program’s first WPIAL title.

“It’s pretty unbelievable, and it’s pretty exciting,” Riley Gesinski said.

For Garland, the message to his team in the time leading up to Saturday’s title game will be short and simple.

“We just have to be ready to play, stay organized and support each other,” Garland said. “This could be a really cool opportunity.”

With the win, the Vikings also guaranteed themselves a spot in the upcoming state tournament.

South Park plays in a third-place match on Thursday against North Catholic at a time and location to be announced. The winner of that match will also move on to states.

Tags: Mt. Pleasant, South Park