Peters Township prevails in penalty kicks to beat Seneca Valley for WPIAL Class 4A crown

By: Ted Sarneso
Friday, November 1, 2024 | 10:17 PM

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Peters Township sophomore defender Cailin Martin didn’t score a goal in the regular season, but she delivered two huge goals for the Indians in the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs.

On Monday, Martin scored the golden goal against North Allegheny in the semifinals to send top-seeded Peters Township to the Class 4A championship game against No. 2 seed Seneca Valley.

On Friday, she scored the winning goal in the penalty kick shootout to give Peters Township a 1-0 victory and the school’s third WPIAL championship, its first since 2012.

“It just feels so amazing to get both the overtime goal on Monday and the game-winner tonight,” said Martin.

The Raiders (14-3-2) and Indians (19-0-1) battled hard to a scoreless tie in regulation and through two overtime periods until Peters Township won 5-4 in penalty kicks.

“A huge sense of relief came over me when Cailin made that shot,” said Peters goalkeeper Molly Kubistek. “Two years ago, we missed a couple easy opportunities, but I’m so glad we made those opportunities this time.”

In the first four rounds of penalty kicks, both teams matched each other with goals. Cassidy Stopchick, Bella Gianfrancesco, Ashlee Libby and Karly Majeski scored for the Raiders while Paige Malley, Marina Hajnosz, Camryn Gambill, and Fallan Malley scored for Peters.

Seneca Valley junior Madeline Marcotte stepped up to the ball for her penalty kick and fired a shot that was over the head of Kubistek and appeared destined for the net, but the shot hit the crossbar.

Then, Martin stepped up and fired one left as Raiders goalkeeper Sydney Postler guessed the shot would go right.

“There was so much pressure and I was so scared,” said Martin. “I took a deep breath, believed in myself and took the shot.”

“We’ve lost to Seneca Valley in overtime and penalty kicks in the last 10 years in the championship game,” said Indians coach Pat Vereb. “Interesting to note, we’ve lost our last four shootouts. It’s been a nerve-racking week at practice preparing to take them.”

Peters went undefeated in WPIAL play this year with the only blemish to its record a tie against Upper St. Clair in September.

For Seneca Valley, it was a heartbreaking way to lose after having not lost in their last 14 contests. Their last loss came against Peters on Aug. 28, a 2-1 setback in overtime.

“I don’t feel like we lost tonight. They were just better at penalty kicks than we were,” said Raiders coach Mark Perry. “It was a very even game that could have gone either way. Someone had to win, and unfortunately, someone had to lose.”

Even though they hadn’t seen each other in two months, Perry said he didn’t need to make many changes in his gameplan.

“I think when you have the two top teams, you’re both confident in what got you here,” said Perry. “There was no reason to change anything.”

Seneca Valley held possession of the ball for 57% of regulation but couldn’t capitalize on its chances.

“Teamwork and good communication with my back line have been the keys to our success,” said Kubistek. “Without communication, a few of their crosses that ended up on the backside would have went in. It was a good team effort.”

Libby, a junior forward for the Raiders, had a prime attempt just seconds into the game inside the 18-yard box but appeared to be pulled down without a call.

Marcotte had another superb opportunity for the Raiders two and a half minutes into the second half and Kubistek made a stellar save.

Majeski probably had the best chance of the entire game when she got free in the box and tried to head one past Kubistek, but the Indians goalkeeper made a leaping save to preserve the tie.

“I was so scared it was going to go in,” said Kubistek, a Cincinnati recruit. “We practice that scenario all the time at and it definitely helped. But in the moment, it was a reactionary save and I was a little nervous. Overall, a great win for us and I’m so happy.”

“She’s one of the best players in the WPIAL and an advantage we have every game,” said Vereb.

Both goalkeepers were impenetrable. Kubistek made four saves and Postler made nine. Postler also got a hand on two of the Indians’ penalty shots, but they bounced in off her gloves.

“It was a great game. Both sides had their chances,” said Perry. “It’s a flip of the coin when you get to penalty kicks. It doesn’t take anything away from the way we played tonight. They’re deserving of being champions.”

Seneca Valley will take on Altoona on Tuesday in the first round of the PIAA playoffs at a time and site to be determined.

“Any time you make it to the final, you consider it a great year,” Perry added. “We have to learn from this, regroup and try to beat Altoona and go from there.”

Peters Township will take on the fourth-place team out of District 3. Martin, while confident she could score if called upon, hopes it doesn’t come down to her foot in penalties again.

“I definitely want us to get so many goals in the first five minutes,” Martin said.

Tags: Peters Township, Seneca Valley