Plum girls soccer falls to North Allegheny in 1st round

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, October 23, 2017 | 11:27 PM

Previous Next

Previous Next

It wasn't the start Plum had envisioned.

As a result, it wasn't the ending the Mustangs wanted.

North Allegheny jumped out to a quick two-goal lead in Monday's WPIAL Class AAAA first-round girls soccer match at Plum.

The Tigers maintained that advantage and went on to post a 5-1 victory.

“They got that lead, and it definitely hurt our momentum,” Plum coach Caitlyn Schuchert said.

Wind coupled with a steady and heavy rain made it difficult for the players from both teams, especially the goalkeepers who attempted to make saves on balls that had become slick due to the precipitation.

“It was a keeper's nightmare with those conditions,” Schuchert said.

North Allegheny struck 4 minutes, 50 seconds into the game as Emma Bundy took a centering pass and fired a shot on keeper Aly Bryner.

Bryner was in position to make the stop, but the ball slipped past the junior. She lunged back to stop the ball, but it crossed the line before she could get a hand on it.

“It's part of the game. It happens,” Schuchert said.

Bundy then made it 2-0 at 31:29 as she cleaned up the rebound of a shot from the left wing.

“That start really helped us relax,” said Tigers coach Chuck Kelley, who saw his team improve to 11-6-1 and move into the quarterfinals Thursday against No. 1 Pine-Richland.

The Rams, North Allegheny's section rival and the champions of Section 1, improved to 16-1-1 with a 3-0 win over Connellsville on Monday.

“We were really anxious to get started,” Kelley said. “The girls are happy to get this win. It's been quite a few years were we haven't been able to get past this first round. We're eager and excited to face someone who we are familiar with.”

Plum had hoped to punch its ticket to the quarterfinals for the third time in four years, but the Mustangs, who finished the 2017 campaign 13-5 and second to Fox Chapel in the Section 3 standings, bowed out in the first round for the second year in a row.

“I am proud of the girls for the way they played all season,” Schuchert said. “(Monday) just wasn't our night.”

Plum came close to getting on the board 15:07 before halftime as Jordyn Huemme corralled the rebound of a shot and rang a second shot off the right goal post.

Those were the only two shots the Mustangs generated over the first 40 minutes. North Allegheny had nine shots at the break and finished the game with a 19-6 shot advantage.

North Allegheny didn't waste any time putting its third goal on the board. Alex Adams scored with less than a minute gone the second half.

Plum answered four minutes later as Jasmyn Floyd fired a shot that deflected off the hands of Tigers keeper Julia Correa and found the back of the net.

Last year in the first round, the Mustangs fell behind 3-0 to Mt. Lebanon early in the second half and mounted a rally. They scored twice and then almost tied the score several times in the closing minutes.

Plum hoped for a similar rally Monday, but North Allegheny had other ideas. Ava Ruppersberger and Morgan McConnell tallied goals as the Tigers salted the game away.

“The girls battled hard until the end,” Schuchert said. “They got a little frustrated late in the game, but they never really counted themselves out. They kept pushing until time ran out.”

Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at mlove@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Mlove_Trib.

Tags: North Allegheny, Plum