Sewickley Academy gets revenge on Springdale, advances to WPIAL Class A final
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Tuesday, October 28, 2025 | 10:18 PM
Sewicley Academy’s Sarah Marryman celebrates her game-winning goal to beat Springdale during a WPIAL Class A semifinal Tuesday at Hampton.
Springdale’s Adele Walters-Vrabel celebrates with Lacey Shondeck after scoring past Sewicley Academy to tie the game during a WPIAL Class A semifinal Tuesday at Hampton High School.
Springdale’s Lacey Shondeck scores past Sewicley Academy to tie the game during the WPIAL Class A semifinals Tuesday at Hampton.
Springdale’s Makenna Haas fights for the ball with Sewickley Academy’s Sarah Merryman during the WPIAL Class A semifinals Tuesday at Hampton.
Springdale’s Haley Marchlewski gets past Sewickley Academy’s Grazia Jardine during the WPIAL Class A semifinals Tuesday at Hampton.
Springdale keeper Genevieve Conklin makes a save against Sewickley Academy’s Emma Eammarino during the WPIAL Class A soccer semifinals Tuesday at Hampton High School.
Sewickley Academy’s Makenzie Dice pulls the ball back from Springdale’s Shelby DiPalma during the WPIAL Class A semifinals Tuesday at Hampton.
Sewickley Academy’s Makenzie Dice (r) celebrates with Emma Eammarino after Eammarino’s goal against Springdale during the WPIAL Class A semifinals Tuesday at Hampton.
The Sewickley Academy girls soccer team felt the sting of a WPIAL playoff loss to Springdale each of the past three years.
The setbacks in 2022 and 2023 came in the first round. Last year, the Panthers’ WPIAL run was ended by the Dynamos in the semifinals, just one win away from Highmark Stadium.
But on Tuesday, in another WPIAL semifinal matchup with Springdale, Sewickley Academy was not to be denied.
Freshman Sarah Merryman’s goal with 20 minutes, 47 seconds left in regulation turned out to be the difference in a 2-1 Panthers victory at Hampton High School.
“When I saw them on our side of the bracket, I was excited for the thought of possibly playing them,” said senior Mackenzie Dice, who will help lead Sewickley to the title game for the first time since 2012.
“I was saying, ‘The Dynamos are not beating the Panthers one more time.’ We wanted to put an end to that. We have a lot of great girls, including freshmen, who have contributed so much. I think we can go pretty far, and I am excited.”
Sewickley Academy improved to 18-1 overall and will take on No. 2 Bentworth for the gold at a date and time that was expected to be announced Wednesday morning. The Bearcats defeated No. 11 Waynesburg, 1-0, in the other semifinal at Peters Township.
“We talked last year and again this year about trying to get the tradition back for the girls. Trying to get the tradition back for the team,” Panthers coach Gary Weber said. “The focus for them has been to get (Sewickley) back to the championship (game).”
Despite the loss, Springdale (12-2-1) has a shot at a trip to the PIAA playoffs. The Dynamos will face Waynesburg in a third-place consolation match Thursday at a site and time to be determined.
Only the winner will advance to states.
“Obviously there is the disappointment of not being able to get back to Highmark, but the girls have to be refocused and ready to go Thursday,” Springdale coach Marc Bentley said. “They still have a great opportunity to get back to states.”
Both the Panthers and Dynamos received a corner kick in the first 14 minutes of the first half, but neither resulted in a shot on goal as both defenses turned away the attempts in front of the respective goalmouths.
The two offenses made pushes deep into the other’s end of the field at the midway point of the half and produced dangerous opportunities.
A Sewickley foul resulted in a Springdale free kick with 2:30 left until halftime, but again the Panthers defense held strong when the ball sailed into the box.
Sewickley countered after the free kick and junior forward Emma Eannarino found the back of the net 1:44 before halftime.
The Panthers got off another shot from about 30 yards in the final minute of the half, but the ball came right to Springdale sophomore keeper Genevieve Conklin, who secured it for the save.
Sewickley ended the half with a 5-1 shot advantage and a 4-0 edge in shots on goal.
Springdale came out with renewed energy to start the second half, and senior Lacey Shondeck got the Dynamos on the scoreboard in the fourth minute on a shot from inside 15 yards. It was her 10th tally of the season.
Sewickley Academy then retook the lead with Merryman’s goal after several minutes of possession deep in Springdale’s end. The ball rolled slowly toward the goal and deflected off the right goal post and in.
“I just wanted to score for the team,” Merryman said. “I was watching it and hoping it would go in. If it didn’t, I was going to be pretty disappointed. But I was over the moon. I was so happy.”
Sewickley almost made it 3-1 with 9:45 left, but a shot from 25 yards sailed just high of the Springdale goal.
“Sewickley is such a strong team,” Bentley said. “They’re obviously No. 1 for a reason. That goal they scored in the first half made it an uphill battle for us. But I am really proud of the girls for the resilience they showed in coming back into the game in the second half and getting that goal. We let them play just a little too much in our half for a five-minute spell before they got that goal. You let a good team do that for too long, they are more often than not going to make you pay.”
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: Sewickley Academy, Springdale
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