Springdale boys score 3 unanswered goals to top Bentworth

By: Greg Macafee
Tuesday, October 27, 2020 | 9:04 PM

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Springdale sophomore Chris Mitchell was peppering Bentworth goalkeeper Landen Urcho with shots all night Tuesday, just waiting for one to go in.

It took longer than expected, but Mitchell eventually scored the go-ahead goal with just more than eight minutes left in the Dynamos’ 3-1 victory in a WPIAL Class A first-round game at North Allegheny.

Before the goal, Mitchell was turned back several times by Urcho, and several other attempts went just wide.

“I was definitely upset with myself because I had so many shots, but we were playing well all game so I knew (a go-ahead goal) was going to come eventually,” Mitchell said. “I didn’t know it was going to be me, but I knew someone was going to put it into the back of the net.”

The tiebreaking goal came on a shot in front that Urcho couldn’t handle.

“I was telling my coach that of all the shots I had, it was the one that went right at the goalie and slipped, and luckily it went in,” Mitchell said.

Billy Lawrence added an insurance goal — his second goal of the game — with 3:15 left for fifth-seeded Springdale (11-1). The Dynamos advanced to face No. 4 Seton LaSalle (12-2) in the quarterfinals at 2 p.m. Saturday at Peters Township. The Rebels beat No. 13 Beaver County Christian, 2-0, on Tuesday.

“It’s another win, and we can move on, but it’s very special because it put us in a good position for the quarterfinals,” Springdale coach Cesareo Sanchez said. “Now we have three days to work, and we can work on what didn’t work here.”

Early on, No. 12 Bentworth (7-8) took a 1-0 lead on a Jaxon Selvoski free kick that found the bottom-right corner of the net. But the Dynamos continued to pressure Bentworth.

With 16:40 left in the first half, Mitchell found Lawrence alone in the box, and the freshman forward buried one past Urcho.

“As soon as we scored that goal, they realized we could do it,” Sanchez said. “We opened up and started playing our game. I think we were trying to play their game in the air, and they were winning every ball. We’re a team that plays short passes and diagonal balls, and that’s what was working for us.”

Urcho, a sophomore, was the main reason the Bearcats kept the score tied for so long.

“They definitely score a few more goals if he’s not in there,” Bentworth coach Greg Amos said.

After losing once during the regular season, the Dynamos are heading to the quarterfinals for the fourth straight year. The last time Springdale and Seton LaSalle met in the playoffs, the Rebels sent the Dynamos home in the consolation game of the 2018 WPIAL playoffs.

Greg Macafee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Greg by email at gmacafee@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Tags: Bentworth, Springdale