Springdale girls soccer team must get past Seton LaSalle for berth in PIAA title game

By: Michael Love
Monday, November 11, 2024 | 8:41 PM

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When the final seconds of Saturday’s PIAA Class A quarterfinal girls soccer game ticked off the clock, Springdale players began to erupt in celebration.

The Dynamos had just finished off a hard-fought 2-1 victory over District 6 champion Bishop Guilfoyle at Indiana High School.

Junior Hailey Marchlewski scored both goals, including the winner in the final minutes, to break a stalemate and avoid overtime.

Another step was complete, but Springdale coach Marc Bentley said his team quickly turned the page, knowing there was more to be done.

The mission is a trip to Friday’s championship game. The immediate focus, however, is taking care of business Tuesday in a PIAA semifinal clash with Seton LaSalle at North Allegheny. First kick is set for 7 p.m.

“The theme all through both playoff runs has been to focus only on the opponent right in front of them,” Bentley said. “We can only control what happens in those 80 minutes, or maybe longer. But these girls know what’s at stake Tuesday. They see what they have done over 20 games and how proud they’ve made the community. They hope to be able to keep this run going.”

Springdale seeks its fourth trip to the PIAA championship game.

The Dynamos lost in their three previous trips: 2-1 to Strath Haven in the 1997 Class AA final, 1-0 to Loyalsock in the 2009 Class AA title contest and 3-1 to Warrior Run in the Class A final two years later.

Springdale began its PIAA run with a penalty-kicks victory over District 5 runner-up Conemaugh Township last Tuesday at Fox Chapel.

Senior Briana Ross, who has a team-best 41 goals this season, scored in the first half, and senior Molly Hurley added her 17th on a penalty shot late in the first half to give Springdale a 2-1 lead at the break.

The score was tied 2-2 heading to overtime and, ultimately, went to penalty kicks. Junior Lacey Shondeck tallied the winner, and senior keeper Baileigh Haas stopped three Indians attempts, including the game-clincher in the fifth and final round.

“Everyone has been working as hard as they possibly can, and everyone is doing their part to make it to where we are,” Haas said. “No one is trying to do too much. We’re all working so well together.

“This run has been so memorable: the bus rides to and from games and all the other opportunities to be together. We don’t want it to end, and we’re going to work really hard to make sure that it doesn’t.”

Springdale’s only loss this season has come to Class 2A state qualifier and WPIAL finalist Burrell. The Dynamos (19-1) have scored 113 goals, an average of 5.7 a game, while giving up just 17.

“It is breathtaking just knowing that all of our hard work is paying off,” senior defender Brooke Taliani said “I am a senior now, and since my freshman year, we’ve worked so hard to make it far, and this is the farthest we’ve come. It just shows, as a team, we work so well together.”

Springdale, playing in its third consecutive PIAA tournament, is in the semifinals after falling short of this point the past two years.

First-round wins last year and in 2022 preceded tough quarterfinal losses.

The seniors on this year’s team came very close to earning a berth in the state tournament as freshmen in 2021. The Dynamos, the No. 2 seed that year, advanced to the semifinals before losses to No. 3 Steel Valley and then No. 1 Freedom in the third-place game denied them a spot in the PIAA bracket.

During that 2021 run, Springdale upended Seton LaSalle, 3-2, in the quarterfinals. It is the most recent playoff matchup between the teams.

But the Rebels and Dynamos played four times as section foes the past two years. Springdale won 3-1 and 5-0 last year en route to a 9-3 section mark.

In 2022, Seton LaSalle was the only section team to beat Springdale on the Dynamos’ way to the Section 1-A championship.

“We know them pretty well, and we’ve had some good battles with them,” Bentley said. “We’ve won some games and lost one against them. We expect it to be the same tough game tomorrow. They are defensively solid. They don’t give up many goals.”

The Rebels, 17-3-2 overall, have scored 83 goals in their 22 games and given up just 13, including only two in six playoff games.

Seton LaSalle reset itself for a run at states after a 1-0 loss to No. 6 Winchester Thurston in the WPIAL semifinals.

The Rebels qualified for states with a 2-0 win over Sewickley Academy in the WPIAL third-place.

Then, the Rebels survived District 5 champion McConnellsburg, 2-1, in overtime in the first round. Junior forward Sydney Morgan scored the winner and also assisted on the tying goal by senior forward Angelina McGrath with seven minutes left in regulation.

Morgan assisted junior forward Elizabth Sokos for the only goal in Saturday’s 1-0 quarterfinal triumph over District 9 champion Karns City.

Seton LaSalle is seeking its first trip to the PIAA finals.

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.

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