WPIAL Girls Soccer Playoff Recaps for Saturday 10/22

By: Bruce Markey
Saturday, October 22, 2011 | 11:05 PM

The curtain was lifted on the 2011 WPIAL Girls Soccer playoffs Saturday afternoon just as the gray skies parted and the sun came out to shine a bit on the action at the pitch. Here are recaps from the games that were heard here on the MSA Sports Network on opening day of the 'second' season.

Thanks to Randy Gore, Lee Mohn, Bob Orkwis, Sam Hall, Greg Kuntz and Jonathan Whaley for their help on these recaps!

CLASS AAA FIRST ROUND:  North Allegheny Tigers 1 – Mount Lebanon Blue Devils 0
In a hard fought opening round game at Upper St. Clair High School, the North Allegheny Lady Tigers toppled the Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils on Saturday afternoon, 1-0, on an overtime goal by Savana Yurick.  The Tigers have thrived all season long in last minute or overtime situations, and this game had both as Yurick’s marker came at 1:27 left in overtime.  It was NA’s fourth overtime win this season and eighth victory in one-goal games.  The physical nature of the game was instituted from the outset of the contest, primarily from Mt. Lebanon and their outstanding defense, led by Kate Tuscany, Maddie Collins, Johanna Platt and goalkeeper Emma Pelicano.  North Allegheny matched the Blue Devils physical play and kept the game scoreless with strong defensive efforts by Christine Grom, Brianna Layman and net minder Madison Martin.  With the game scoreless in the second half, Martin made a great diving save on Mt. Lebanon’s Lucy Ness to keep the game tied, 0-0.  Likewise, Pelicano made a pair of highlight real saves on Hohmann with under five minutes to play in regulation and the contest remained deadlocked, bound for overtime. North Allegheny had two great scoring chances with about seven minutes left in overtime, but Pelicano once again made two more spectacular saves, one on Maddie Layman and another on Leah Langhans.  However, it was finally a free kick that was Mt. Lebanon’s undoing with under two minutes in OT.  The strong-legged Langhans booted a long free kick that hit the cross bar of the Blue Devils net, ensuing a wild scramble.  Yurick found the ball with a header that got passed Pelicano with 1:27 in overtime to give North Allegheny the 1-0 victory. North Allegheny advances to the quarterfinals on Wednesday night to face section rival Seneca Valley.  The Lady Tigers improve their overall record to 12-7 on the year, while Mt. Lebanon’s season ends with a 14-4 mark. 

CLASS AAA FIRST ROUND:  Upper St. Clair Panthers 4 – Oakland Catholic Eagles 0
Upper Saint Clair won their first game of the playoffs since 2007 on Saturday easily defeating Oakland Catholic 4-0.  Upper Saint Clair did not allow a shot on goal while the Panthers registered 16.  The Panthers were led by Carly Bogan who scored 2 second half goals.  Upper Saint Clair will now move on to the quarterfinals on Wednesday to face the Norwin Knights.

CLASS AAA FIRST ROUND:  Canon-McMillan Big Macs 1 – Franklin Regional Panthers 0
Freshman defender Abby Gillespie’s goal on a direct kick in the 27^th minute of play was the games only marker as the Big Macs defeated the Panthers in this WPIAL AAA 1^st Round matchup. Gillespie teed her shot up from about forty yards and her right footed drive was able to overpower the backpedalling Panthers goalie Kristen Moore as the ball slipped through her hands and into the net. Senior goalkeeper Ashley Hull made four saves and a staunch Canon-McMillan defense made the goal stand up. The Big Macs notched their eighth shutout of the season and the clean sheet was the fourth they have posted in their last five games. Canon-McMillan (11-6-2) has only allowed 11 goals this season. Fifth seeded Franklin Regional, the champions from Section 3 (AAA), saw its season end at (12-7). Canon-McMillan, seeded 12^th, now advances to the quarterfinals to face (#4) Penn-Trafford on Wednesday at a site and time to be determined. The Warriors defeated the Gateway Gators 4-1 in their opening round playoff match.

CLASS AA FIRST ROUND:  Central Valley Warriors 4 – Highlands Golden Rams 1
Central Valley got two goals and two assists from senior forward Magen Hampe and controlled play the entire game in defeating the 14 seed Highlands 4-1 in opening round play of the girls AA soccer playoff tournament Saturday afternoon at Central Valley High School. Hampe picked up both assists on corner kicks feeding Molly Delostrino to start the scoring at the 7:02 mark of the first half, as Delostrino re-directed the corner behind Highlands keeper Sam Kovach for a 1-0 lead. Hampe got herself a goal less than a mminute later with a blast from the middle of the box off a beauty pass from Katie Alexander. Highlands played hard despite being overmatched and eventually got on the board as Natalie Richards, scored her 12th goal of the year off a direct kick from 21 yards out during the 37th minute of the first half. But too much Hampe was the difference as Hampe pushed thelead back to a pair with her second of the game in the 65th minute pouncing on a loose ball in the box, and then found the head od Daniell Pontus off another corner for the final marker of the game. Central improves to 18-1-0 and moves into the quarter finals. Highlands sees their season come to a close at 8-10-0.

CLASS AA FIRST ROUND:  Elizabeth Forward Warriors 1 – Southmoreland Scotties 0 in Overtime Shootout
There was tremendous ebb and flow in Saturday afternoon's Class AA  First Round WPIAL Girls soccer match at Southmoreland High School's Russ Grim Field.  The Elizabeth-Forward Warriors came into this match as the fourth place team out of Section 4 AA with an overall mark of 10-7-1 and the host Southmoreland Scotties were champions of Section 1 AA with a sterling overall record of 13-3-2 and 12-1-1 in section play.  Each team took their turns at controlling the play and putting together stretches when they just flat out dominated the other. It was Elizabeth Forward owning the first half and Southmoreland the second half.  Neither team managed to score a goal and the contest went to overtime, tied at 0-0.  The Scotties did everything but register a goal in the first overtime period but could not beat Warriors, sophomore, netminder, Jennifer Keefer.  The period was scoreless and the match went to a second overtime period. Elizabeth-Forward returned the stellar play in the second overtime period producing several good scoring opportunities on Scotties, senior, goalkeeper, Shelby Hawkins but nothing got past her and into the net.  After the end of the second overtime the score remained 0-0. This match would be determined by penalty kicks.  Southmoreland began the shootout and sent their outstanding, senior, midfielder, Hayley Skovira to the line.  Haley had played a strong match at both ends and is a strong and physical player with a powerful leg.  Her shot was true and it was 1-0 Scotties.  Elizabeth-Forward sent up first their shifty and excellent ball handler, sophomore, midfielder, Alison Pastore and she blasted a hard shot up high and into the net for a 1-1 tie.  Southmoreland, junior, defender Lauren Virgin was stopped by Warriors goalie, Jennifer Keefer.  Sophomore, defender/midfielder, Rachel Collage put Elizabeth-Forward in front , 2-1.  When Keefer turned aside Southmoreland's playmaker, "du jour", junior, striker, Alyssa Argento things were not looking good for the home team. Elizabeth-Forward really applied the pressure on Southmoreland when sophomore, midfielder, Josie Madden, scored the Warriors third straight goal in the shootout and a 3-1 lead.  Facing a must score situation, Scotties, junior, striker, Emily Helms missed the net with her attempt and the underdog Warriors had earned themselves a 3-1 win on penalty kicks and a trip to Wednesday's Class AA quarterfinals where they will play the victor of this afternoon's Knoch against Yough match at a site and time to be determined. Only three seniors started this match for Southmoreland who end their 2011 campaign with an overall record of 13-4-2.  Likewise only three seniors were in the starting lineup for the Warriors who upped their overall record to 9-5-1 with the win. Soccer afficianados could not have asked for any more drama and determination than what these two teams exhibited on the artificial turf in this match.

CLASS AA FIRST ROUND:  South Fayette Lions 3 – Hopewell Vikings 2 in Double Overtime
Hopewell came into their 1st Round playoff match South Fayette as the second place team from Class AA Section 2, and South Fayette was the 3-team out of Section 4.  The Lady Lions cracked the scoreboard first in the 11th minute when Lianna Leja put a shot past Hopewell keeper Kyra Honeywill for a 1-nil lead.  That score would remain intact until early in the second half when Abby Losco, who had pressured the South Fayette throughout the game, finally got a shot past South Fayette's Sarah Pruss to tie the score at 1 apiece.  Just minutes later, however, the Lady Lions regained the leader when Leja, who recently became SF's all-time leading goal-scorer in a game against Keystone Oaks, got her second of the game tp make it 2-1.  As time wound down, Hopewell kept the pressure on SF's defense, and the Lady Viking's persistence would pay off in the 75th minute as fresman forward Chloe Work fed fellow freshman forward Kaylee Schwegler wit a beautiful cross, and Schwegler booted the ball past Pruss to forvce overtime.  There was no scoring in the 1st OT, but Hopewell dodged two potentially fatal bullets as one SF shot hit off the right post, ad the rebound shot hit off the crossbar.  5 minutes into the 2nd OT, however, the Lady Lions went to their go-to person, and Leja took a beautiful lead pass and broke behind the Lady Vikings' defensem putting a hard shot past Honeywill to win the game, 3-2.  Despite the valiant effote, Hopewell's season comes to an end at 10-6-3 after making the semifinals last season.  South Fayette moves on to the second round and ups its record to 10-4-1.

CLASS A FIRST ROUND:  Bishop Canevin Crusaders 6 – Bentworth Bearcats 1
The number 9 ranked Bentworth Bearcats in the MSA Sports Network's rankings of the 2011 WPIAL Class A tournament participants played a strong first half against the MSA Sports Network's number 11 ranked Bishop Canevin Crusaders at Southmoreland High School's Russ Grim Field on Saturday afternoon in a first round matchup. Unfortunately for the Bearcats, there are two halves in a soccer match and the second half turned into a nightmare for the squad from Bentleyville, PA.  Bentworth's top striker, junior, center midfielder, Erin Ritzer, scored the first tally of the game with 28:10 remaining in the first half to send Bentworth to the break with a 1-0 advantage.  The second half was all Crusaders as their leading goal scorer put on an impressive scoring display.  Junior, striker, Mia Chiatto tallied the tying goal only 24 seconds into the second half to tie the match at 1-all.  Chiatto would score three more times in the half and finished with (4) markers and her partner in offensive "crime", senior, midfielder, Alyssa Nakles added a pair of goals as Bishop Canevin won going away against Bentworth.  Bentworth finished as co-section Champions in Section 2 A this season and ends their 2011 season with an overall record of 12-5-1.  Bishop Canevin who ended the regular season in third place in Section 3 A improves their overall ledger to 10-7-1 and advances to play the winner of this afternoon's Avonworth versus Quigley match on Wednesday at a site and time to be determined in the quarterfinal round.  The Crusaders win was the first-ever WPIAL soccer playoff win in the program's history! 

CLASS A FIRST ROUND:  Springdale 4 – Serra Catholic 1
Serra Catholic, Co-Champions from Section 2(A), got off to a fast start as senior Tori Fedora scored on a breakaway in the games third minute. The goal was the 58^th career marker for Fedora. Little did the Eagles know that would be their highlight as Springdale senior Krista Edwards and the Dynamos would take over the match from that point. Edwards would split two defenders to score the first of her three goals in the 5^th minute of play and tie the game at 1-1. In the ninth minute of play, Edwards snuck a penalty kick past Serra goalkeeper Lauren Harter to give Springdale the lead for good.  Just a little over tow minutes into the second half, Edwards picked up the rebound of a Emma Whelan shot and found the back of the net for her third goal to give the Dynamos a commanding 3-1 lead. Chelsey Adams iced the game away for Springdale in the 78^th minute of play, converting a Kaylee Derringer feed for the games final tally. Aside from the initial breakdown, Springdale dominated the match, outshooting Serra 16-2 and out chancing the Eagles by the same margin. Serra Catholic, the 6th seed in the Class A tournament, saw its season end at (11-4-2). Springdale, the third place finisher from Section 4(A), improved to (11-6-2) on the season. The Dynamos will face 3^rd seeded Sewickley Academy on Wednesday. The Dynamos lost to the Panthers 1-0 in last years state semifinals

Tags: Bentworth, Bishop Canevin, Canon-McMillan, Central Valley, Elizabeth Forward, Franklin Regional, Highlands, Upper St. Clair