close

Upper St. Clair girls’ soccer reaches PIAA Final Four

By Eleanor Bailey 3 min read
article image -

Upper St. Clair coach David Gray prepared to compile his list of players for penalty kicks when Emma Hasco blasted that notion of a shootout and Central Bucks South out of the PIAA Class AAA girls’ soccer playoffs.

“I was thinking this was coming down to penalty kicks when Emma crushed that shot,” Gray said of Hasco’s game-winning goal that capped a 2-1 double-overtime victory and vaulted the Lady Panthers into last night’s state semifinals.

USC (18-2-1) battled Norwin (24-0) for the right to play in the PIAA championship match set for 4 p.m. Nov. 22 in Hershey. The game, contested Nov. 15 after The Almanac went to press, was a rematch of the WPIAL Class AAA championship game played Nov. 6 at Highmark Stadium. In that match, the Knights scored a 3-0 victory.

“If you want to get to Hershey, you’ve got to beat the best team to get there,” said Gray. “Norwin is a great team and we want to try and make their life difficult for them. When we played them the first time, they created opportunities and when we made mistakes they punished us.”

In the quarterfinals, USC made few mistakes and held Central Bucks South scoreless through the first half. Nikki Gibbons kept the opposition in check and USC relied on a strong defensive front from Mia Snyder Elaina Walnoha and Jessica Murphy along with Reilly Ford and Brianna Murgi in the defensive midfield until the Panthers broke the 0-0 deadlock.

On a corner kick in the second half, Murgi drilled the first goal of the game homre for the Panthers before Central Bucks South notched the equalizer on a penalty kick.

“Brianna was absolutely outstanding. Rock solid,” Gray said. “She was one of our top players on defense and our play in that end was crucial.”

Critical was Hasco’s play and decisive score. With less than two minutes remaining in the second, 15-minute overtime frame, the Penn State recruit rifled in the game-winning goal.

“Emma orchestrates everything. Landy Mertz, Rachel Witte, Kelsey McCown, Maddy Rocks. They all run through her and they all work together,” Gray said.

To reach the Final Four in the state, the Panthers have also relied upon Lauren Hamel and Andie Villella for defense as well as Tommie Lackner, Katherine Miller, Lauren Hamel, Jessica Sourbeer, Carey Stief, Abigail Perrio and Melody Vissman in the midfield. Lauren Dudley, Corrin Bogan and Peyton Bayer have been strong on the forward line and Samantha Smith is a sophomore goalkeeper alongside Gibbons, who is a freshman.

The Lady Panthers reached the quarterfinals of the PIAA playoffs by dispatching McDowell, 4-0, in a first-round match played at Veterans Stadium in Erie.

Mertz scored twice while Rocks and Witte tacked on the other scores. Murgi and Rocks racked up assists for the Panthers, who were undefeated Section 5 champions.

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $/week.

Subscribe Today