Deramo carries South Fayette to second straight WPIAL crown
Junior scores twice in 4-0 win against Fox Chapel
Fittingly Mia Deramo gave Abbey Spalla a piggyback ride off the field at Highmark Stadium because she carried South Fayette to victory, 4-0, against Fox Chapel in the WPIAL Class 3A girls soccer championship match.
A junior midfielder, Deramo scored twice in the contest. She tallied her first goal in the 12th minute. After Gabby Beinecke’s shot on goal was bobbled in the box, Deramo deposited the ball into the back of the net, providing the Lady Lions the only goal they would need to repeat as WPIAL champions.
“Getting that (first goal) was amazing,” Deramo said. “We just kept on pushing and finding the crosses. It was a great team effort and I am so proud of everyone. We knew we had to score and we did.”
Deramo scored again in the 63rd minute. She converted a penalty kick to finalize the scoring for the Lady Lions.
“Mia eats this stuff up,” said SF head coach Nick Rosser. “She loves playing on this level. She is like all of my girls. They love to compete and they embrace playing on this level.
“They like to have pressure on them. They handle it well,” he added.
South Fayette (19-3) entered the contest as the defending Class 3A champion. The Lady Lions used an overtime goal by Deramo to topple Moon in double overtime in last year’s final.
Fox Chapel defeated North Allegheny, 1-0, also in double overtime to capture the 2023 Class 4A crown. The Foxes (18-3-1) entered the Class 3A tournament seeded No. 1 ahead of the Lions, who were seeded second.
The Lions beat Kiski, 4-0, Bethel Park, 3-2, in double overtime, and No. 6 Mars, in a shootout, 4-2, to advance to the championship match played on Nov. 2 while the Foxes eliminated Indiana, 8-0, Montour, 7-1, in overtime and Plum, 3-0.
“The girls are always prepared for good competition and they knew they had good competition,” Rosser said. “They like to compete and they like to have some kind of pressure on them.”
Beinecke alleviated the pressure when she scored at 30:52, providing a two-goal cushion for the Lady Lions at intermission.
Both Deramo and Rosser had high praise for the freshman striker.
“Gabby is incredible,” Deramo said. “The future is bright for her. It’s an honor to play with her. I hope she can keep pushing.”
“Gabby is wicked,” added Rosser. “She’s the full package. There’s a lot that she can do. She’s awesome to watch on the field. She’s very fast, loves the game and has a drive to score.”
Emma Ferrari, who assisted on Beinecke’s tally, pushed South Fayette’s advantage to three goals when she scored at 52:43.
Caitlyn Thompson earned the shutout in goal. She made six saves as Fox Chapel outshot the Lady Lions, 12-4.
“Our backline, they’re incredible, pushing up, and our goalkeeper is good at communication,” Deramo said. “(Caitlyn) talks to the backline and tells them where to go, and I think that really helped us move together and work as a team.”
As a team, the Lady Lions won the Section III crown with an undefeated 10-0 record. They also added their second district title in school history with the win against the Foxes.
“It’s great to win back-to-back,” Deramo said.
“It’s amazing,” added Rosser. “We have worked so hard for this. The girls put the effort out there all the time. They play all out every day.”
The Lady Lions now have their sights set on the big prize. They embarked on state tournament action at home against Dubois (17-3) in their quest for a PIAA championship.
“We are just here to win. Win as much as possible,” Rosser said. “We’d love to win it all.”