South Fayette upsets West Allegheny to advance to semifinals
Coach Katie Munnell is insistent that her South Fayette High School girls soccer team is much more than what’s on paper.
Because on paper, the 14th-seeded Lions should have been eliminated in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs.
On paper, a third game this season against section opponent West Allegheny should go the way of the sixth-seeded Indians, especially when they won the first two meetings during the regular season.
It’s time to find a paper shredder.
With another upset on its mind, South Fayette broke open the floodgates in the second half with three goals to defeat West Allegheny, 3-1, in a WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinal match Oct. 24 at Peters Township High School.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
South Fayette players from left, Amy Allen, Helina Van Bibber and Maura Gagliardino celebrate after upsetting rival West Allegheny, 3-1, in the quarterfinals of the WPIAL Class 3A girls soccer playoffs game at Peters Township.
In the second game of the doubleheader, Peters Township advanced in Class 4A with a 2-1 come-from-behind win over Butler.
“It’s something that we’ve been waiting for,” Munnell said about finally getting the better of West Allegheny. “Unfortunately, our record doesn’t show what we could do on the field. Tonight, we proved it.”
South Fayette (11-6-1) advances to the semifinals for the first time since 2015 to face second-seeded Oakland Catholic, which was a 3-0 winner over Kiski, Saturday at a site and time to be determined. The Lions were eliminated in the quarterfinals each of the last two seasons.
“We knew it was going to be a fight,” Munnell said. “They got us 4-3 the first time this season, then beat us in double overtime. I guess it was just a third times a charm.”
Annalisa Mariano broke a scoreless halftime tie just more than seven minutes into the second half when she took a pass from Helina VanBibber to blast a shot into the bottom half of the net.
After the teams traded goals, including one from VanBibber that initially gave the Lions a 2-0 lead, Maura Gagliardino scored off a corner kick to ice the victory for the Lions.
“When you look at it on paper, we aren’t represented well,” Munnell said. “I don’t think our girls even know we are the 14th seed. I didn’t tell them. We know what we’re capable of. As coaches, we lead them to what their potential is, not as others see us.”