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South Fayette girls soccer program looking to future

By Eleanor Bailey almanac Sports Editor ebailey@thealmanac.Net 5 min read
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Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

Katie Munnell said she is proud of how her South Fayette soccer team rebounded to win five of its last six regular season games to qualify for the WPIAL playoffs.

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Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

Upper St. Clair’s Carson Bogan fends off defenders as she controls the ball.

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Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

Upper St. Clair’s Natalie Gilbert (21) slide tackles the ball away from Mt. Lebanon’s Riley Sweet during a recent game.

Franklin Regional defeated South Fayette 2-1 to eliminate the Lions from the WPIAL Class AAA girls soccer playoffs.

Despite having their season come to a close, some felt it was a victory for their program.

Under coach Kaityln Munnell, the Lions progressed from being a sixth-place team in Section 4-AAA into a playoff contender in a matter of weeks. They won five of their last six games and finished third in the division with a 6-6 record.

“A spark lit,” said Munnell of the late-season surge. “The girls showed their true Lion Pride and fought for what they wanted.”

That playoff appearance went as well except for the final score.

“Our girls played phenomenally,” Munnell said. “I am so proud of them. We played SF soccer. We possessed the ball. We worked together as a unit. Unfortunately, that was not represented on the scoreboard.

“Regardless,” she continued, “we had every reason to end the season with pride.”

The Lions finished the year at 7-8 overall.

They graduate eight seniors.

Amy Allen, Cecelia Gagliardino and Sophia DiMartini captained the squad.

Brooke Eisnor and Caroline Fleming shared time in the nets. Sarah Dadey, Katylnn Kyle and Julianna Ruzza contributed as defensive midfielders.

“We had an amazing senior class full of impact players.” Munnell said. “We wish them the best in their future as they will be missed by their coaches and teammates.”

Munnell said she expects her large group of underclassmen to step up and to “play with pride” as they continue to expand upon the foundation laid by the most recent graduating class.

“We will adapt and make some changes, but that’s what strong teams do,” Munnell said. “I fully expect the younger players to continue to build on this season, because they have the passion and love for the game.”

Julianna Rossi is one of those underclassmen returning to next year’s team. The freshman scored the lone tally in the game against Franklin Regional.

Other freshmen on the team are Anna Fraps, Sammi Sharrer, Abbigail Rosser, Deleaney Duchess, Kaylee Hendricks, Olivia Renk, Deanna Kanafani, Sydney Burns, Alex Deleaney, Kendal Bindinost and Bella Gruntz.

The juniors are Annalisa Mariano, Brooke Symanski, Kylie Schultz and Natalie Lex, while Anna Hertzler, Gabriella Gagliardino, Katie Gillen, Rachel Black and Cammi Feltz are all sophomores.

Rocco leads USC

Emily Rocco registered a hat trick and paced Upper St. Clair (8-6) to a 6-1 victory over Latrobe (4-5-1) in the first round of the WPIAL Class AAAA girls soccer playoffs.

Mackenzie Dupre, Natalie Gilbert and Carson Bogan staked the Panthers to a 3-1 advantage before Rocco’s three-goal effort in the second half.

Dupre and Lily Falce each recorded assists.

The wide margin of victory differed from USC’s other wins this year. The Panthers posted four one-goal victories during the regular season, including a 1-0 win against top-seeded Peters Township in section action.

In the quarterfinals, however, it was Peters Township advancing while the Panthers ended their season with a 4-0 loss to Butler.

PT, which is the No. 1 seed, defeated Seneca Valley, 1-0.Irene Doleno registered the game-winning goal.

Emma Sawich, who also had the shutout in the net, picked up an assist on the goal.

The Indians (11-1-1) will play North Allegheny (9-2), a 3-0 winner over Norwin in the semifinals set for 6:30 p.m. Nov. 2.

Three ousted

In other girls first-round action, Bethel Park (6-5-2), fell 3-0 to North Allegheny (8-2-0).

Additionally, Seton LaSalle fell 5-1 to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and Bishop Canevin lost 2-1 in a shootout against Serra Catholic.

Upper St. Clair blanked Latrobe, 5-0, in WPIAL Quad-A boys’ playoff action.

With the win, the Panthers advanced to the quarterfinals to play No. 4 seed Fox Chapel on Oct. 31 (passed deadline.)

Dev Patel earned the shutout in the nets.

Jack Myers and Ben Bacdayan chalked up two goals and an assist each while Andrew Popp recorded a single tally.

Nick Tanner, Anderson Laudardes and Jack Cassaday also had assists.

SF edges Plum

Chad Eldridge’s golden goal propelled South Fayette to victory, 2-1, in overtime against Plum in the first round of the WPIAL Class AAA boys’ soccer playoffs.

Jacob Burns assisted.

Dan Gormley scored the first goal for the Lions before the Mustangs tied the contest with under 11 minutes to play in regulation.

In a quarterfinal win against Montour, Eldridge exploded for a pair of goals. Gormley and Nate Belcufine supplied single tallies.

With the win, the Lions advanced to the WPIAL semifinals to be played Nov. 2. Winners move on to the championships set for 8 p.m. Nov. 5 at a site to be determined.

SLS blanks BCC

Seton LaSalle shutout Beaver County Christian, 2-0, on pair of tallies by Anthony Newman and Cam Colwell scored and the goalkeeping of Nick Cherry.

The Rebels (12-2) met No. 5 Springdale in a Class A quarterfinal game played Oct. 31.

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