OLSH girls soccer looks to slow down high-scoring GCC in WPIAL title game

By: Paul Schofield
Wednesday, November 4, 2020 | 6:42 PM

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When Greensburg Central Catholic collides with Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in the WPIAL Class A girls soccer championship Thursday at Gateway, it will be a battle of opposites.

The No. 1 Centurions feature a high-powered offense that averages 7.9 goals per game. The No. 6 Chargers (12-2) have only allowed more than two goals in a game once this season. That was their 4-3 win against No. 3 Freedom in the quarterfinals.

“I didn’t realize that,” OLSH coach Paige Petroval said. “They have a lot of scoring punch, but our defense is pretty solid. Hopefully we can hold them down. We also have a pretty strong offense too.”

Greensburg Central Catholic (15-0) has scored 103 goals this season compared to 53 for OLSH. The Centurions have only allowed 17 goals and OLSH 18.

The Centurions are led by the Felder sisters, senior Sam and sophomore Sara. They combined on three goals in the Centurions’ 8-4 win against South Side on Monday. Junior Bethany Winnor also scored twice.

“We know they have some players with college commits, so hopefully we can mark them,” Petroval said. “We don’t have one or two players that lead us. Everyone has played a role in our success. We’re a strong team overall.”

Petroval said goalkeeper Isabella Costanzo has kept the Chargers in a lot of games with key saves. She said the team’s seniors — defender Abby Aiello, outside forward Ella Wrabley and midfielders Sydney Grimes and Julia Centofanti — have all played well.

Greensburg Central Catholic first-year coach Olivia Kruger, whose husband Zak is the women’s soccer coach at Seton Hill, said she’s pleased what the team has accomplished so far.

“I asked them before the season what their goals were and they said make it back to the WPIAL championship,” Kruger said. “Now they want to win a state title.

“Getting to the finals again means everything to them. To them, it’s everything they wanted and hoped for. You can tell they are buzzing and ready to go.”

Greensburg Central Catholic has won six WPIAL titles and two PIAA titles. This is the school’s 11th trip to the finals. GCC fell to Shady Side Academy, 2-1, in 2019. OLSH made it to the quarterfinals but lost to Shady Side Academy.

OLSH knocked off No. 2 Steel Valley, 2-1, in overtime Monday to reach the finals.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Greensburg C.C., Our Lady of the Sacred Heart