Seneca Valley shuts out Upper St. Clair in WPIAL girls soccer semifinals

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, October 27, 2018 | 9:51 PM

A couple of bounces can change the outcome of any game.

In Saturday’s Class 4A girls soccer semifinal at North Allegheny High School, it was a bounce off of the crossbar in favor of Seneca Valley early in the second half that led to the Raiders scoring the first goal of the match.

Mia Zec’s putback in the 45th minute proved to be the game-winner as Seneca Valley defeated Upper St. Clair, 2-0.

However, it was the bounces earlier in the match that did not result in goals that made the difference.

Upper St. Clair goaltender Juliana Gianni was beaten twice in the first half, but was saved by great plays by the defense behind her. Midway through the first half, Natalie Gilbert headed away a would-be goal as she stood just inside the far post. Gilbert was well-positioned on the back post on a corner kick to keep the game scoreless. Thirty seconds later, Veronica Gibbons kicked away a ball that had squirted past the keeper and was heading toward the net.

Five minutes later, it was Seneca Valley that got the defensive play it needed. During a scramble in the box, Panthers forward Jane Madson appeared to direct the ball toward an open net vacated by Seneca Valley keeper Morgan Sinan. However, the ball came to a stop directly on the goal line and was cleared out of danger by the Raiders defense.

“Sometimes you need breaks in playoff games, and you need a bounce here or there,” Seneca Valley coach Mark Perry said. “And that ball didn’t go in. If it goes in, it’s probably a different game, different story.”

“We gave up two opportunities that we dug off of the goal line, and they give up an opportunity that they dug off of the goal line,” Upper St. Clair coach David Gray said. “I think there’s some question of whether or not that first one was in the goal for us, but it is what it is.”

Five minutes into the second half, Seneca Valley got a bounce in its favor again. Ashley Rea sent a cross to the edge of the 6-yard box. Lauren Sileo’s diving header was stopped at point-blank range by Gianni. The ball then bounced off of the crossbar and back into play, where Zec, a reserve player, slammed it home for the first goal of the match.

“We made an adjustment at halftime,” Perry said, “put Mia Zec at right midfield, and she was right where she was supposed to be.”

Less than five minutes later, Seneca Valley got the insurance goal on a set piece. After another Upper St. Clair defender, this time Mia Snyder, cleared a ball away from an empty Panthers goal, Sileo got another chance to get a head on a cross. Sileo’s header off of the corner kick went top corner to double the Seneca Valley advantage.

“That’s been a problem for us,” Perry said of getting the two-goal lead. “We’ve had some games where we were winning and we let teams back in.”

From there, Seneca Valley’s defense shut down the Panthers attack. Upper St. Clair could not establish an offensive presence, registering only five shots on goal in the match, most coming from outside of the box.

“We just wanted to clog the middle, because we know that (Landy) Mertz and (Veronica) Gibbons are very good,” Perry said. “Gibbons is as good as a high school player can be in the air, and we were able to limit her to maybe one or two chances in the corners, and that was huge for us.”

“We changed formations three times in the last 20 minutes of the game trying to get a goal back,” Gray said. “Hats off to Seneca Valley, they did what they needed to do. They were strong in the air and took that away from us. They had constant pressure on Landy (Mertz), and we couldn’t get wide either.

“I have no complaints with the way we played tonight. We lost to a really good team that was well-organized.”

Upper St. Clair (13-4, 11-3) had its season come to an end one game shy of a trip to Highmark Stadium. The Panthers graduate seven seniors from a historic class in Upper St. Clair soccer history.

“It’s tough to let this group of seniors go,” Gray said. “I don’t know that we’ve had another team in my 15 years that has been as successful as this group. They’ve been a special group, I think they should be proud. In the end, what they’ve done here in their career is fantastic. It’s great to be a part of it.”

For top-seeded Seneca Valley (15-2, 10-2), Perry knows how important a couple of bounces can be and how they can impact a game.

“To win something, you have to have some breaks and have some bounces,” he said. “And tonight we got them. We can play again and it might be a different result, because they’re very good.”

The Raiders will face No. 3 Peters Township, which defeated No. 2 Norwin, 1-0, in the championship match. The match will take place either Thursday or Saturday at Highmark Stadium.

“They’re big, strong and physical,” Perry said of his team’s championship opponent. “It’s one game and we’ve got a few days (to prepare). We’ll enjoy this tonight, then Monday we’ll get to work.”

James Dotson is a freelance writer.

Tags: Seneca Valley, Upper St. Clair