Lola Abraham scores all 3 goals as Riverview girls soccer makes history with section title

By: Michael Love
Monday, October 16, 2023 | 10:34 PM

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The Riverview girls soccer team clinched a share of the Section 1-A championship when Springdale lost to Greensburg Central Catholic on Saturday.

But the Raiders were not willing to share the title with anyone, let alone the section rival Dynamos.

Lola Abraham tallied a hat trick, and Riverview held off a late Springdale charge to post a 3-2 victory in the section finale for both teams Monday evening at Springdale High School.

The outright title is the first section crown for Riverview in program history. The Raiders won their 15th in a row since a 4-3 loss to Greensburg Central Catholic in the season opener and finished section play at 11-1.

“We didn’t have a banner for girls soccer, and we wanted one,” senior co-captain Georgia Tsambis said. “That was one of our big goals this season from the first game we played. We knew this game was going to be a big challenge, but we had a mission to finish the section with a win, and we did that.”

The Raiders completed the season sweep of the Dynamos. Abraham had all four goals for Riverview in a shutout win Sept. 21 under the lights at Riverside Park.

“I wasn’t surprised at all that this game was close right down to the end,” Raiders coach Sean Abraham said. “The first meeting, we were amped up because it was our senior night and was under the lights. We knew coming in (Monday) that it was do-or-die for (Springdale) because they had to win to share the section title.

“It was a well-played game, everything we expected. I was really happy with the result. The girls put the work in, and they are section champions.”

Springdale fell to 11-3 overall, 9-3 in the section.

“It was a completely different story for us from the first game (against Riverview),” Springdale coach Marc Bentley said. “The girls showed up and played with confidence. They fought hard. I was really proud of how they performed. It was one of our best performances all season. It’s no secret that Lola is really tough to stop.

“Give a lot of credit to Riverview for the way they played and have been playing all season, but I think we have a lot of momentum going into the playoffs.”

The Dynamos and Raiders close the regular season Tuesday. Springdale travels to North Hills, and Riverview visits Section 2-2A champion Freeport (12-1-1).

The WPIAL girls soccer playoff pairings will be revealed Wednesday afternoon on the Triblive High School Sports Network.

Both teams finished the game with 12 shots, and Springdale held a 9-8 advantage in shots on goal.

Riverview led 2-0 at halftime, but Springdale came out quickly to start the second half. Junior Briana Ross scored just two minutes into the second 40 to cut the deficit in half.

Abraham finished off her hat trick with 20:35 left with a breakaway. Dynamos keeper Baileigh Haas got a foot on the ball, but she was unable to alter the ball’s path enough to keep it from going in.

Brooke Taliani scored with 7:30 left to close to gap to 3-2, but Springdale wasn’t able to get the equalizer.

It looked as if Abraham had her fourth goal of the game with about four minutes remaining. Her shot from the right wing deflected off the left goal post, and she cleaned up the rebound. But the referee waved off the goal on an offsides call.

Springdale went into halftime with an 8-5 shot advantage, and the shots on goal were even at five apiece.

The Dynamos owned three of the first four shots and had the better of possession in the early going, but Abraham was looming in the midfield, and she cashed in with 26:05 left until halftime.

She gained possession at 30 yards, and with two Springdale defenders on her, she broke away and fired a shot past Haas for a 1-0 Raiders lead.

Riverview made it 2-0 in the 25th minute as Abraham boomed a shot from 40 yards that found its way into the back of the net.

Two minutes after Abraham’s second tally, the Dynamos came close to getting on the board. Taliani struck a ball from 30 yards only to have it deflect off the cross bar and out of play.

Springdale generated four first-half corner kicks, but all four were denied by Riverview keeper Ciara Brun and the Raiders defense.

Brun made seven saves, and Haas finished the game with five.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Riverview, Springdale