Avonworth girls soccer tops Southmoreland, reaches WPIAL title game

By: George Guido
Tuesday, November 2, 2021 | 8:35 PM

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Avonworth’s speedy, wide-open offense proved to be too much for Southmoreland in Tuesday night’s Class 2A girls semifinals.

The Antelopes (15-3-1) scored three goals in the first 12 minutes of the match and were on their way to a 4-1 victory over the Scotties (14-2-1) at West Allegheny’s Joe DiMichelea Stadium.

Sophomore Minah Syam found the right corner of the Southmoreland goal 6 minutes, 17 seconds into the match. She scored again with 31:42 to go in the first half when the ball was deflected right at her foot.

Giani Babusci finished the surge three minutes later.

“I think we have our top three forwards and two attacking midfielders who all play together so well,” Avonworth coach J.C. Mahan said. “They were able to take advantage of opportunities and work the ball in the corners and get shots off.”

Avonworth will try to capture its first WPIAL title against section rival North Catholic at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Highmark Stadium.

“It was deja vu like last season,” Scotties coach Josh Pajak said. “They put three in 12 minutes on us, and we got two back. I credit Avonworth: They’re the best team we’ve played all year.”

Southmoreland (14-2-1) isn’t done, however. The Scotties, in the semifinals for the first time in school history, will play Shady Side Academy in a consolation game Thursday at a site and time to be determined. The winner will be the WPIAL’s third entry into the PIAA tournament next week.

Babusci nearly scored again about 10 minutes later, but the shot went slightly left.

The Scotties finally had some momentum as Olivia Cernuto shot and hit the right post with 11:30 left and then tried the left side moments later with no success.

“It wasn’t so much what they did defensively,” Pajak said. “They controlled the midfield. We couldn’t get any passes and get on a break.”

Avonworth kept threatening, but Southmoreland was able to prevent any further scoring in the first half.

“Even in the last game, we scored in the first five minutes,” Mahan said. “We had a lot of games where we’ve scored early, and we were able to set the tone for the game.”

Ava Wert concluded the Avonworth scoring by taking a long pass and getting behind the Scotties defenders with 34:14 to go.

Cernuto finally got her 26th goal of the season with 14:14 to go, splitting a pair of Antelopes defenders. Kendall Fabery had a free kick that went over the goal as Southmoreland worked for some chances late in the going. But the nine-game winning streak was over for the Scotties.

“We didn’t give up, our girls played hard throughout, and we can’t ask for anything more,” Pajak said. “I told them to hold their heads high and get ready for Thursday. That’ll be our focus.”

Avonworth and North Catholic split their regular-season games.

Tags: Avonworth, Southmoreland