Deer Lakes girls soccer tops reigning WPIAL champ Avonworth
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Tuesday, October 22, 2024 | 9:36 PM
Deer Lakes’ Reese Waruszewski takes the winning shot past Avonworth for the only score of the game during a WPIAL Class 2A first-round game Tuesday.
Deer Lakes keeper Mikayla Potter makes a save against Avonworth’s Makeda Grieco during a WPIAL Class 2A first-round game Tuesday.
Deer Lakes’ Olivia Shurina fights for the ball with Avonworth’s Reese Berad and Katie Petrina during a WPIAL Class 2A first-round game Tuesday.
Deer Lakes’ Victoria Troyan clears the ball past Avonworth’s Megan Obersteiner during a WPIAL Class 2A first-round game Tuesday.
Deer Lakes’ Claire Cacurak has her shot blocked by Avonworth’s Bria Onshyko during a WPIAL Class 2A first-round game Tuesday.
Deer Lakes’ Tessa Hollibaugh (right) celebrates with Reese Waruszewski after Waruszewski’s goal against Avonworth during a WPIAL Class 2A first-round game Tuesday.
Deer Lakes’ Tessa Hollibaugh fights for the ball with Avonworth’s Sylvie Smith during a WPIAL Class 2A first-round game Tuesday.
Deer Lakes’ Lexie Godbolt keeps Avonworth’s Makeda Grieco away from the ball as keeper Mikayla Potter pursues during a WPIAL Class 2A first-round game Tuesday.
Deer Lakes’ Claire Cacurak fights for the ball with Avonworth’s Grata O’Brien during a WPIAL Class 2A first-round game Tuesday.
There will be a new WPIAL girls soccer champion in Class 2A.
Deer Lakes, the No. 7 seed, got a goal from freshman Reese Waruszewski in the ninth minute of the second half, and that turned out to be enough as the homestanding Lancers eliminated three-time defending champion Avonworth, 1-0, on Tuesday evening in a first-round matchup at Lancers Stadium.
“It warms my heart to see how they all came together tonight to get that win against such a quality program,” Deer Lakes coach Frank Accetta said.
“I have a great amount of respect for Avonworth and coach (JC) Mahan. To win three WPIAL titles in a row and to be in the state finals the past two years, to beat a program like that, it took all the girls playing together and playing for each other. We needed our best efforts, and we got that. We had two girls go out of the game, and two girls came in off the bench and held down the fort. Everyone stepped up.”
Deer Lakes (14-3-2) advances to the WPIAL quarterfinals for the first time since 2019 and will face No. 2 Quaker Valley on Saturday at a site and time to be determined.
The Quakers advanced with 4-0 victory over No. 15 Southmoreland on Monday.
“It’s been a while (since a trip to the quarterfinals), so this feels pretty good,” Accetta said. “All the work the girls put in, they are seeing it pay off.”
Avonworth, the 10th seed, saw its season come to a close at 7-11-1.
“At the start of the year, we have our values, and our work ethic value was the one we really highlighted,” Mahan said.
“We symbolized it with a four-leaf clover, saying that if you work hard, luck will come. We thought tonight we deserved a little bit of that luck, but it just didn’t come. But the girls worked extremely hard and did everything in their power. There were a couple of tough calls we didn’t get to go our way, and I think if we would’ve had those, the tables could’ve shifted.”
Four Antelope seniors — Katie Petrina, Alessia Padalino, Greta O’Brien, and Elena Zimmerman — suited up for the final time Monday. A fifth senior, Alabama commit Fiona Mahan, was lost for the season with a knee injury during the Avonworth tournament in late August.
“They have worked and put so much into the program,” Coach Mahan said. “They did such a great job to lead the younger group to keep our legacy going.”
Avonworth had the run of possession over the first 10 minutes of the second half. After its first corner kick of the game in the eighth minute of the half, the offense kept up the pressure and came close to taking the lead. Two dangerous chances a couple of feet from the Deer Lakes goal mouth eventually ended up with the ball in the hands of Lancers’ keeper Mikayla Potter.
Deer Lakes countered quickly after the play, and Waruszewski tallied her first varsity playoff goal with 30 minutes, 56 seconds left in regulation to give the Lancers the lead.
The score came on Deer Lakes’ first shot of the second half and ninth of the game.
“It felt really good because I am really close with most of the seniors, so I wanted to do what I could to help get them that win and help move them on (to the quarterfinals),” Waruszewski said.
“I felt like I was doing good for the team. It was a total team effort. Everyone was playing their hearts out.”
Avonworth and Deer Lakes traded golden scoring chances with a little more than 18 minutes left on the second-half clock as the intensity and pressure grew with each second that ticked away.
The Antelopes did all they could to get the equalizer, but the Deer Lakes defense was up to the task. Petrina made a charge into the Deer Lakes goal box with four minutes left, but Potter was there to make the save.
Padalino delivered a free kick from 20 yards that Potter was able to secure with 2:30 left.
Deer Lakes finished with a 14-7 advantage in total shots and led 7-5 in shots on goal. Zimmerman made six saves for Avonworth, and Potter recorded five saves for the Lancers.
“Against a team like Avonworth, you have to play all 80 minutes,” Accetta said. “One slip up, and they will make you pay. A team with that pedigree, they’re not going to stop playing.”
Deer Lakes controlled possession for most of the first half and fired off eight eight shots to Avonworth’s two. But the Lancers were unlucky in their attempts as the teams went into halftime knotted up 0-0.
Tessa Hollibaugh tallied Deer Lakes’ first shot in the fourth minute, but her attempt from just inside the goal box sailed a foot wide of the Avonworth right goal post.
Waruszewski delivered Deer Lakes’ first shot on goal in the 16th minute.
Zimmerman made a nifty save, ranging to her left on a free kick from Lexie Godbolt in the 17th minute.
Lancers junior Claire Cacurak, who came into the game with a team-best 22 goals, shot from the left wing in the 21st minute, and her attempt rolled swiftly out of bounds two feet wide of the right goal post.
“That first 20 minutes or so was kind of a feeling-out period for the girls where we were on our heels a little bit,” Mahan said.
“Then it started to shift a little bit, and the last 10 minutes of the first half, we kind of put our foot forward and changed the momentum. I think it carried over into the second half.”
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: Avonworth, Deer Lakes
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