Greensburg Central Catholic soccer teams set for PIAA finals

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Thursday, November 19, 2020 | 5:15 PM

Purchase Photo Options

PIAA soccer championships

Boys Class A

Championship

Greensburg Central Catholic (17-1) vs. Faith Christian Academy (15-1)

1:30 p.m. Friday, Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey

Coaches: Tyler Solis, GCC; Ryan Clymer, Faith Christian

State titles: GCC 0 (first appearance); Faith Christian 0 (first appearance)

How they got here: GCC — Defeated Rockwood, 3-2, and Brockway, 2-1; Faith Christian — Defeated Moravian Academy, 2-1, and Tulpehocken, 1-0 (OT).

Corner kicks: GCC advanced to the state final for the first time with a 2-1 win over Brockway at Norwin. It was the Centurions’ third straight one-goal win but none of those games went to overtime. … Sophomore Carlo Denis has seven goals in six playoff games and 36 for the season. He had the game-winner in the last two victories. … Solis is 83-14-4 in five seasons as coach. He is a Hummelstown native and played at Lower Dauphin, which played its home games at Hersheypark Stadium. … Solis was named WPIAL Class A Coach of the Year and senior defender Seth Skowronek the player of the year. … Faith Christian won District 1, home to schools in Bucks, Montgomery, Chester and Delaware counties. The school is located in Quakertown, about 270 miles east of GCC on the PA Turnpike. It is about 50 miles northwest of Philadelphia. … In the semifinals, Kieran Rea’s goal with 3:56 to play in overtime lifted the Lions to a 1-0 win over Tulpehocken and a trip to their first state final. … Clymer, the Headmaster of Faith Christian, is an alum. He is in his 15th year as head coach and is 261-43-11 with eight straight Bicentennial League championships and four district titles, in 2016, ‘17, ‘18 and ‘20. … Faith Christian defeated defending state champion Moravian Academy in the quarterfinals. Moravian beat Winchester Thurston last year in Hershey.

Girls

Class A

Championship

Greensburg Central Catholic (18-0) vs. Southern Columbia (14-9)

11 a.m. Friday, Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey

Coaches: Olivia Kruger, GCC; Derek Stine, Southern Columbia

State titles: GCC 2 (2012, ‘13); Southern Columbia 1 (2018)

How they got here: GCC — Defeated West Branch, 7-1, and Cambridge Springs, 7-0; Southern Columbia — Defeated Moravian Academy, 6-0, and Conwell-Egan, 9-0.

Corner kicks: GCC returns to the state finals for the first time since 2014 after winning PIAA titles in ‘12 and ‘13 under coach Ashley Shasko. The Centurions were state runner-up in ‘14, ‘06 and ‘05, the latter two finishes in Class AA. GCC beat Southern Columbia, 2-1, to win the title in ‘13. It downed Conwell-Egan, 5-1, to win in ‘12. … The Centurions have multiple scoring threats, including sophomore Sara Felder (29 goals), senior Sam Felder (25) and junior Tatum Gretz (24). Gretz, a Villanova recruit, has 75 career goals. … Kruger, a former Tulpehocken and Millersville goalkeeper, is the wife of Seton Hill coach Zak Kruger. … Southern Columbia, known as a football power, saw its soccer team advance to the state final for the second time in three years. You might call this run, however, improbable. The Tigers were 7-9 late in the regular season but ignited a run to seven straight wins and a trip to Hershey. They were the No. 8 seed in the district and upset No. 1 Benton (3-2, 2OTs), No. 4. South Williamsport (2-0) and No. 2 East Juniata (4-2). … Sophomore forward Loren Gehret has 33 goals and 21 assists. She has 17 goals over her last seven games. … Gehret had four goals against Conwell-Egan to give her 50 for her career. … Freshman Peyton Wisloski added two scores, and junior keeper Mackenzie Palacz had the shutout in goal. … The Tigers won their only state title in 2018, defeating Freedom, 3-2, in the final.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Greensburg C.C.