GIRLS 1A SOCCER FINAL
Shady Side Academy Indians (19-3, WPIAL Champions) vs Fairfield Green Knights (24-1)
Friday, November 18 – 11 a.m. – Hersheypark Stadium
Broadcast – PCN-TV (click here for Cable TV schedule and live streaming information)
The Shady Side girls soccer program has had a lot of success in recent years, despite playing in the same section and classification as Greensburg Central Catholic.
This year, not only did they beat their rivals and two-time PIAA champions twice, with stingy defense and Eliza Cochran goals in WPIAL Final and PIAA Semifinal, they also advanced to the PIAA Girls soccer final in Hershey for the first time ever.
The Indians have rolled through the second half of the regular season and into the postseason, running a winning streak to 13 games.
“This is the group that deserves it,” Indians coach Mary Lynch said after the PIAA Semifinal win. “They have such camaraderie on and off the field, and they have come a long way to keep this run going. It’s not easy to beat a team like GCC twice.”
On Friday, they will have their chance to earn the school its first-ever PIAA soccer title when they take on Fairfield.
The Green Knights took down District 4 champion Warrior Run on Tuesday night at Cumberland Valley High School, 3-0, in the state semifinals to advance to Friday’s state championship game.
Fairfield and Warrior Run played to a scoreless first half, but the deadlock was broken early in the second half by Hannah Logue. Annabel Anderson made it 2-0 late in the second half after slotting home a nice feed from Logue to give Fairfield insurance. Nora Clarke then scored in the waning minutes to put the game to rest.
After shutting down the WPIAL’s all-time leading scorer Bailey Cartwright in successive game, Shady Side’s back line will face another challenge as Fairfield has now outscored its three state playoff foes, 18-3.
Here was my interview with Lynch after the Indians won the WPIAL title at Highmark Stadium on November 5…
If you are unable to make it to Hershey, all PIAA games will be televised on PCN. Pittsburgh Soccer Report will be posting updates of all WPIAL team results on Friday and Saturday.