Belle Vernon completes dramatic comeback in beating Ambridge, 3-2

Photo by Ed Thompson

WPIAL Girls Soccer Class 3A – First Round Playoff 

FINAL: Belle Vernon 3, Ambridge 2

Coming into its first-round WPIAL Girls 3A match, Belle Vernon girls soccer team was looking to get a first round monkey off its back on its home turf when facing 12th seeded Ambridge.

Belle Vernon dug a hole early on, but rallied with three late second half goals to finally earn a first-round playoff victory, 3-2, beating the Bridgers in dramatic fashion.

Belle Vernon were trailing 2-0 as late as the 68th minute, but capped the come-from behind effort with the game-winner from Chloe Morgan, who converted a corner kick to a crowded near post area with just 37 seconds left in the match.

ED THOMPSON PHOTOS 

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HOW IT HAPPENED

Just a minute and seven seconds into the match, the monkey must have felt more like a gorilla on Belle Vernon’s backs, as Ambridge’s Gretchen Oslick delivered a floater over the out stretched arms of 6-foot-2 goalkeeper Grace Henderson to take the early 1-0 lead.

The lead would be extended to 2-0 off of a header from Sophia Chickos from a corner kick by Kylee Boback. 

The majority of the play would be played at midfield or in the Belle Vernon half outside of a couple of free kicks sent into the box from Adeline Guess but were headed out of danger. Slippery Rock commit Brooke Lively had to come out once to cover a ball that was challenged at the edge of the six.

Ambridge would come out in the second half and play tactically in their defensive half. Belle Vernon would register their first shots in the game. The idea it appeared to limit the quality of shots on goal keeper Brooke Lively. 

Ambridge would apply pressure in the 18 of Belle Vernon and Adeline Guess would deflect an Ambridge shot away on an open net to keep the score 2-0. This would prove very important.

With just over 11 minutes to play Morgan Einodshofer would bury a shot into the upper corner of the net to bring Belle Vernon back within one goal.

Belle Vernon would test Lively again from distance forcing her to make a big save to her lower right to keep the game 2-1. 

With just three minutes left in the game Belle Vernon’s Adeline Guess would drill a free kick into the box and off of an Ambridge defender’s head — and bouncing past the goal line for an own goal that leveled the contest.

Overtime was looming large then Chloe Morgan off a corner directs the ball into the back of the net with 37.6 seconds left in the match and it would be the final as Belle Vernon makes the dramatic comeback and gets that monkey off their back after two first round knock outs in the last two years.

Belle Vernon will take on Oakland Catholic who 3-0 over South Fayette.