WPIAL Girls Class 1A Final
FINAL: Springdale 5, Winchester Thurston 3
Match Report
While Winchester Thurston never trailed in the first half, holding the lead for more than 18 minutes of that time thanks to a pair of opportunistic goals, Springdale (17-1-0) showed their class as the second half began, burying the Bears (15-6-0) with a storm of shots and three goals in five minutes.
Winchester Thurston leapt ahead just 2:45 into the game thanks to Meredith Snyder, who scored off a free kick to net the Bears’ first goal in more than 160 minutes against Springdale to start the season.
The lead lasted less than a minute as Dynamos’ superstar Briana Ross pounced on a Bears pass, breaking upfield and knotting things up with her first of two goals in the half… and 39th tally of the season.
Ross said that the early deficit served as a wake up call, helping she and her teammates shake off the nerves of an appearance in the championship game.
“I feel like we needed that because of the nerves going into the game,” Ross said. “It forced us to put those nerves away and to actually play the game.”
Springdale controlled possession for most of the half from there, but the Bears took full advantage of their breakouts heading the other way. Nora Coen-Pirani made it 2-1 at the 20th minute, gaining a step on her defenders down the right flank before tiptoeing to execute a tight turn along the goal line, keeping the ball in bounds on her way to beating Springdale keeper Baileigh Hass with an awkward carom.
Ross scored off a corner kick in the 38th minute to make it a brand new game, sending it to the half tied 2-2.
Bears’ keeper Maeve Dever stopped a dangerous shot from Ross early in the second half, then saved a point shot off a corner kick. Springdale continued to press and took their first lead of the night in the 52nd minute, with Ross passing to Carissa Walsh for a goal that skipped out of Dever’s reach.
Springdale opened a commanding lead four minutes later, when Hailey Marchlewski took a rocket of a shot that bounced away from Dever. Molly Hurley pounced on the rebound to make it 4-2.
52 seconds later Walsh made it a brace on a feed from Hurley. Snyder scored her second of the night with seven minutes to play, but the Bears didn’t have enough time to mount a serious bid at a comeback… although a pair of shots off the crossbar in the waning minutes kept things interesting.
Bears head coach Jason Snyder said that before the game, he circled Springdale’s ability to turn defense into offense as the decisive factor. Indeed, it created two goals for the Dynamos.
“They are a very good transition team, and we knew this game was gonna be won and lost in transition,” Snyder said, later praising his team for how they responded to the three goal outburst, collected themselves, and made a game of it.
Head Coaches:
Springdale: Marc Bentley
Winchester Thurston: Jason Snyder
History
Springdale are two-time WPIAL Champions (2009, 1997). Springdale has now made six total appearances in the WPIAL Finals (1997, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2022. 2024)
This is Winchester Thurston’s first-ever appearance in the WPIAL Final
Last Five WPIAL Girls Class 1A Champions
- 2023 – Freedom
- 2022 – Freedom
- 2021 – Steel Valley
- 2020 – Greensburg Central Catholic
- 2019 – Shady Side Academy
Match Preview
Could the third time be a charm for Winchester Thurston?
The Girls WPIAL Class 1A Final will be the third meeting of the season between top seed Springdale and Winchester Thurston, who finished second in Section 4.
In their previous two matches, the Dynamos won 4-0 in early September, then in early October, won by a 2-0 margin.
Beating the same opponent three times in the same season is tough no matter how good a team has been in a given season, so that will be the challenge for the Dynamos.
Springdale have been in control in each match during the tournament, outscoring the opposition (Sewickley Academy, defending champs Freedom and Greensburg Central Catholic) by a 17-2 margin. This impressive goal differential was pretty much the same in the regular season, as the Dynamo have posted a +92 GD.
The Dynamos have shown they can respond to adversity, as early in the second half in its semifinal round match with Sewickley, the match was tied, 1-1, but then exploded for four goals to roll to a 5-1 victory.
Led by Bri Ross, who continues to provide both clinical finishing touch, with 38 goals (best in Class 1A), Springdale have dominated the opposition to the point where they’ve had a handful of scorers in double digits this season, including Carissa Walsh (12), Tessa Derringer and Molley Hurley (10 each).
Springdale’s lone loss in all competition this season came to Class 2A finalist, Burrell, by a 3-0 margin.
To start the playoffs, Winchester Thurston looked impressive with a pair of convincing 4-0 wins against teams from the same section, first Chartiers-Houston, then Bentworth to start off the playoffs.
Then in Tuesday’s semifinal, the Bears pulled out a 1-0 victory against Seton LaSalle.
Margherita Memoli has been the Bears’ leading scorer, with 12 goals in the regular season. Along with goalkeeper Meave Dever, they’ve part of a senior class that’s shown incremental progress each season. With a chance to make it to the WPIAL Finals at Highmark Stadium, it was Memoli, who came through with the game-winning goal against Seton LaSalle in the semifinal match.
They Said It: Springdale HC Marc Bentley
We know Winchester’s quality. They’re a solid team with good players all over the field. I’m expecting it to be a highly contested game, a battle. Should be a really good game.”
WPIAL Girls Soccer Class 1A: Springdale, Winchester Thurston move on to Final
Final Scoreboard: WPIAL Girls Soccer Class 1A Quarterfinal Round
WPIAL Girls Soccer Class 1A First Round: No. 1 Springdale cruises, three matches go to Extra Time
WPIAL Girls Soccer Class 1A Results
Semifinal Round
Tuesday, October 29
FINAL: Springdale 5, Sewickley Academy 1
FINAL: Winchester Thurston 1, Seton LaSalle 0
Quarterfinal Round
Saturday, October 26
FINAL: Sewickley Academy 1, Aquinas Academy 0
FINAL: Winchester Thurston 4, Bentworth 0
FINAL: Springdale 5, Freedom 0
FINAL: Seton LaSalle 4, Riverview 0
First Round (Tuesday, October 22)
Click on links below to each team to find roster where applicable
FINAL: Springdale 7, Greensburg Central Catholic 1
FINAL: Seton LaSalle 2, The Ellis School 0
FINAL: Riverview 1, Waynesburg Central 0
FINAL: Sewickley Academy 2, Riverside 0
FINAL: Freedom 1, Carlynton 1 (Freedom wins in PK shootout, 4-3)
FINAL: Winchester Thurston 4, Chartiers-Houston 0
FINAL: Bentworth 2, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 1 (Extra Time / 2)
FINAL: Aquinas Academy 0, Eden Christian Academy 0 (Aquinas advances by winning PK shootout)
WPIAL Girls Class 1A Leading Scorers
Bri Ross, Springdale — 38
Riley Mauro, Carlynton — 26
Riley Kerr, Greensburg C.C. — 22
Megan Keturakis, Bentworth — 21
Emma Eannarino, Sewickley Academy — 20
Angelina McGrath, Seton LaSalle — 20
Kolbi Rastoka, Waynesburg — 20
Brielle Dillon, Bentworth — 19
Leah Hartley, California — 18
Isabella Dumbroski, Serra Catholic — 17
Bella Moyer, Bentworth — 15
Violet McKinney, Eden Christian — 14
Alyssa Bearer, Freedom — 13
Ava Capozzoli, Chartiers-Houston — 13
Emily Rafferty, Waynesburg — 13
Amelia Brose, Chartiers-Houston — 12
Mackenzie Mars, O.L. Sacred Heart — 12
Margherita Memoli, Winchester Thurston — 12
Carissa Walsh, Springdale — 12
Gigi Choate, Carlynton — 11
Natalie Kirsch, Bishop Canevin — 11
Sydney Morgan, Seton LaSalle — 11
Ellie Whippo, Mohawk — 11
Tessa Derringer, Springdale — 10
Lauren Hartley, California — 10
Molly Hurley, Springdale — 10
Akiera King, Ellis School — 10
Brooklyn Perhacs, Steel Valley — 10
Mary Quinlan, Riverview — 10
Rylei Rastoka, Waynesburg — 10