WPIAL Girls Soccer Class 2A Final: Freeport wins first-ever WPIAL title

WPIAL Girls Class 3A Final

FINAL: No. 2 Freeport 1, No. 8 Burrell 0

Saturday, November 1, 2025

PSN Coverage Team — Matt Popchock, reporting | Ed Thompson, Photography

WPIAL Girls Championship History

Match Summary

In a match between two very familiar section rivals, a tightly contested WPIAL Class 2A championship match came down to a couple key moments and one goal scored in the late stages, as Freeport defeated Burrell, 1-0, on Saturday morning at Highmark Stadium.

The Yellowjackets and Bucs battled hard, but sophomore Elena Jenkins converted on a big chance in the 74th minute to secure the win.

The Yellowjackets’ claimed WPIAL gold after falling in their only other finals appearance in 2016.

Freeport defeated Burrell, 3-1, in the first meeting between the teams in September and then scored a 1-0 win in the rematch Oct. 6.

Freeport, which started six sophomores Saturday, finished the game with a 16-9 shot advantage, but the shots were even at seven in the second half.

Burrell keeper Leah Waldsmith made several stellar saves on Yellowjackets shots before the Jenkins goal, including a pair of first-half stops on dangerous chances from Woods, Freeport’s leading scorer.

Jenkins, on the game-winner, sprinted from the midfield and took a feed from Woods. Waldsmith came out to challenge, but Jenkins was able to work the ball around her and place it in the back of the net.

Freeport (18-1) and Burrell (12-7-2) will both now advance to PIAA playoffs.

The Yellowjackets are matched up with District 10 runner-up Fort LeBeouf.

Burrell mostly likely will travel to Erie to take on District 10 champ Cathedral Prep.

Look for more reaction and details from this match to follow in this thread and on Pittsburgh Soccer Now social media platforms.

Match Updates

FINAL:  FREEPORT WINS FIRST-EVER WPIAL GIRLS SOCCER TITLE!

80′: FULL TIME at Highmark: Freeport 1-0 Burrell.

The Jackets do finally break through late, and they are your first-time WPIAL Girls 2A champions!

The Bucs bow to Freeport for a third time in 2025, but follow them into states as the district’s No. 2 seed.

79′: Woods with a perfect cross into the box for Johns, off the Jackets bench, and Waldsmith makes one more heroic save. (FPT 1-0 BUR)

76′: Woods, with nobody in the vicinity, was going for a knockout blow, but Waldsmith was wise to let her turnaround shot atop the box go out of play. (FPT 1-0 BUR)

74′: GOAL TO THE JACKETS! Woods’ through ball finds Jenkins 12 yards from goal, and Jenkins leaves her defender in the dust and blasts it by an oncoming Waldsmith. (FPT 1-0 BUR)

72′: Woods on the left with service into the box for Hanak, but her header is right at Waldsmith. (FPT 0-0 BUR)

68′: A really tough break for Jenkins, who gets around her defender and has a clean look from the right side, but her touch is too heavy, and Waldsmith secures it. (FPT 0-0 BUR)

65′: The third Jackets corner kick of the half is available in front of goal, but Moore is there and plays it safely to Waldsmith. At the other end, Miller muffs a potential one-timer over the bar for a Freeport goal kick. (FPT 0-0 BUR)

47′: Wow…the Bucs almost got an early holiday gift. Alcorn came well off her line to play a ball that wasn’t within reach, and fortunately for her sake, three Jackets defenders had Buchak surrounded in the middle of the box. Freeport gets it out of danger. (FPT 0-0 BUR)

45′: McConville’s corner to Waldsmith’s left is nodded down by Sullivan at the left post, but once again, the Bucs keeper is in the right place, at the right time. (FPT 0-0 BUR)

43′: A give-and-go to McMahon inside the box turns into the first shot close to goal, let alone on target, for the Bucs. The rainbow from the right wing goes just over the bar for a Jackets goal kick. (FPT 0-0 BUR)

41′: Well, you know what they say about how hard it is to beat a team thrice in one season. Let’s see if the Jackets can finally break through, or if the Bucs play rope-a-dope. Second half is underway at Highmark! (FPT 0-0 BUR)

40′: Halftime at Highmark: Freeport 0-0 Burrell.

The Jackets have dominated possession, especially in the offensive half, but the Bucs backline is quick, and Waldsmith continues to sparkle between the sticks in this year’s playoffs.

34′: Jenkins and Woods continue to work in tandem. The former crosses for the latter from deep on the right flank, but Woods shanks the one-timer right at Waldsmith. (FPT 0-0 BUR)

30′: Jenkins makes a run all the way down the right wing, but she’s well marked by Koehler all the way, forcing an easy save by Waldsmith on a bad-angle shot. (FPT 0-0 BUR)

25′: Waldsmith with some nice elevation to get to another Woods free kick, this time closer to 30 yards from goal. (FPT 0-0 BUR)

17′: An impressive turnaround strike by Woods from 23 yards out is grabbed by a leaping Waldsmith, as the Jackets continue to tilt the pitch. (FPT 0-0 BUR)

14′: Not much action so far in the final third for the Bucs, but they do get a ball into the 18 after a failed corner kick that has to be cleared quickly by Conger. Meanwhile, Jenkins’ deflection at the other end misses the left post for a goal kick. (FPT 0-0 BUR)

8′: McConville’s corner kick to the left of Waldschmidt deflects to Cooper, who is stoned by the Bucs keeper right on the doorstep. After much tension, Burrell finally gets the clearance. (FPT 0-0 BUR)

6′: The Jackets work the ball to DiSanti on the left wing, but her shot from the edge of the 18-yard box is right at Waldsmith for the latter’s first save of the match. (FPT 0-0 BUR)

1′: The Bucs get the first touch, attacking right to left, and the Girls 2A Final is underway at Highmark! (FPT 0-0 BUR)

FREEPORT XI: Sullivan, McConville, Jenkins, Cooper, Hanak, DiSanti, Los, Woods, Schlegel, Conger, Alcorn (GK).

BURRELL XI: P. Moore, Miller, M. Coury, Wilson, Koehler, McMahon, Waldsmith (GK), Buchak, K. Coury, C. Coury, P. Coury.

9:30 – It is another cloudy, cool day on the South Shore, where the teams have begun warmups–but the midweek rain, at least, has subsided. Futbol weather!

Once again, the Jackets’ only other Championship appearance was in 2016, when they bowed to Freedom. The Bucs reached their first and only WPIAL Final last year, falling to Quaker Valley.

9:15 – Rise and shine, or should I say, shine and rise? Matt Popchock here, reporting from Highmark Stadium, where something’s gotta give–either Freeport or Burrell of Class 2A will walk out of here with their first-ever WPIAL Girls’ Soccer championship. 45 minutes to first touch. Watch this space for updates!

Match Preview

Rosters:  Burrell | Freeport

How They Got to Highmark:

• #8 Burrell: def #4 Mount Pleasant 2-0, def #1 South Park, 1-0; #9 Belle Vernon, 1-0
• #2 Freeport: def Quaker Valley 2-0; def #7 North Catholic, 4-3; def #15 Ringgold, 11-0

Here we have yet another WPIAL final that will serve as the third match of the season between section rivals.

In this match though — a first-time WPIAL girls soccer champion will be crowned.

Despite Burrell proving in this tournament that they should have been seeded higher, the one thing that may have measured highly in the WPIAL committee’s rationale for where they started in the bracket was the Bucs’ two losses to Freeport in the regular season (and six overall).

The Yellow Jackets won, 3-1 and 1-0, in the first two encounters.

Still, the committee may not have realized how strong Section 2 was this season.

Freeport pretty much has dominated all Class 2A competition this season, with its only loss coming to Class 4A Butler, 1-0, way back in August.

Freeport continue to roll — as they completed a tall task of beating the same team three times this season, last Saturday, topping section rival North Catholic in a wild, back-and-forth match, 4-3, in extra time. Then in the semifinal round on Tuesday, they took down the defending champs, Quaker Valley, 2-0, in a match that was hard-fought and not decided until late.  Nia DiSanti scored the opening goal, while

In beating North Catholic, Camryn Woods scored two goals, including the golden goal with one minute left in the second period of extra time.

The No. 2 seed in this tournament, Freeport showed its firepower adding to its plus-64 goal differential in the regular season by beating Ringgold, 11-0, in the first round.  The Jackets were led by a hat trick from Woods, plus braces from Nia DiSanti and Brinley Sullivan in that encounter.

For what it’s worth, Freeport has never won a WPIAL title and last played in the title match in 2016 when it dropped a 4-1 decision to Freedom at Highmark Stadium.

In another edition of PSN’s Coaches Corner, Burrell’s Frank Nesko drew praise from other coaches as someone who has his teams ready to play and the Bucs are a tough group to beat.

In its first-round win (1-0 vs a defensively sound Belle Vernon squad), Burrell junior Makiah Buchak had the timely goal that was the difference late in the first half.  Maybe even more impressive, the Bucs held the Leopards to just two shots, none in the second half, in walking away with a 1-0 victory.

Burrell weren’t done yet.

For the second straight year, the Bucs knocked out top-seeded South Park — this time coming in Thursday’s Quarterfinal round.   In doing so they also knocked out the only remaining unbeaten girls’ team in the WPIAL.

Nesko described the game winner from McKenna Miller as a ‘dirty goal’ after Makiah Buchak sent the ball into the 18 from a set piece, with Miller getting in the right place as the right time for a very timely goal in what was a tight contest.

Leah Waldsmith made five saves, including a spectacular one with 25 seconds left to preserve the shutout.

Then in the semifinal round against a team they’ve beaten previously in the postseason — Mt. Pleasant — Burrell sophomore Allie McMahon scored less than a minute into the contest, and junior McKenna Miller tapped in a rebound goal in the second half to send the Bucs back to Highmark Stadium for the second consecutive season.

Burrell was last year’s WPIAL runner-up.

Now, they are one step away from lifting the trophy.

John Krysinsky

John Krysinsky has covered soccer and other sports for many years for various publications and media outlets. He is also author of 'Miracle on the Mon' -- a book about the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, which chronicles the club, particularly the early years of Highmark Stadium with the narrative leading up to and centered around a remarkable match that helped provide a spark for the franchise. John has covered sports for Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, DK Pittsburgh Sports, Pittsburgh Sports Report, has served as color commentator on Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC broadcasts, and worked with OPTA Stats and broadcast teams for US Open Cup and International Champions Cup matches held in the US. Krysinsky also served as the Head Men’s Soccer Coach at his alma mater, Point Park University, where he led the Pioneers to the first-ever winning seasons and playoff berths (1996-98); head coach of North Catholic boys (2007-08), associate head coach of Shady Side Academy boys (2009-2014).