SV eliminated with 5-1 loss
WEST VIEW — Seneca Valley girls soccer coach Dave Sylvester figured North Allegheny would throw something different at his Raiders this time around.
The Tigers did and it led to the end of SV's season.
NA (13-7) scored three first-half goals and eliminated the Raiders with a 5-1 decision in a WPIAL Class AAA quarterfinal playoff at Martorelli Stadium Wednesday night.
Seneca Valley won the two regular-season meetings by a combined score of 9-1.
“In those games, NA kept (senior forward) Katie Hohmann up top and we were able to shut her down,” said Sylvester. “Tonight, they sent her out wide. We told our girls that NA would try something different.”
Hohmann, NA's top scorer, did not score a goal in Wednesday's game, but teammate Maria Carr scored all three of her team's goals in the first half.
“Maybe we were too focused on (Hohmann) on the outside, we knew she was dangerous,” said Sylvester. “It definitely opened things up in the middle for them. Hats off to NA, they beat us.”
Carr's first tally came just over five minutes into the game. Her shot caught SV goalie Jessica Neill off balance and the ball rolled into the net.
The junior midfielder scored again three and a half minutes later and found the net for a third time with 6:26 left in the half, with Maddie Layman providing a great centering pass from the left of the net.
“(Carr) tore her ACL two years ago as a freshman,” said Tigers' coach Danielle Baginski. “She scored a few goals last year, but definitely showed up tonight.”
With time winding down, Rachel Leake gave SV a ray of hope by scoring a goal with 20:18 left in the second half, cutting NA's edge to 3-1.
The Tigers responded with goals from Layman (12:28) and Leah Langhans (5:36) to cap the scoring.
“NA got a couple of good shots on our goalkeeper early and we were frazzled,” said Sylvester. “You know how soccer is, one team scores that first goal and it can make a huge difference.”
Neill made five saves for SV while Madison Martin stopped 10 shots for the Tigers.
For the Raiders (16-2-2), 2011 brought a return to the playoffs after a sub-par 2010 campaign.
“I told the girls that it hurts now, but to come back with almost the same team as last year and make the playoffs, losing only two games the whole season, it says a lot about their character,” Sylvester said.
