Nov 4, 2015 4 min read

BRIDGEVILLE – Teams in the WPIAL soccer playoffs fight to find a balance between urgency and discipline, especially in an elimination match.

Score the first goal and you can focus on stopping an opponent. Allow the first and there’s cause for concern, no matter how much time is remaining. A bounce can change everything and that’s what happened Wednesday night at Chartiers Valley High School Stadium.

Central Valley sophomore midfielder Madison Hiltz chipped a ball in from 10 yards in the 41st minute and the Warriors held on for a 2-0 win over third-seeded South Fayette in the girls Class AA consolation match.

Central Valley earned a spot in the state playoffs. The fourth-seeded Warriors (17-1-1) will face the District 10 champion in the first round Tuesday. The Lions’ season, which included their first trip to the WPIAL semifinals, ended with a 14-6-2 record.

“The first goal is absolutely critical in playoff soccer,” South Fayette head coach Wayne Capra said. “It gives you all the momentum and it makes the other team think, ‘Oh, we’re down a goal and we need to really push to tie it up.’ We were lucky to have time to work with after giving up the first, but we couldn’t put one in.”

After a first half where South Fayette leaned heavily on the outstanding play of senior goalkeeper Natalie Caraway, Central Valley shifted its formation to pressure the Lions’ defense, moving Hiltz to outside midfielder.

It paid off when an errant ball bounced behind South Fayette’s defense and Hiltz was there to collect it inside the 18-yard box. She fended off a defender before chipping it over the shoulder of Caraway, who exited the net to smother the loose ball.

“This is a tough game to play in,” Central Valley head coach Mark Perry said. “Both teams lost Monday night and didn’t plan on being here. We wanted to pick it up after we started slow and that first goal helped us. We switched formations and (Hiltz) was where she was supposed to be to finish.”

The Warriors found space between the Lions’ defenders and almost struck in the 15th minute when Carolina Lucci gathered a ball through the defense, pivoted and fired a shot from 20 yards out, but Caraway dove to her left to make the save. Lucci put the match out of reach with the Lions pushing to tie it, but she scored a breakaway goal with 3:31 remaining in regulation.

The Warriors’ pressure inside the attacking third translated to scoring chances on set pieces, but South Fayette’s defense held, blocking a shot attempt in the slot and Caraway made a point-blank save later in the half. She made eight saves.

South Fayette attempted to pass through the midfielders, but Central Valley’s veteran defenders collapsed on every pass and any forward who found space. It was much of the same in the second half.

“I don’t think they changed much of anything or did anything different,” Capra said. “They just got that break when they needed it. It just wasn’t meant to be.”

The Lions lost the battle at midfield, but after allowing the initial goal, they clamped down defensively until Lucci stopped a bouncing ball and drilled shot from 20 yards that hit the crossbar with just over seven minutes remaining.

South Fayette continued to pressure the Warriors, especially senior Rachel Helbling, but could not create a quality chance and could not match the momentum Central Valley gained from the first goal.

“We had a great year,” Capra said. “We went further than we’ve ever gone as a program and we played some very solid teams. We played very well tonight, but you have to score to win.”