Defense shines, but Charleroi takes 2nd
Charleroi’s Sydney Toth is in tears after the Cougars lost to Greensburg Central Catholic, 1-0, in overtime in the WPIAL Class A girls soccer championship game Saturdayat Highmark Stadium at Station Square in Pittsburgh.
Charleroi’s Jessica Day fights for control of the ball against Greensburg Central Catholic’s Abby Skatell during a WPIAL Class A girls soccer championship game Saturday at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh.
PITTSBURGH – Teams in the WPIAL have been unable to stop Greensburg Central Catholic’s Bailey Cartwright during her career that began two seasons ago.
Cartwright, a junior striker and Notre Dame recruit, entered the Class A championship match Saturday with 77 goals in only 21 matches, one away from tying the PIAA single-season record.
It was a mark that many thought would be broken with the title on the line at Highmark Stadium, but as it has all season, Charleroi defied the odds.
Though the prolific scorer was held without a goal, it came at a cost.
With three defenders surrounding Cartwright in front of the net, the junior passed to senior Sarah Ward, who broke free to take a shot that sailed into the back of the net in the second overtime, giving No. 1 seeded Greensburg Central Catholic a 1-0 victory over second-seeded Charleroi and the WPIAL title.
The Cougars (17-2-2) will face Conemaugh Township – the District 5 champion – Tuesday at Somerset High School (7 p.m.). The Centurions (21-1), who have not lost to a WPIAL team this season and average more than seven goals per match, will play the District 10 champion, either Fairview or Wilmington. It is GCC’s fourth WPIAL championship in five years.
“From the start the game, (Charleroi head coach Jim Rue) had a great game plan,” Greensburg Central Catholic head coach Bryan Cartwright said. “He had Bailey covered, which is the norm, but they did a good job of defending our outside so we just couldn’t get in. They’re a tremendous defensive team, they’re smart. I didn’t anticipate that good of a defense.”
With multiple defenders containing Bailey Cartwright, GCC tried to push the ball to the outside to draw a Charleroi player out of position. It finally created the golden opportunity a little more than three minutes into the second overtime when a cross landed in 5-yard the box, where Cartwright gathered the ball, turned her back to the net and three defenders and passed out to Ward.
Ward, a defender, made a sliding kick from 10 yards to punch the ball over the head of Charleroi senior goalkeeper Sydney Toth for the winning goal.
Sophomore Aislyn Lee shadowed Cartwright, helping the Cougars limit her to five shots on goal. She hit the crossbar in the first overtime. Toth, meanwhile, made 13 saves and was impressive with several diving stops.
“All Aislyn needed was a little bit of help at times,” Rue said. “(Cartwright) got an adequate number of shots, but not the quality ones she wanted. Sydney Toth did a great job. She held their angle and made some nice saves.”
Utilizing four midfielders and four defenders, the Cougars focused on stopping GCC’s offense, but they found a way to test the Centurions’ defense, which included just two players.
Though Charleroi was held to one shot on goal, which came with less than 10 seconds remaining in the first half, the passing of senior Kyra Watkins stretched the Centurions’ defense. She played a deep ball over GCC’s defenders, but freshman Megan Sterner did not have enough time to generate a shot and a defender blocked her attempt.
In the 24th minute, Watkins helped create a breakaway, but the shot went wide of the net. The Cougars’ only shot came when junior defender Kaitlyn Riley’s header off a direct kick went into the hands of GCC’s keeper.
“We had several opportunities,” Rue said. “I thought we’d cash in during regulation on the breakaway, but we didn’t. That’s all I was looking for – a couple key chances, keep the pressure on them. When they played high, we played it over the top, but we just couldn’t run over the ball.”
After being frustrated by the Cougars’ defensive strategy in the first half, Bryan Cartwright shifted his daughter, Bailey, to the midfield to draw a Charleroi defender out and trusted his two defenders to hold Charleroi’s offense at bay.
“They are a quality team with quality kids and we found a way to be competitive,” Rue said. “We represented our section well, our school district and our community. We had a lot of people here supporting us. You can’t get any better competition than what we had right here, so hopefully we can build on this.”