Freedom beats Bentworth with speed, experience in WPIAL final
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Bentworth goalkeeper Candalaria Kossel covers her eyes after Freedom’s Alexsia Barlamasscores a goal during Saturday’s WPIAL Class A girls soccer championship game in Pittsburgh.
Bentworth’s Candalaria Kossel goes up for the ball as Freedom’s Chloe Keller does in with her head during the WPIAL Class A girls soccer championship in Pittsburgh on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Bentworth’s Jocelyn Timlin kicks the ball past Freedom’s Chloe Keller during Saturday’s WPIAL Class A girls soccer championship in Pittsburgh.
Bentworth comes in second place in the WPIAL Class A girls soccer championship in Pittsburgh on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Bentworth’s Paige Marshalek battles for the ball with Freedom’s Myla Sharpless during last year’s WPIAL Class A girls soccer championship.
Bentworth’s Candalaria Kossel blocks a kick from Freedom’s Michaela Watkins during the WPIAL Class A girls soccer championship in Pittsburgh on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018.
PITTSBURGH – In their semifinal upset of Greensburg Central Catholic last weekend, the Bentworth girls soccer team was able to get some early goals and absorbed the pressure the Centurions had in the second half.
They tried to use that same approach in the Class A Championships at Highmark Stadium Saturday afternoon against top-seeded Freedom.
Unfortunately for the Bearcats, the strategy didn’t produce the same result.
Freedom tallied four first-half goals and secured their second WPIAL title in three years with an 8-2 victory over Bentworth at Highmark Stadium.
“They are just tough to defend for 80 minutes,” Bentworth coach Tyler Hamstra said. “They are very technical and athletic. You have to hope they are having an off day. Sometimes in Class A, there can be a big difference between the best team and the second-best team. They are ruthless in front of the net and we couldn’t slow them down.”
The Bulldogs (20-1) lost to Waynesburg in last year’s Class AA final. Freedom will play District 5 runner-up Rockwood in the first round of the PIAA playoffs.
“We have a lot of weapons and sometimes we just overwhelm teams,” Freedom coach Colin Williams said.
“We have six or seven girls who can consistently get goals for us. It’s tough for teams to shut down one person. We always preach that balance.”
The Bearcats (17-3) will continue their season in the state playoffs Tuesday when they play District 9 champion Brockway in the first round with a site and time to be determined.
“We lost to a good Freedom team and they might be the best team in the state in Class A,” Hamstra said. “We have nothing to be ashamed about. We will regroup and get ready for states. WPIAL teams has had a lot of success in the state playoffs. We will be ready to go on Tuesday.”
After the teams played evenly in the opening 10 minutes, Freedom began to possess the ball more and had more chances in the offensive end.
Myah Hrinko struck first for the Bulldogs with a header off of a free kick from Jayden Sharpless at 26:26, and then Freedom pushed its lead to 2-0 with a goal by Renae Mohrbacher.
Trailing 2-0, Bentworth had their first – and only – shot of the first half when Paige Marshalek’s breakaway glanced off Freedom goalkeeper Kassandra DePoppe’s hands and went wide of the net.
The Bulldogs registered two goals in the final five minutes of the first half with scores by Michaela Watkins (4:35) and Sharpless (2:15). Freedom outshot Bentworth in the opening 40 minutes by a 14-1 margin.
“We knew we had to keep this game low scoring,” Hamstra said. “We were not going to outscore them. Being down 4-0 at half hurt. We were pretty loose and our message to the team was to enjoy this atmosphere. We had no pressure on us today. Freedom has been here before and it showed. Freedom is on a different level.”
Bentworth got its offense going to begin the second half and got on the scoreboard after Jocelyn Timlin chipped a breakaway goal past DePoppe at 34:23 of the second.
Freedom countered with a goal by Myla Sharpless five minutes later, but Timlin found space again and collected another breakaway goal at 25:03 to trim the deficit down to 5-2.
“We showed a ton of heart in the second half,” Hamstra said. “We didn’t put our heads down and quit. Jocelyn got to some loose balls and she does what she does. I liked our counter punch in the second half and we never stopped believing.”
Timlin now has 47 goals on the season and 106 for her career.
The Bulldogs added insurance goals by Jayden Sharpless (21:42), Alexsia Balamas (11:32) and Myla Sharpless (6:04) to end any hope of a comeback from the Bearcats.
“Take nothing away from Bentworth,” Williams said. “They definitely deserved to be here. Sometimes when you get on this type of stage it’s challenging. We have been here before, and we rely on our experience. Our attitude and balance was right.”
Candelaria Kossel took the loss in net for the Bearcats with 11 saves.