Oct 27, 2018 4 min read

ELIZABETH – It wasn’t quite David vs. Goliath, but it was pretty close.

Coming into their girls’ Class A soccer semifinal contest Saturday afternoon, Bentworth had made the semifinals just twice in school history.

The Bearcats’ opponent, Greensburg Central Catholic, had won five WPIAL championships in seven straight title appearances.

The Centurions outshot Bentworth 32-4, but the Bearcats scored goals on their first two shots early in the first half and held on for a thrilling 2-1 victory.

Bentworth, the third seed, will play in the school’s first WPIAL title game against top-seeded Freedom, which defeated Shady Side Academy 2-1 in overtime, at Highmark Stadium. The date and time of the match is still to be determined.

“Only a few Bentworth teams have ever advanced to a championship game,” Bentworth coach Tyler Hamstra said.

“I think Bentworth has only two WPIAL titles ever across all sports. To get to the finals and to beat a powerhouse like GCC means so much. I’ve been coaching these girls since they were little. I’m just at a loss for words right now. It’s just a special feeling.”

This will be the first Class A final that doesn’t have GCC or Shady Side Academy playing in it.

The win also qualifies Bentworth for the PIAA tournament.

Senior goalkeeper Candalaria Kossel was sensational for the Bearcats (17-2) with 17 saves.

“We were very confident going into today’s match. We were pretty loose,” Kossel said. “We have been working to get to Highmark for years now. We knew we had something special this year and just thinking about playing at Highmark next week is crazy.”

After the Centurions (12-3) controlled play in the opening 10 minutes of the contest, Kossel sent the ball near midfield with a goal kick. Jocelyn Timlin took the pass and tapped it to Paige Marshalek, whose patience prevailed as she ripped a shot from nine yards out to give Bentworth a 1-0 lead at the 29:12 mark of the first half.

A minute later the Bearcats increased their lead to 2-0 when Timlin found space and fired a pass to Rori Schreiber, who found the back of the net with a looping shot from 17 yards out.

“I was on the outside and it seemed like the defense was closing in on Jocelyn,” Schreiber said. “I just continued to run on the outside and Jocelyn hit me with a nice pass. I couldn’t rush the shot, but I saw the keeper was out of position. It was a little flick, but it went in.”

Despite being outshot 14-3 in the first half, Bentworth held a 2-0 lead entering the break.

The Centurions grabbed the majority of the possession to start the second half and continued to put pressure on the Bearcats’ defense.

After hitting two crossbars in the early stages of the second half, GCC trimmed the deficit to 2-1 with a goal from Samantha Nemeth with 25:43 remaining in regulation.

“Coming into the game, I think you could say that GCC was the better team,” Hamstra said. “We didn’t get intimidated by that. We took advantage of our chances and getting that early lead was huge. It was very tight in the second half, but our girls just defended their brains out. We were organized and calm in front of the net.”

The Centurions kept attacking, but Kossel and Bentworth’s defense were up to the task of holding the lead and preserving the Bearcats’ historic win.

“I tried not to look at the clock in the second half,” Kossel said. “My defense played great in front of me. We forced them into some tough, outside shots. We communicated well and I just had to make the routine saves. We hung in there. I just wanted this win so badly.”

Kossel has 55 wins in her career.

“She stood on her head and was fantastic in net,” Hamstra said.

“This was by far her best performance of her career. She made saves that your typical high school goalie in Class A couldn’t make. She was unreal today.”

Freedom lost in the Class AA championship game last year to Waynesburg.

“This was our time now,” Schreiber said. “We have worked so hard to get to the finals. All of these girls are so dedicated, and we worked our butts off today to get this win. We have the best keeper in (Class A) and want a title for our seniors.”