Oct 31, 2018 4 min read

Name: Candalaria Kossel

School: Bentworth

Sport: Soccer

Class: Senior

Kossel’s week: The Bearcats picked up two postseason wins last week and Kossel played a pivotal part.

The senior goalkeeper made 17 saves in a 2-1 victory over Greensburg Central Catholic last Saturday in the WPIAL Class A semifinals.

“Just an unbelievable win and feeling,” Kossel said. “It was such a stressful and emotional game. I still can’t believe we are going to Highmark Stadium for the finals. It meant a lot to beat a team like GCC.”

Kossel made several stellar saves to open the game, and then the Bearcats quickly tallied two goals in a span of 1:11 to give them the lead midway through the first half.

With much of the action in the second half in its own end, Bentworth and Kossel stood tall and didn’t give up the lead. It was the Centurions’ first loss in the semifinal round since 2010.

“At the end of the match, my coach told me that GCC had 34 shots in the game,” Kossel said. “That second half seemed like it took forever. I just had to keep my focus and make sure I got a clean view of every shot.”

According to Coach Tyler Hamstra, the semifinal win was the best performance of Kossel’s career.

“I think it was by far her best performance,” Hamstra said. “Off the top of my head, I think it’s the best performance in net that I have seen at the high school level. She was very composed and didn’t rush anything. She played with confidence and really zoned in on the little things.”

Prior to the semifinal contest, Bentworth picked up a 3-2 overtime victory in the quarterfinals against Bishop Canevin. Kossel made seven saves.

Chance at history: This will be Bentworth’s first appearance in the girls soccer championship game and only the fifth time a Bearcats team in any sport has advanced to the WPIAL finals.

The boys basketball team won a WPIAL title in 1963 and the wrestling squad captured a championship in 1991. The boys basketball team had runner-up finishes in 1979 and 1987.

Kossel is one of five seniors on the Bearcats’ roster. The senior class has qualified for the postseason in all four years, including a run to the semifinals in 2016.

“To be honest, I thought they might make this type of run next year,” Kossel said, “so I’m really glad we were able to make this playoff run my senior season. We always knew we had the talent. We just had to put it together and play with the belief that we could beat anybody.”

Because the PIAA takes three teams in Class A from the WPIAL, Bentworth has already clinched a berth in the state playoffs.

“It’s been an amazing ride with these girls,” Hamstra said. “Our last WPIAL title was in 1991, and most of these kids’ parents were in high school at that time. Candy is a key piece to that senior class and we knew we had something special with her in net.”

Pressure between the pipes: Kossel is a four-year starter and has left her mark on the program. She has the school record for wins (55) and shutouts (33) entering the title game against Freedom on Saturday at 11 a.m.

“She’s one of the most athletic kids I have seen at the high school level,” Hamstra said. “She’s super quick and just very athletic. She was a defender in middle school and made that transition to net flawlessly. She’s been a four-year starter for us and has been our rock on defense.”

Kossel states that she loves the position of goalkeeper and has grown comfortable with the role of being the last line of defense for the Bearcats.

“I started since my freshman year (in net),” Kossel said.”I just really love the position and I have gotten so much better in goal since my freshman year. We added a goalkeeper coach my junior year, and he has really improved my technique. We always work on the basics.”

Compiled by staff writer Adam Brewer.