ELIZABETH TWP— The tide was beginning to turn — and not in Seneca Valley's direction.

After missing a few scoring opportunities in a scoreless first half of their WPIAL Class AAA girls championship game Saturday against Upper St. Clair, the Raiders were losing control of the play during the first 20 minutes of the second half.

"We realized they weren't trying to control and possess the ball, they were kicking it directly up field," USC coach David Gray said. "So we adjusted and took the midfield away."

That adjustment seemed to be working.

"They began taking it to us,"Seneca Valley coach Dave Sylvester admitted.

But that all changed with one bounce — and one heady play by a sophomore.

Amanda Cerminara headed a shot past senior goalkeeper Carly Hyland with 20:37 left in the game, propelling the Raiders to a 2-0 victory at Elizabeth-Forward High School and the school's first-ever WPIALgirls soccer title.

Seneca Valley (17-3-1) had never advanced beyond the first round of the playoffs in Sylvester's first seven years as coach. Upper St. Clair (16-7) won seven WPIAL crowns between 1987 and 2002. The Panthers knocked Seneca Valley out in the first round of the 2005 playoffs.

Upper St. Clair was seeded 10th in the tournament, Seneca Valley ninth.

"We just got on a roll,"Sylvester said. "These girls got tired of losing in the playoffs and decided to do something about it."

Cerminara's goal was only her second of the season. A non-starter, she saw the ball bouncing toward the Upper St. Clair net.

"I noticed their keeper hesitated before she started coming out toward the ball,"Cerminara said. "So I ran after it as fast as I could."

Cerminara and Hyland reached the bouncing ball almost simultaneously. Cerminara got her head on the ball just as the goalkeeper reached for it, nudging it past Hyland and into the right corner of the net.

The Raiders scored again five minutes later. Karisa Fernandez took a free kick from 35 yards out, directing the ball toward the left side of the net.

The ball deflected off SV midfielder Aleisha Rees' back, right to a wide-open Brianna Meurer. The junior midfielder drilled it into the net for her seventh goal of the season.

"That was a designed play where we load up one side and hope someone comes open with the ball,"Meurer said. "Aleisha directed it over to me with her back.

"I knew I had an open net. I just didn't want to rush it and miss."

She didn't.

"They scored on their only real two chances in the second half,"Gray said. "They finished plays and we didn't."

The Raiders struggled to finish plays in the first half. Catherine Messmer's high arcing shot from 25 yards out was grabbed by a leaping Hyland with 31:38 left in the first 40 minutes.

Fernandez had an open shot after coming free down the right side, but Hyland deflected her hard kick off the crossbar. The rebound came right to Katie Kelly, who chipped it over the net with 25:30 left in the half.

Fernandez and Kelly have combined to score 33 goals this season.

Fernandez missed another chance with 6:15 to go in the half. Corissa Culichia's throw-in got through to Fernandez, who was stationed in front of the far corner of the net, but she headed the ball directly into Hyland.

"Yeah, I missed a couple there,"Fernandez said. "But I don't have to worry about that now. I don't have to think about those shots ever again.

"Every hug I've gotten since this game ended ... These are the greatest hugs of my life."

While Seneca Valley waited nearly 60 minutes to break the scoreless tie, Upper St. Clair waited more than 50 minutes to register a shot on net.Freshman goalkeeper Keara Lydon smothered Amanda Ocando's line-drive kick with 28:56 left in the game.Upper St. Clair's best shot at scoring occurred with 12:45 remaining, when Ali Walker drilled a free kick from 40 yards out that Lydon stopped by moving slightly to her left.Seneca Valley out-shot USC9-3 and had three corner kicks — all in the first half — to the Panthers' two."We're on a nice run right now,"Sylvester said. "We've played pretty steady soccer all year. I think the past playoff experience helped us this time."These girls were motivated and they played with confidence, especially defensively."USC's best three scoring chances of the first half were turned away by the Raiders' aggressive defensive play. Lydon came out of the net to intercept a centering pass from Alex Findley seven minutes into the game.Defender Jennifer Jergel deflected a shot from the left of the net by Ocando midway through the first half, then knocked the ball out from under E.B. Kline's feet, denying her a would-be breakaway with 13:25 on the clock.When time ran out, the victorious Raiders were at a loss for words."I can't feel anything right now,"Meurer said. "Ican't believe we did this. I'm speechless."<B>Notes:</B>USC was shut out for the fourth time this season. Seneca Valley has not been blanked all year. ... The Raiders outscored their opponents 11-4 in the WPIALTournament. ... SVplays Mount Lebanon in the first round of the state tourney Tuesday.