CHAMBERSBURG — Seneca Valley girls soccer coach Dave Sylvester was banking on his team prevailing in penalty kicks Tuesday.

Unfortunately for the Raiders, they never got there.

Spring-Ford senior midfielder Megan Giannopoulos took a centering pass and booted it past SV goalkeeper Jess Neill with 6:31 left in the second overtime, earning for the Rams a 1-0 win in a PIAA Class AAA semifinal playoff on a frigid night at Chambersburg High School's Trojan Stadium.

If the game had remained scoreless for the duration of the second overtime, the outcome would have been decided via penalty kicks.

It was SV's first loss since a 1-0 defeat to North Allegheny Sept. 21.

After forcing Neill to make just two saves in the first half Tuesday, the Rams (24-2-1) began to consistently knock on the door of the Raiders' net. Between the second half and extra time, Spring-Ford bettered the Raiders in shots on goal 10-2.

“They have so many skilled players,” Sylvester said of the Rams. “Honestly, once we got into the second overtime, I was just hoping the game would go to penalty kicks. I would have liked our chances there with Jess in goal.”

Just moments before scoring the game's only goal, Giannopoulos let a shot go from 20 yards out, but it sailed too high over SV's net and the game remained deadlocked.

The senior wouldn't miss on her next opportunity.

Sophomore Gabrielle Vagnozzi took control of the ball near the left sideline and dribbled past a Seneca Valley defender, just enough to get a pinpoint centering pass off toward Giannopoulos, who then ended the Raiders' hopes of a trip to Saturday's state title game in Hershey.

“Our game is all about possession,” said Spring-Ford coach Sheldon Chamberlain. “I told the girls at halftime, 'Let's play our game. We have a lot of talent on this team. Now let's show it.'

“(Giannopoulos, Vagnozzi and Aley Kate McKinley) have been doing it all year for us,” added Chamberlain. “I figured that combination was going to show up for us at some point.”

Both teams dealt with injuries in the second half. Vagnozzi and Giannopoulos both left the game temporarily for Spring-Ford while Kayli Kumanchik and Alexis Pucci did so for the Raiders.

SV controlled play for much of the first half, evidenced by its advantage in corner kicks (4-0) and free kicks in the offensive zone (6-1) during the first 40 minutes. Yet Rams' goalkeeper Jenna Griggs had to make just a pair of saves in that span.

Neill was under fire from the outset of the second half. In the 43rd minute of play, she jumped high on the right side of the goal to grab a ball just before a charging Laura Suero arrived. The sophomore's momentum carried her into Neill, who was still in the air. The latter ended up flat on her back, but secured the ball to thwart the scoring chance.

SV (20-3-1) did answer with more offensive push late in the second half, leading to five throw-ins from sophomore Lexus Lambert, but each one was handled by the Rams.

Neill made a diving save of a Vagnozzi shot with just 1:37 remaining in regulation and tallied two saves in the first overtime.

“With a couple of our girls injured, I don't know if the change in our rotation bothered us,” said Sylvester, “but they (Rams) had us back on our heels.”

“Seneca Valley is a very good team,” said Chamberlain. “They move the ball well and like to play to their flanks, just like us.”

Neill, who made 12 saves in the game, surrendered her first and only postseason goal of 2013. Before Tuesday's score against her, she had played an astonishing 522 minutes of playoff soccer without yielding a goal.

“It was truly incredible,” Sylvester said of Neill's postseason effort. “She made a lot of saves to keep us in it tonight.”

The 2013 season was one to remember for the Raiders, who managed a 14-game unbeaten streak, which included three wins over defending WPIAL and PIAA champion Peters Township. The Raiders were crowned district champions themselves and reached the state semifinals for the first time in program history.

“We have nothing to be ashamed of,” said Sylvester. “I could not have dreamed this up before the season. We have a good bunch of kids and a lot of them are coming back next year.”