NORTH HUNTINGDON - Sam Brown was awfully busy.

The Knoch senior goalkeeper had plenty of action Monday night at Norwin High School as she faced shot after shot.

She turned away 12 of them, some spectacularly, but Norwin was able to push a handful of opportunities through as Knoch fell 5-0 in the first round of the WPIAL Class AAA girls soccer playoffs.

"She's a senior this year and she's a WPIAL all-star," said Knoch coach Amy Travis. "She definitely kept us in the game. We're going to miss her."

Norwin coach Dana Ferry said she was impressed with Brown's play.

Brown stopped the first eight shots on goal she saw before the walls - and the Norwin pressure - caved in on her.

"She did an excellent job," Ferry said. "She's a very good goalkeeper."

Norwin (18-1-2) started slowly, in large part because of Brown's effort, but sophomore Jill Miller scored two goals in a four-minute span midway through the first half to put her team up.

"We didn't start real fast," Ferry said. "I think a lot of that had to do with the time off. It's tough getting back into the groove. I'm sure Knoch went through the same thing."

Knoch (13-7-1) never mounted a serious threat until the second half. It was outshot 26-4 in the contest and 16-1 in the first 40 minutes.

Most of Knoch's shots came from between 30 and 40 yards away.

"That's always frustrating," Travis said. "Being seeded the way we were, we knew we would have to play one of the top teams."

Norwin is one of the favorites to win the WPIAL title - in large part because of its depth.

Miller, who scored another goal in the second half for her second hat trick of the season and for her team-leading 19th goal, didn't even start the game.

Neither did Nikki Scott, who scored 10 minutes into the second half to give Norwin a 3-0 lead.

Alex Shasko scored the final Norwin goal with 15:47 remaining in the contest. She was the only starter to score.

That has to do with Norwin's rotation. On any give night, a different player can get the starting nod.

"We don't really have a bench," Ferry said. "We don't consider them bench players. We have a rotation that really works."

Norwin's star player, Jessica Fix, was quiet most of the game. She did record an assist late in the contest to break the school's career mark with 45.

This was Knoch's first appearance in the playoffs since 1996. The lopsided loss, though, did not diminish the accomplishment, Travis said.

"We expected a tough game," Travis said. "But we have a young team. We'll be back."