PITTSBURGH — Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic senior striker Mike Drambel was quick to espouse the history the school has with WPIAL success.

The school did bring a lot of hardware from Troy Hill to Cranberry Township. But none of it was the soccer team’s. Less than 10 years ago, the Trojans’ program was still co-ed.

Drambel earned soccer’s WPIAL banner on the wall Friday night at Highmark Stadium. Chasing down a Bryce Kopchak pass, Drambel flopped on his belly and headed in the first of North Catholic’s goals in a 2-0 win over Springdale in the WPIAL Class A title game.

“For the soccer program, we started from scratch,” Drambel said. “It’s been a great time. The tradition from our old school carries on to this one. It’s awesome.”

The Trojans (20-1) spent longer waiting for a goal to come than they would have liked. Despite heavy pressure in the first half, the game was scoreless at halftime.

While Springdale’s offense didn’t generate many good chances, the Trojans wanted to avoid a feeling of deja vu.

Against Sewickley Academy in the finals last season, the Trojans’ offense went cold in a 1-0 loss.

“We got a little nervous,” Drambel said. “We knew if we kept playing our game, we would tire them out and hopefully score some goals.”

It was the Trojans third win against Springdale, including 7-1 and 1-0 decisions in the regular season. The Dynamos played a more defensive style in their second meeting and tried it again in the playoff matchup.

The Trojans finished with a 13-3 edge in shots on goal.

“They are very disciplined team and it’s a smart way to play a high-powered offense we have,” North Catholic coach Aaron Kelly said.

North Catholic put Springdale (17-5-1) away with 18:37 remaining. Kopchak set up Joe Kearney on a cross and Kearney pushed the ball by the Dynamos’ keeper.

The Trojans overcame their slow start.

And earned a place in school lore.

“All season, we took a little while for us to score,” Kelly said. “It was wear them down. Our guys have such high soccer IQ, they figure out how they play. They read them and figure out the smartest way to attack them.”