Springdale drills KC
CLARION - The Dynamos were dynamite.
Springdale scored in the first two minutes of the game and used a relentless attack to defeat Karns City, 6-0, in the first round of the PIAA Class A girls soccer tournament Tuesday at Clarion University.
“This just wasn't our night tonight,” KC coach Lisa Castiglione said. “Our captains and seniors did a good job of calming things down out there, but we didn't find a solution to stop them.”
Springdale (18-4), the third-place team out of the WPIAL, received goals from five different players and missed numerous other scoring chances.
Two shots hit off the crossbar and another bounced high off a goalpost as the Dynamos had a 17-4 edge in shots on goal and a 4-0 advantage in corner kicks.
A 3-2 loss to Shady Side Academy in the semifinals denied Springdale a fourth consecutive appearance in the WPIAL Class A championship game.
“These girls got over that and refocused on our ultimate goal: getting to Hershey,” Springdale coach Jerry Concannon said.
Senior midfielder Julie Bentley sent a crossing pass from the left of the net to the waiting foot of junior midfielder Erin Gilmartin, who deftly fired the first shot by either team past Gremlins goalkeeper Lauren Downs just 1:12 into the contest.
Krysten Gedraitis scored 16 minutes later and Jamie McCartney beat Downs to a loose ball in the crease, rolling it past the fallen goalie with 6:18 left in the half.
“The third goal is the one that broke our backs,” Castiglione said. “We were battling and playing with them up to that point, but it's tough mentally to come back from three goals down.”
The Gremlins (17-5) managed only two shots on net in the first half. Both were on free kicks by Emily Schumacher from 51 and 40 yards out that were handled easily by Springdale goalkeeper Erica Roney.
Although they added three more goals in the second half by Gilmartin, Krista Edwards and Brittany Smajda, the Dynamos repeatedly whistled shots wide of the net.
“Our game plan was to keep the ball on the ground and spread the field out,” Concannon said. “It seemed to work because four of our goals were scored off crosses.
“We knew they were a physical team, so we wanted to keep the ball away from them,” he added.
Karns City's best scoring chance came from sophomore forward Maggie McKain, but Roney stopped her shot from 30 yards out.
Springdale posted its 13th shutout of the season.
“That's a great program and (Concannon) does a great job with those girls,” Castiglione said. “We knew what to expect. We just couldn't stop them.”
The three-time district champion Gremlins will graduate three senior starters: midfielder Kirstie Price, defenders Meghan Haskins and Kara Yasika. Other seniors leaving the program are Ashlyn Landgraf and Taylor Mourer.
“Those girls are multiyear starters .... Kara was a four-year starter,” Castiglione said. “They will be tough to replace.”
