DUBOIS The Karns City High girls soccer team has Elk County Catholic's number.

That's putting it mildly.

Emily Olszak's goal in the 44th minute was the difference as the Gremlins claimed the District 9 Class A title with a 1-0 win over the Crusaders on a cold and wet night Thursday at DuBois High School.

It's the third straight district title for KC (17-4), which holds a 16-0 record against Elk County Catholic since the series began in the late 1990s.

“I don't think that had any affect on our players,” said ECC coach Don Fabiano. “These girls didn't let anything bother them this season.”

The Crusaders (18-1-2) entered Thursday's championship game undefeated.

“We played a lot of tough games this season, and this was another one,” said KC senior stopper Kara Yasika. “We figured it would be a 1-0 game. Thankfully, we ended up with the goal.”

After a scoreless first half, the Gremlins attack came through in the opening minutes of the second.

Freshman forward Breann Wood and ECC's Megan Dornisch struggled for possession to the right of the Crusaders goal.

Wood got the better of the battle and the ball bounced to the left, where Olszak was waiting.

There was no time for ECC goalie Karly Carnovale to challenge the shot, so she defended the right post and Olszak's shot landed just inside the left post for her team-leading 17th goal of the season.

Wood is second on the team with 13 goals.

“With Emily and Breann, it's been a good combination for us up front,” said KC coach Lisa Castiglione. “They have both scored a lot of goals because of the other's play.”

After the goal, the Gremlins continued to apply pressure, taking valuable seconds away from ECC's attack.

In the 67th minute, it appeared KC's Emily Schumacher had scored to make it 2-0, but the Gremlins were whistled for being offside.

The Crusaders tallied several scoring chances in the final six minutes of play.

In the 75th minute, Jena Struble took a shot on a ball 25 yards from KC's goal, but the ball sailed well right of the net.

A minute later, Abbi Petrosky's corner kick hit the side of the net.

Then, with 10 seconds remaining, KC goalie Lauren Downs got her hand on a corner kick to thwart ECCs final chance.

“We managed to keep our focus and just played our game,” said Yasika.

It was an effort that also included defenders Meghan Haskins, Erin McCue and Taylor Brown in front of Downs, who made six saves.

Carnovale had five stops for the Crusaders.

KC will face the winner of the WPIAL's consolation game between Springdale and Greensburg Central Catholic in the first round of the state playoffs Tuesday at a site and time to be determined.

“This is one of the most skilled teams I've had,” said Castiglione, who has guided KC to four district titles in her five years. But they can also play physical when we need them to.