Breaking News
Late Sports

South Williamsport’s Sophia Casella sends Mounties to district final

By Jon Gerardi 5 min read

Every eye inside of Loyalsock’s Kenneth M. Robbins Stadium was focused on South Williamsport’s Sophia Casella as she trotted from the 50-yard line to take her penalty kick. Benton fans were all hoping for either a miss or for a block. South fans were hoping she would easy convert it.

In the fourth round of a shootout on a chilly Tuesday night, the seasons of both teams came down to Casella’s kick. The South Williamsport junior took a quick stutter step and sent her shot toward the right post, sneaking it in past Benton goalie Rhianna Hess.

As soon as she saw it go in, Casella darted toward her teammates and was engulfed in a sea of blue on the field. Cue the celebration.

Casella’s penalty kick sealed South Williamsport’s thrilling 4-2 shootout win over Benton after 110 minutes of scoreless soccer.

The win propels South Williamsport to the District 4 Class A championship game against Southern Columbia, who beat Mount Carmel. Both South Williamsport and Southern Columbia advance to the state tournament. The final will be played Thursday at a site and time to be determined.

“It’s wonderful (to go to states). … Our goal was we wanted to try to win the league, which we tied with (Benton) for a league championship, and our goal was to win the district or make it to states. They really played their hearts out,” South Williamsport coach Marc Lovecchio said. “We can talk about tactics all we want, but at this stage of the game, it comes down to heart, energy and commitment.”

Both South Williamsport and Benton played solid throughout regulation and both overtime periods, and neither defense yielded much.

After regulation, Lovecchio had a feeling that the game would be heading to penalty kicks.

“They play very well, they pass the ball very well, but they had a hard time finishing. I’ve got to give my defense credit because we played them well,” Lovecchio said. “I didn’t want to give up an easy goal. I was kind of expecting penalty kicks, but I didn’t know how we’d respond to that.”

South responded by sinking every shot in the shootout through four rounds.

After Amber Hughes’ shot to start penalty kicks was blocked by Laila Shams, Claudia Green put her shot toward the right post to put South ahead, 1-0. Teaghan Bardua and Aleigha Rieppel both converted in the second round to make it a 2-1 Mounties lead.

Benton’s Sydney Hess placed a great shot to the right, but it hit off the right post to deny her shot. Abby Akers then came through by placing her shot to the left for a 3-1 South Williamsport lead.

Emma Hayman converted her shot to the left for Benton to make it 3-2 with Casella’s shot being the deciding factor.

“I’m so happy for the girls. This is what they wanted. This is what they worked so hard for,” Lovecchio said.

Benton had two great chances to score in the second half. With 20:10 to play, Hess fired a shot from inside the 18 after a corner kick and sent it high only to see it hit off the football crossbar.

Right before regulation ended, with 3:46 remaininng, it was Hughes who had a look from outside of the 18. She fired her shot, but it went just wide to the right.

South Williamsport wasn’t able to fire a single shot in either overtime period as Benton kept possession and controlled the ball. But defensively, the Mounties did well not allowing Benton to get inside the 18 in either overtime period. All three of Benton’s shots on goal between the two 15-minute overtime periods came from 20 yards or deeper.

Benton and South Williamsport were no strangers to one another. They each won a regular-season matchup entering districts against each other and Lovecchio and the Mounties knew they would be in for a tough battle on Tuesday ngiht.

“We had two girls on one leg, so I moved Piper (Minier) back to the mid to just sit back and said ‘girls, just send the ball. Maybe we can get them on a counter attack.’ We couldn’t out-possess them,” Lovecchio said.

South Williamsport’s McKaye Wilton had two good chances in the first half to score, but Benton’s Rhianna Hess came up with two solid blocks each time to keep it a scoreless game. South Williamsport had three shots on goal in the first half.

This will be South Williamsport’s first state playoff appearance since the Mounties lost the 2015 District 4 Class A championship to Warrior Run. The Mounties will also be hoping to win the program’s first District 4 championship since 2006.

“I’m thrilled with the win. Now we’re in the state playoffs and that’s the first time in a long time for these girls,” Lovecchio said. “It’s so exciting, and to beat Benton? They’re such a good team. I couldn’t be prouder of these girls.”

South Williamsport 0, Benton 0

(District 4 Class A semifinals)

(South Williamsport wins shootout, 4-2)

Shots: B 7, SW 5. Corners: B 5, SW 3. Saves: B 4 (Rhianna Hess), SW 6 (Laila Shams).

Starting at /week.