Lady Marauders knock off No. 2
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By Michael Boytim
mboytim@altoonamirror.com
WINGATE -- Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic senior Lainey Farabaugh has been one of District 6's best girls soccer players for the past four years, but throughout her entire high school career, West Branch has been a thorn in her side.
She gained a measure of revenge Wednesday night in the District 6 Class 1A semifinals at Alumni Stadium by scoring all four Lady Marauder goals in a 4-1 triumph over the Lady Warriors.
"She's the greatest player I have ever coached by any means," Bishop Guilfoyle coach Joe DeLeo said. "It's not just what people see on the field. She leads this team. She practices and works harder than anyone in practice on any given day. All the success she's earned is certainly well deserved."
Farabaugh opened the scoring after an assist from Hailey DeGol with five minutes to play in the first half and scored again off a Claire Cammarata assist less than a minute and 10 seconds later.
"It feels so good, because we have lost to them for the past three years," Farabaugh said. "They have knocked us out of the playoffs every single year. This feels amazing."
The Lady Marauders have had a long history of frustration with West Branch and have lost close games in each of the last two District 6 finals to the defending three-time district champions.
West Branch also topped BG, 4-1, earlier this season.
Following the victory, Farabaugh was jumping up and down while celebrating with teammates and chanting, "reverse the curse," in reference to BG's previous losses to West Branch.
"We were missing a couple important players (in the regular season)," Farabaugh said. "This game, we just connected better. We found each other better and weren't as clustered."
The Lady Marauders' speed was also a factor.
"Turf and speed," West Branch coach Angie Fenush said. "We don't play on turf all season long, and you saw their speed. (Sara Geishauser) and Lainey are the fastest kids that we have ever seen in District 6. We just didn't have the speed to keep up with them."
Bishop Guilfoyle dominated ball control early, but West Branch goalie Alexa Prestash turned away several good opportunities.
"We certainly were concerned a little bit," DeLeo said. "We felt like we had control of the ball for 20-25 minutes without a goal. That's why we felt really good about the first one, and certainly the second one, in the first half."
Ahead 2-0 about halfway through the second half, Prestash made a mistake and Farabaugh capitalized. Following a missed shot that went over the net, Prestash attempted to kick to a teammate, but Farabaugh used her speed to cut off the pass. She completed her hat trick by scoring from nearly 20 yards out after the interception.
"I just shot it, because I saw she was out of the goal," Farabaugh said. "I was just hoping it went in, and it did."
Jenna Mertz scored West Branch's lone goal less than a minute later, but the Lady Warriors never threatened again.
Farabaugh added a fourth goal with 11:46 remaining.
"I thought we played as well as we could have tonight," DeLeo said. "I was really never all that comfortable except maybe the last three minutes. They are such a good team that you can't get comfortable."
Third-seeded Bishop Guilfoyle will play fourth-seeded Penns Valley on Tuesday in the District 6 Class 1A final at Philipsburg-Osceola High School at 5:30 p.m. The Lady Rams upset top-seeded Bald Eagle Area, 2-1, on Wednesday.
"It would mean so much (to win)," Farabaugh said. "We have lost in the final the past two years. To finally get that win my senior year would be amazing."
SCORE BY HALVES
Bishop Guilfoyle 2 2 -- 4
West Branch 0 1 -- 1
First half: BG--Farabaugh (DeGol), 5:00; BG--Farabaugh (Cammarata), 3:51.
Second half: BG--Farabaugh (unassisted), 21:19; WB--Mertz (unassisted), 20:35; BG--Farabaugh (unassisted), 11:46.
Records: West Branch (14-5); Bishop Guilfoyle (13-6).