BG headed to states after D6 title victory
Trending
By John Hartsock
jhartsock@altoonamirror.com
With snow flurries flying in the air at Mansion Park on a frosty early-November evening, players on the Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic High School girls soccer team still managed to feel a collective warm glow.
After having reached the District 6 Class 1A championship game in both of the past two seasons only to fall short, BG managed to close the deal Wednesday night.
Nicole Hawk and Emma Marasco scored first-half goals, and the top-seeded Lady Marauders (19-1) played a very sound defensive game, as BG won the district championship game, 2-0, over third-seeded Bald Eagle Area.
Wednesday's win advances BG into the PIAA playoffs, where the Lady Marauders will meet the winner of tonight's Karns City-Brockway District 9 championship game in a first-round state playoff matchup next Tuesday at a site and time to be determined.
"We've been in the District 6 championship game a couple of times in the past two seasons, and it feels really good to win this one tonight,'' BG coach Joe DeLeo said. "The players on this team have worked hard all year to get here, and I couldn't be more proud of them.''
Hawk, a senior midfielder, transferred to BG from Altoona High School before her junior year, but did not play soccer last fall for the Lady Marauders due to an injury. She has been making up for lost time this year.
"I'm just ecstatic about the way that our team has come together this year and won, not just for ourselves but for our school,'' Hawk said.
Hawk scored the game's first goal at the 19:57 mark of the first half after being fouled. She was awarded a free kick, and booted it from the 20-yard line just underneath the crossbar and behind BEA junior goal keeper Makayla Spicer.
"I took a few free kicks (Tuesday) during practice, and when I went up there tonight, I knew that I was going to score,'' Hawk said. "I had my mind made up on putting the ball into the back of the net.''
The fact that she did so gave BG a jump start in the game.
"She got fouled hard, and scored on a nice free kick to break the ice for us,'' DeGol said.
Marasco gave BG a 2-0 lead with just less than six minutes left in the first half when the freshman forward got a nice feed from sophomore teammate Hailey DeGol in front of the cage and converted the chance.
"It was a great touch pass from Hailey, and I was able to finish it,'' Marasco said.
BG dominated the game territorially, outshooting BEA, 15-6, including an 11-3 margin in the first half.
"Emma Marasco got a really beautiful pass from Hailey DeGol for our second goal, and our defense was lights out tonight,'' DeLeo said.
Spicer was solid in goal for BEA, stopping 13 of 15 BG shots, while Lady Marauders' freshman keeper Cece Rumfola made six saves in a shutout effort.
"BG is a great team with a lot of skilled players, but I thought we played well, especially in the second half,'' said BEA coach Jared Moore, whose team finished its season with a 9-9-1 record. "We had our chances, and if a couple of our shots would have fallen a different way in the second half, it might have been a different story.''
DeLeo also gave the BEA team some props.
"We didn't take advantage of every opportunity that we had, but they defended well,'' DeLeo said. "They are well-coached, and they played a good game against us tonight.''
Even so, the BG team lives to fight another day next Tuesday against the District 9 champion. Karns City is the top-seeded team in the District 9 tournament.
"The Karns City team, in particular, has been really good, but they still have to win their district championship game,'' DeLeo said. "Whichever team we play out of District 9 is going to pose a challenge.''
SCORE BY HALVES
Bald Eagle Area 0 0--0
Bishop Guilfoyle 2 0-2
First half
1, BG--Hawk (unassisted), 19:57. 2, BG--Marasco (DeGol), 34:04.
Shots on goal: Bishop Guilfoyle 15, Bald Eagle Area 6.
Saves: Spicer, BEA, 13; Rumfola, BG, 6.
Records: Bald Eagle Area (9-9-1); Bishop Guilfoyle (19-1).