Pittsburgh area tough on Central
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By Nate Ritchey
nritchey@altoonamirror.com
HOLLIDAYSBURG -- Central's normal possession style of play was non-existent for the most part on Tuesday night against Shady Side Academy.
The Lady Dragons got off a pass but it was quickly shut down or intercepted by the pressure and physicality of the Lady Bulldogs.
On the flip side, Shady Side was the team stringing passes together and giving itself plenty of chances.
In the end, while Central held the Lady Bulldogs in check in a valiant fight throughout, the Lady Dragons saw their season come to a close for the second straight year in the first round of the PIAA Class 2A playoffs with a 2-0 loss at Hollidaysburg's Tiger Stadium.
"It's a Pittsburgh team. Those guys are faster and bigger," Central coach Randy Trexler said. "I don't know how many seniors they had but clearly some high-level players in there -- good one-touch passing, pressured us really crazy and always on us."
Central, the District 5-6 champion, closed the books on a 14-8-0 campaign.
"It's not quite the game we would have liked but it's still a good season," Coach Trexler said. "What a great season by us."
Shady Side moved to 16-4-1 and will meet up with South Park, a 2-1 winner over Fort LeBoeuf, on Saturday at a site and time to be determined.
"We knew coming in that they (Central) were more of a possession-based team and like to build the attack from the back," Shady Side Academy coach Mary Lynch said. "That's something that we try to focus on all season as well. So, we tried to play to feet, keep it simple and try to counter quickly."
Shady Side, the second seed out of District 7, controlled the first half of play as the Lady Bulldogs got off 14 shots to just three by Central.
Shady Side made Lady Dragon goalkeeper Lacey Ripka work as the senior had to make 11 saves in the first 40 minutes.
The Bulldogs also had seven corner kicks to none by the Dragons.
After Shady Side came close on the first four, the Lady Bulldogs finally delivered on the fifth opportunity.
Caroline Liptak's corner kick went deep to the back post where Reese Martens got a leg on it but it took a deflection off a Central defender.
The ball rolled across the goal to the middle where Ella Van Norman was waiting to tap it in.
The goal came at 19:44 to put the Bulldogs up 1-0.
"A lot of our corners do come back post," Lynch said. "That was a matter of being in the right place and finding the back of the net."
The Lady Dragons had two quality chances in the half as Kira Trexler crossed a ball to where Brittany Bartley was moving in the middle.
The ball caromed off Bartley's leg to Carli Hart on the back post, but unfortunately, Hart's shot was saved by Maria Ravotti in the 23rd minute.
In the fourth minute, Trexler took a wide open pass from Bethany Kensinger and the juniors shot went by the diving Ravotti and wide right of the post.
The second half proved to be more of the same, but the Scarlet Dragons did find a few opportunities to score.
In the 37th minute, Kira Trexler lifted a ball that skipped off a Bulldog defenders head as Lakkyn Dibert got to the free ball and ripped a shot from 20-yards out but right at Ravotti.
The two teams went back-and-forth with no real threat of scoring for nearly 25 minutes before the Dragons got another chance in the 13th minute.
Kira Trexler chipped the ball over the Bulldog defense for Dibert who made a run at the bouncing ball but Ravotti was able to get to it first.
In the sixth minute, Shady Side had a good shot turned away by Ripka for a corner kick that ended up being cleared away by the defense.
Three minutes later, Central would get its final prime opportunity as Kira Trexler played a ball to Carli Hart on the back post that was just out of reach.
Dibert recovered the ball and fire a shot that went at Ravotti for the save.
"We had a couple of chances there at the end," Coach Trexler said. "That's about what we could ask for against a pretty decent team like them (Shady Side)."
The Bulldogs' Sadie Navi's passed off to teammate Sarah Kushnir who had her shot hauled in by Ripka with two minutes left.
With Central having to send defenders up in an attempt to get an offensive push, Kushnir would get by a diving Ripka and place the ball in the back of the net to set the final with 45 ticks remaining.
"We had a lot of opportunities but give credit to their keeper -- she made some good saves. They (Central) certainly never gave up and continued to press in those final minutes."
For the match, Shady Side took 28 shots with 21 of them being on goal. Meanwhile, Central managed eight shots with five on goal.
Central only graduates one senior in Ripka, but the entire rest of the Lady Dragons' roster should return intact next year to try to make another run at a district title, and hopefully advance past the first round of the state playoffs.
"I think it's a big win for us because we are a pretty young team and hopefully we'll be back," Coach Trexler said. "... This is two years of really good experience for playoffs. Hopefully, a third year and maybe a fourth after that because we are pretty strong for the next couple of years. We hope to be back."
SCORE BY HALVES
Shady Side Academy 1 1 — 2
Central 0 0 — 0
First half: SSA--Van Norman (Martens assist), 19:44.
Second half: SSA--Kushnir (unassisted), 0:45
Goalies: Shady Side Academy -- Ravotti: 5 saves, 5 shots on goal; Central -- Ripka: 19 saves, 21 shots on goal.
Shots: Shady Side Academy 28, Central 8.
Corner kicks: Shady Side Academy 10, Central 0.
Records: Shady Side Academy (16-4-1); Central (14-8-0).