Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Bishop Guilfoyle's Emma Marasco walks to midfield after Riverview scores its third goal of the game.

By John Hartsock

jhartsock@altoonamirror.com

JOHNSTOWN — The Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic High School girls soccer team enjoyed a fabulous season that was unprecedented by any Blair County scholastic soccer program this fall, reaching the PIAA Class 1A semifinals.

But it was in that game on Tuesday night at the Westmont Hilltop Elementary School’s Price Field, against Riverview of the WPIAL, that the Lady Marauders finally faced a mountain of circumstances that was too much for them to negotiate.

Riverview’s standout senior forward, Lola Abraham — who has committed to play soccer on the collegiate level at the University of Pittsburgh next year — scored all four Riverview goals as the Lady Raiders scored a 4-1 victory to end BG’s season one win short of a berth in Saturday morning’s state championship game.

Along with the task of facing Abraham — who now has scored 77 goals this season alone — BG played shorthanded for the entire second half.

The Lady Marauders lost senior defenseman Sarah Geishauser to a leg injury late in the first half, and also lost senior forward Nicole Hawk due to a red card violation.

BG was already missing injured senior forward Rayna Colombo entering Tuesday’s game — leaving the Lady Marauders minus three senior captains for much of the contest.

“Sarah Geishauser has been our best defender for most of her four-year career, and losing her tonight played a big part in how we were going to defend,” BG coach Joe DeLeo said.

Hawk has been a top scorer and senior leader for this year’s BG team, and she had scored both goals in the Lady Marauders’ 2-0 quarterfinal win over WPIAL champion Freedom this past Saturday. Losing her with a red card for dissenting an official’s call left BG down one player on the field in the second half.

“To have three of our four senior captains out in a big game like this made it very tough for us,” said DeLeo, whose District 6 championship team wrapped up a 21-2 season.

Abraham made things even tougher for BG.

Using her speed, agility and shooting prowess, Abraham put the Riverview team on her back once again.

She opened the scoring at the 24:33 mark of the first half after getting free to the left of the cage, cutting into the middle, and putting a shot into the lower part of the net.

Abraham helped Riverview bolster its lead to 3-0 by scoring two goals three minutes apart early in the second half. She got free in the middle of the field and booted a high kick into the net from the 27-yard line at the 1:30 mark, then scored on another high shot into the upper left corner of the cage at 4:31.

“Obviously, if you don’t shoot, you’re not going to score,” Abraham said. “If I have an opportunity, I’ll shoot, especially when the shot is within my range.

“But this has been a great team effort,” Abraham added. “I couldn’t have done what I’ve done without the help of all the other girls on my team.”

Abraham’s father, Sean, is the Riverview coach. He also stressed the importance of teamwork for this year’s Riverview squad.

“We’re not a one-person show,” Sean Abraham said of his 22-3 squad, which will meet Dock Mennonite of District 1 in the state championship game Saturday morning at the Eagle Valley Middle School Field in Mechanicsburg. “It comes down to a team effort. Without the rest of her teammates, she couldn’t do what she does for us.”

Nonetheless, Lola Abraham showed that she is truly a special player on a soccer field. She finished her big night by scoring her fourth goal with 12:13 left in the game to give her team a 4-0 lead and the program’s first berth in the state final.

“It’s definitely something we’ve never experienced before – our first time in a state championship game,” Lola Abraham said.

BG averted a shutout when sophomore midfielder Delaney Lechner scored an unassisted goal with just 1:01 left.

The Lady Marauders had tough luck in the game, with one of their shots hitting the crossbar and another clanking off the left goalpost.

“I couldn’t be more proud of how hard these girls fought,” DeLeo said. “These players all worked really hard this year, and this team has gone farther this year than any Blair County soccer team has ever advanced. To make it to the semifinals of the state tournament is something that these players will always remember.”

SCORE BY HALVES

Bishop Guilfoyle 0 1–1

Riverview 1 3–4

First half

1, R–Abraham (Hudak), 24:33.

Second half

2, R–Abraham (Hudak), 1:30. 3, R–Abraham (unassisted), 4:31. 4, R–Abraham (Chapparro), 27:47. 5, BG–Lechner (unassisted), 38:59.

Shots on goal: Riverview 10, Bishop Guilfoyle 7.

Saves: Bishop Guilfoyle: Rumfola, 5; Hite 1. Riverview: C. Brun, 6.

Records: Bishop Guilfoyle (21-2); Riverview (22-3).