Weleski powers Plum past Hampton, into WPIAL Class 3A semifinals

By: George Guido
Thursday, October 28, 2021 | 10:02 PM

Purchase Photo Options

Plum took another step toward a possible third consecutive WPIAL girls soccer final Thursday night with a Class 3A quarterfinal victory over Hampton at Mustangs Stadium.

Sophomore midfielder Ava Weleski scored two goals in the first half, and senior forward Marissa Liberto added a late insurance goal to give Plum a 3-1 victory over the Talbots.

The No. 2-seeded Mustangs (18-1-1) will play South Fayette, a 2-1 winner over Franklin Regional in a shootout, in the semifinals Tuesday at a site and time to be determined.

The Talbots (12-4-3) were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Plum for the second time in three seasons.

Weleski’s first goal came less than eight minutes into the match on an assist from Kaitlyn Killinger. But it was Hampton who spent a considerable amount of the first half in Plum territory.

A breakaway by Sophie Kelly forced Mustangs goalkeeper Megan Marston to go far to her right to snare the shot. Later, Sara Kenst was closing in on the Plum goal, but her drive was cleared away by two Mustangs defenders.

Ruby Copelin’s free kick gave Jillian Antol a chance, but Marston again was up to the task.

“The first goal helped out, but they spent way too much time in our half to our liking,” Plum coach Jamie Stewart said. “I think we got the second goal to go up, 2-0, and at halftime, we made some adjustments.”

It was a game of what-ifs for Hampton.

“We had opportunities there, but we couldn’t cash in,” Talbots coach Bill Paholich said. “They made the most of their opportunities, and we didn’t. Sometimes that happens.”

After Hampton couldn’t break through, Weleski scored with 46 seconds left in the half.

“It was great feeling to come out and get a couple goals and make it to the semis for the third year in a row,” Weleski said. “I saw an open space on that second goal. I had my winger (Killinger), whom I’ve been playing with for 10 years, (she) took a pass and tapped it in.”

Hampton did make it interesting.

On a corner kick, left-footed Ava France booted the ball over everyone’s heads near the goal box, but Angelina Conley pursued the ball on the other side of the pitch. Conley’s kick went off several Mustangs and into the Plum goal to cut the Mustangs’ lead to 2-1 with 23:05 to go. It was an own goal, but the Talbots were happy nevertheless to be trailing by one.

The third time proved to be a charm for Liberto. A shot from close range was blocked. Then Liberto’s header hit off the football crossbar. Moments later, she scored off a rebound to put Plum in front, 3-1, with 18:25 remaining.

“Honestly, our defense is absolutely everybody,” Stewart said. “We talk about team defense, and that’s what happens. When we get our four defenders and our three midfielders back, we can take care of business.”

It was the sixth consecutive playoff trip for the Talbots.

“Right now, it’s disappointing, we had hoped to fare a little better,” said Paholich, completing his ninth season at the helm. “I’ve been doing this long enough to know sometimes you get chances and they go in, sometimes you don’t,”

Tags: Hampton, Plum