Peters Township girls soccer blanks No. 2 Norwin to reach WPIAL finals

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, October 27, 2018 | 8:45 PM

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In theory, Norwin had what appeared to be a distinct advantage in the Class 4A girls soccer semifinals.

The No. 2-seeded Knights came in with a healthy lineup and trotted out a number experienced players who were aiming for a fourth straight WPIAL finals appearance.

During warmups, Norwin learned Peters Township standout senior Regan LaVigna was out of commission with a broken left foot and would not play in Saturday’s playoff game.

Norwin proceeded to control most of the possession and had the king’s shilling of shots.

While the math didn’t add up, the final advantage somehow went to No. 3 Peters Township, which used a 70th-minute goal by freshman Jillian Marvin to edge the Knights, 1-0, in a cold drizzle at Elizabeth Forward.

“We did everything we could do, we played a great game and possessed, we played the way we wanted to play,” Norwin coach Lauren Karcher said. “It just didn’t go in.”

It was like Norwin set the table for a banquet it wasn’t allowed to eat.

Only two teams go to the PIAA playoffs from the WPIAL, so Norwin is done at 15-3: no November soccer for the Knights for the first time since 2014. Norwin had not been shut out in the playoffs since that season.

The senior players had never missed playing in the WPIAL finals or state playoffs.

LaVigna, a Youngstown State recruit and the team’s leading goal-scorer, was hurt in the second half of a 2-1 quarterfinal win against Butler. She watched from the sidelines Saturday, her crutches behind the bench.

Still, with all of that going against them, the Indians (16-3) are headed to Highmark Stadium next weekend to play No. 1 Seneca Valley (15-2) for the WPIAL title. The same teams met in the 2013 Class 3A title game, which Seneca Valley won, 1-0.

With LaVigna out, the Indians seemed to borrow Norwin’s 2018 motto: “Whatever it Takes.”

“Norwin is the defending state champion, and we knew what kind of talent and speed they had,” Peters Township coach Pat Verab said. “They keep coming at you. Our girls weren’t bothered much. They’re too young and dumb for that.”

Verab was referring to his roster that is loaded with wide-eyed freshmen and sophomores.

“Norwin had everybody up and Jillian was able to get some pace behind them and take advantage of an opportunity,” Verab said.

After an uneventful first half where the teams seemed content with possession passing and defense, Marvin raced into some open space and got ahead of the Knights defense at the 10:21 mark of the second half.

She drove right at Knights goalkeeper Liz Waskiewicz and tapped a low shot past her and inside the left post for the score.

Indians goalkeeper Emma Sawich made six saves, the most impressive of which came with 3:55 to play as Norwin worked the ball into the box and Sawich aggressively made a diving save to smother the Knights’ last legit chance.

“We’re upset we’re not moving on, our girls played a great game,” Karcher said. “We possessed the majority of the game. (Peters Township) made one great play at the end. Our girls never quit.”

Bill Beckner is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Bill at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

Tags: Norwin, Peters Township