Martin Scores Golden Goal in PT OT Victory
Peters Township doesn’t give up many goals.
The Indians came into Monday’s semifinal of the WPIAL Class 4A girls soccer playoffs having not conceded a goal in seven straight matches, and only allowing nine all season.
North Allegheny didn’t appear to be concerned with that statistic, as it had a 1-0 halftime lead before Peters Township scored the game-tying goal late in regulation and defender Cailin Martin booted the game winner with nine minutes left in the first overtime for a 2-1 victory at Fox Chapel High School’s James M. Burke Stadium.
As an outside back, Martin doesn’t receive the headlines a striker would, but she was able to come through in crunch time and send her team to the WPIAL final at Highmark Stadium.
“I just saw the ball popped out, and I knew I had to do anything I could to get it in the back of the net, so I used my whole body and ripped it in the back of the net,” Martin said. “We knew it was going to be a hard game because we played them before, and it was a really good, competitive game. They are a really good team, so we knew we had to put it all out there.”
The Indians (18-0-1) will play Seneca Valley (14-2-2) for the title at a date and time to be determined. Peters Township will be seeking its third WPIAL championship after hoisting the championship trophy in 2010 and 2012, while Seneca Valley has its eyes on title No. 6. The Raiders won district gold in 2007, 2009, 2013, 2014 and 2018.
Peters Township defeated Seneca Valley, 2-1, in overtime on Aug. 28, but Indians coach Pat Vereb doesn’t want his team to get overconfident, which is what concerned him against the Tigers.
“We beat them (North Allegheny) 3-0 earlier in the year, and I think it gave us some false confidence,” Vereb said. “All three goals were off set pieces, and I think we maybe a little bit too overconfident, and North Allegheny took it to us the whole game. We played Seneca Valley earlier in the year and it was a fight.
“It was not our best game of the year tonight, for sure. We gave up the corner kick and the first goal, and we lost momentum of the game. We played four forwards in the last 15 minutes of the game and were able to fight back.”
The match was loaded with fouls, although no cards were issued.
North Allegheny (12-6-1) didn’t have a shot on target in the first half until Aubrey Wells directed a corner kick into the net with 42 seconds left in the first half for a 1-0 lead.
“They are a solid team all the way around,” North Allegheny coach Chuck Kelley said. “We played them earlier in the year and didn’t have our best game, so it feels good to put ourselves in a situation where we could win the game. It was unfortunate that we weren’t able to get that second goal, or being able to play out the game at 1-0, but the girls and the team have played amazing the entire year and we’ve worked really hard.”
The Indians worked to generate any kind of offense they could muster in the second half, and it appeared for the second straight season, they would exit the postseason way earlier than expected, but Mandy Pirosko saved the day with a shot from an awkward that found its way into the back of the net to tie the match with 9:01 left in the second half.
“We had some unlikely heroes in Mandy Pirosko scoring the game-tying goal, and Cailin Martin, who is a defender, scoring the game winner,” Vereb said. “Cailin doesn’t get a lot of recognition as an outside back, but we throw her in there on long throw-ins and corner kicks. She’s aggressive and hit the shot of a lifetime.”
Martin and Pirosko were freshmen on last year’s team that stumbled in the quarterfinals of the playoffs, and Martin felt a huge relief when Pirosko’s shot went in.
“My mind just exploded with excitement when she (Pirosko) scored that goal,” Martin said. “I was so happy. She fought all the way and I’m so proud of her.”
The Tigers didn’t let the matching-tying goal get them down, and had an opportunity to regain the lead with 3:30 left in regulation, but Mia Bosley’s shot hit the crossbar.
“We hit the crossbar and had a couple of other chances where we didn’t score, so we left some stuff on the table, but it was 1-1 in overtime,” Kelley said. “Our seniors have had a historic time at this school.”
Peters Township keeper Molly Kubistek made one save in earning the victory in goal.