Scranton Prep and Abington Heights took the field for a third time this season Monday and despite two hard-fought previous contests, Doug Knieser was certain this one would be the most challenging.
It proved to be for unbeaten Scranton Prep, as the game remained scoreless for 74 minutes. But Knieser also believed that it was just a matter of finding one opportunity and executing it.
Cara Griffith got that opportunity and she executed it to perfection. Her goal in the 75th minute lifted top-seeded Scranton Prep to a 1-0 victory over No. 4 Abington Heights in a District 2 Class AA girls soccer semifinal match at Loyola Field.
Scranton Prep (16-0) will look to win its fourth straight district title when it squares off against No. 2 and fellow unbeaten Dallas (18-0) in the championship match Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Memorial Stadium Dallas defeated No. 3 Coughlin, 2-0, in its semifinal match.
Monday’s victory also qualified the Classics for the PIAA tournament, which begins next week.
“They always say beating a team the third time is the hardest and this was definitely the hardest,” Knieser said. “There’s not much a team can do that the other team hasn’t seen before. I just wanted the girls to remain relaxed and not get uptight and they did that.”
From the start and throughout the whole match, Scranton Prep controlled the possession and kept Abington Heights (12-3-1) from really generating any offense. The Classics outshot the Lady Comets, 18-1, and it didn’t take long for them to test goalkeeper Johanna Show.
In the fourth minute, Griffith fired a shot from the top of the 18-yard box but Show came up with a save. Show stopped two more of Griffith’s shots in the 12th and 14th minutes.
Liz Shoemaker fired a shot from 30 yards out in the 19th minute that deflected off the crossbar and out of play. Shoemaker also had a direct kick in the 27th minute from nearly the same distance that was turned away by Show, who finished with 13 saves.
Scranton Prep nearly got on the board in the 32nd minute when Jess Genco’s shot near the far left corner trickled past Show and hovered the goal line before being kicked away by the Lady Comets.
“I told the girls at halftime that we played a great first half and I thought we just needed to stick with it and keep pushing and eventually, we would get one in,” Knieser said.
The Classics defense continued to dominate in the second half and create chances for the offense but they were still unable to break through.
In the 72nd minute, Abington Heights finally got a chance and nearly converted. Ally Christman’s corner kick deflected to the middle of the box to Emily Mahoney, who got a good luck and shot off but was denied by a diving Kate Paterson.
That save proved to be key and pave the way for Griffith to finally take the lead just three minutes later when Eileen Casey sent a pass to Griffith that got past the Abington Heights defenders.
Griffith fielded the pass, and made a cut on Show, who came out of the goal to try and defend. But Griffith got past her and blasted a shot into the wide open net for the deciding goal.
“Eileen just hit the great pass and it skimmed over the defender’s foot and it put me in a great position,” Griffith said. “I saw the keeper coming out and I just took the chance to cut and hoped it worked and it did.
“It obviously gets you really pumped but you also have it in the back of your mind that there’s still five minutes left, it’s a great team, it’s not over and you have to keep pushing.”
The Lady Comets tried one final push in the 78th minute but the Classics defense again got back and prevented them from getting a clean look.
“It’s hard,” Abington Heights coach Roger Jacobs said. “The girls have been through some tough battles in the past week or so. But these are the things that you learn in life and hopefully, we will learn something from it.”
Contact the writer: shennigan@timesshamrock.com
Abington Heights (12-3-1) 0 0 — 0 Scranton Prep (16-0) 0 1 — 1
SP: Cara Griffith (Eileen Casey). 74:13
Shots-corners: AH 1-2, SP 18-4.
Saves: Johanna Show (AH) 13, Kate Paterson (SP) 1.
