Nov 8, 2017 By Adam Brewer, For The Greene County Messenger 5 min read

HARMONY — Freshman Rhea Kijowski recorded a hat trick and Waynesburg Central scored four second-half goals en route to a dominating 6-0 victory over Harbor Creek in the first round of the PIAA Class 2-A girls soccer playoffs Tuesday night at Seneca Valley High School.

The Lady Raiders (20-1) extended their winning streak to 19 games in winning the school’s first ever girls soccer state playoff match in their first appearance.

“Harbor Creek is a good team,” Waynesburg coach Joe Kijowski said. “We didn’t know too much about them, but they were definitely a challenge. We only had one practice before this game after winning the WPIAL title (on Saturday) and it was on a rain-soaked field. Despite that, they brought a lot of intensity to practice and had the right focus for tonight’s game.

“I was very pleased with our overall effort. We controlled the ball and we used our speed against them. When we get rolling, we are hard to stop and the scoring comes from a lot of different areas. The girls are very determined and now every game from here on out is history for us.”

Waynesburg will now play District-5 champion Bedford (22-0), a 1-0 winner over Schulykill Valley, in the quarterfinals on Saturday with the time and site to be determined.

With her three goals, Rhea Kijowski now has 40 goals on the year. In four playoff games this season, she has scored 10 goals.

“I think we are always intense during any game,” Rhea Kijowski said. “It doesn’t matter the game, with this group we are always going to get up for games. We are loose in pregame, but we know how to turn things up. I don’t really go into a game trying to score a set amount of goals. I just try to do my job and help my team out with scoring.”

After the Lady Huskies (18-5) registered the first two shots, Waynesburg scored on its first shot of the night off the foot of Rhea Kijowski at 35:05. The marker was assisted by her sophomore sister, Jillian Kijowski.

Jillian Kijowski leads the Lady Raiders with 35 assists on the season.

“We just wear teams down with our scoring and depth,” Jillian Kijowski said. “We have a lot of confidence in each other, from the forwards to the mids and to the defense. I honestly think it comes down to off-season training and playing so long together. We always know where we are going to be on the field and there’s a lot of talent.”

Both teams had quality scoring chances over the next 20 minutes, but both goalkeepers were up to the task and rallied around the play of their defenders to clear the ball out of the zone.

With less than a minute left in the first half, the Lady Raiders stretched their lead to 2-0 when senior Madison Clayton scored a goal in the box off of an assist by junior Abby Virgin.

Waynesburg extended its lead to 3-0 eight minutes into the second half when Rhea Kijowski put in a rebound. Clayton earned the assist at 32:05 and had the initial shot, but Rhea Kijowski was able to gather the loose ball for the goal.

Rhea Kijowski completed the hat trick with a tally at 20:01.

Sandwiched around Rhea Kijowski’s second and third goals of the night was a marker by sophomore Kylie Sinn that was assisted by Clayton at 23:14.

Clayton ended the offensive onslaught with her second goal at 13:05. The goal was her WPIAL-leading 57th of the season and 142nd goal of her illustrious career.

“We always play the same exact game every time out,” Clayton said. “We are intense and aggressive. We didn’t know too much about Harbor Creek, so we just wanted to play our style. It’s so crazy that we are in the round of eight and we are just hoping to continue to win.”

Freshman goalkeeper McKenzie Booth made some solid stops in the first half and faced less pressure in the second half in front of the stellar defensive effort by Waynesburg.

“My defense has really helped me out all season long,” Booth said. “I’ve got to give them a ton of credit. I just try to play within myself. I always have to be ready in net. I’m always nervous when I start games out, but after a couple of saves it settles me down.”

Booth made nine saves and notched her 13th shutout of the year.

“Booth has grown up a lot over the last month,” coach Kijowski said. “At the beginning of the season she came in as a naïve freshman. She is very relaxed. She is our fashion icon on the team. She doesn’t get fazed in net and is very composed. She’s a gamer for us.”

Sarah Feathers made 10 saves for the Lady Huskies.

“We don’t look at the big picture stuff,” coach Kijowski said. “We go game by game and worry about what we can do to get better. This is a great group and they enjoy each other’s company. They don’t want their seniors’ careers to end and they are hoping for three more games.”