Lady Raiders clinch playoffs
WAYNESBURG – Waynesburg Central girls’ soccer picked up a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Ringgold Saturday night and clinched its first playoff berth since 2008.
The postseason berth is actually its fourth in the program’s 19-year history.
The Lady Raiders (9-1, 8-1) have three section games left in the season and are still in the running for their first section title in school history.
“This is a great moment for the girls and our program,” Waynesburg coach Joe Kijowski said. “These kids are so tough and they work their butts off. They deserve this moment and I’m so happy for them that they will be playing in the playoffs. Our seniors deserve this win.”
The Lady Rams (6-3-2, 5-2-2) drops to third place in Section 4-AA behind Waynesburg and Belle Vernon.
The game-winning marker was scored by Bailey Fudala at the 15:01 mark of the second half.
“Bailey was getting roughed up and hit the whole game, I think,” Kijowski said. “She’s a scrappy player and she fights for everything. She hustles to the ball from start to finish. She’s not afraid to go in the box and fight for the ball.”
Brenna Lipscomb assisted on the goal and lobbed a beautiful pass from 25 yards out to Fudala.
In their prior meeting, Waynesburg defeated Ringgold 3-2 on Sept. 14. Fudala had the game-winning goal in the triumph.
Both teams had scoring chances in the opening 40 minutes, as each squad had four shots on net. Both goalkeepers were steady in between the pipes and the game was deadlocked at 0-0 at halftime.
Josey Evans tallied the shutout for the Lady Raiders with five saves in net. Ringgold’s Carly Kristobek recorded four stops in between the pipes.
“The final 15 minutes felt like it took 45 minutes,” Kijowski said. “Ringgold got some chances, but Josey was solid in net. She fielded her position and showed off her nice hands. This is a nice win and I’m happy for the playoff berth, but we are still looking for more. The section is still up for grabs and that’s our next goal.”
Waynesburg will be next in action on Monday, as the Raiders travel to McGuffey for a 7:30 p.m. start.