Put up the banner
Team effort leads Lady Falcons to first section championship
Brownsville’s girls soccer team recorded its first WPIAL playoff victory in 2019 and won another in 2020 with future North Carolina national champion Tessa Dellarose leading the way.
Dellarose ended her Lady Falcons career with a program-record 108 goals but there was one team “goal” she fell short of.
Brownsville failed to win a section championship in her time at Brownsville.
That achievement remained elusive for the Lady Falcons … until the 2026 season.
Brownsville is 15-1 with its only loss coming at defending WPIAL champion Bentworth, 2-1, on Sept. 16. Since then the Lady Falcons have reeled off eight wins in a row, including 3-1 in their rematch with the Lady Bearcats on Oct. 7.
They closed their regular season with 7-0 victories at Chartiers-Houston on Monday and against Beth-Center at Redstone Field on Wednesday to secure at least a share of first place in Section 2-A with a 7-1 record. Bentworth can forge a tie for the section title with a win over the visiting Lady Bulldogs on Monday.
Brownsville head coach Chad Rohland made sure his team stayed focused after the emotional 3-1 win over Bentworth.
“They’ve never won a section title before so we’re trying to do something for the first time,” he said after that victory. “At practice I want to make sure we don’t get too excited and let them know we’ve got two more games to win to reach that goal.”
Mission accomplished.
Rohland, who was an assistant coach the past two years before taking over the head coaching job this season, pointed out why he feels his team was able to achieve what no other Brownsville team had done before.
“We’re solid all the way around,” Rohland said. “We have some of the best goal scorers in the WPIAL and we don’t give up many goals.”
Sophomore Gloria Sovscek leads the offense with a WPIAL-best 36 goals, matching her total from last year when she also topped the district. Senior goalkeeper Ava Rohland, the coach’s daughter, is a key part of a defense that’s allowed just seven goals and recorded 10 shutouts.
Both make up a group of five team captains, joining senior Blair Long and sophomores Arianna Johnson and Addy Brown.
“Gloria is a good leader,” Rohland said. “She helps at practice a lot. She’s very vocal. Obviously, she’s a great offensive player.”
Kovscek scored two of her team’s goals after Brown had given Brownsville a 1-0 lead in the win over Bentworth. Brown also assisted on Kovscek’s first goal. Ava Rohland stopped 13 of 14 shots.
“Ava had a heck of a game,” Chad Rohland said. “She dove into a couple players’ feet, getting balls that could’ve very easily been goals and she helped us maintain the lead.”
Rohland gave props to all of his starters for the team’s success.
“Blair usually plays either defense or midfield for us,” Rohland said. “She’s a solid player.
“Addy Brown usually plays midfield or striker. She’s just all hustle. That girl doesn’t stop all game. She leads by example with just the effort that she gives. She’s a Tasmanian devil out on the field, basically.
“Arianna Johnson is one of my center backs. She’s also a sophomore. I would say she’s probably the best center back in the section. She’s very solid back there.”
Ellie Haddad is another sophomore starter.
“Ellie is a striker for us who always puts herself in the right position and the midfielders do a good job of getting her the ball,” Rohland said.
Several freshmen have played key roles as well, including Avianna Hernandez.
“Avianna plays midfield. She’s always one of the most dominant and imposing players on the field,” Rohland pointed out. “She covers 90 percent of the grass. She’s playing really well, just kind of runs the midfield and another one that will run constantly from sideline to sideline. She’s just in every play, a super gritty player and fun to watch.
“Another freshman is my other daughter, Riley, who usually plays midfield for us but we had a player out with a concussion (vs. Bentworth) so she played center back, which is where she plays for her club.
“My two outside backs are both freshmen, Maria Duda and Arabella Keefer. They’ve come on since the beginning of the year. At this point they’re both super solid. Neither one of them came out of the game against Bentworth. They both played 80 minutes of really good soccer.”
Brownsville beat the Lady Bearcats despite having one starter out.
“Lexxi Gregg is a junior who got the start with the injury to (sophomore) Addison Burnsworth, another good player,” Rohland said. “Lexi filled in well, though. If Lexi isn’t starting she’s the first off the bench and gives 100 percent when she’s out there, all hustle and grit.”
Brownsville was 12-5-2 last year and finished in a tie for second place with Waynesburg Central behind Bentworth to qualify for the postseason where it lost to Seton LaSalle in the first round, 4-0.
The WPIAL pairings are scheduled to be released on Wednesday for the 2026 playoffs.
“I’m confident in our team,” Rohland said. “We have good players across the board and they play together well.”