Click here to subscribe today or Login.
DALLAS — Dallas has been a nemesis for the Crestwood girls soccer team for the last several years.
The Comets’ last three playoff showdowns ended in overtime defeats to the Mountaineers.
With the stakes high on Tuesday night, on Dallas’ home field, Crestwood finally got a little revenge.
The Comets got goals from Vanessa Atie and Allie Stover and fought off late pressure from the Mountaineers to hang on for a 2-1 victory in the District 2 Class 3A semifinals.
With the win, Crestwood reaches the district final for the first time in at least the last 10 seasons and will face Abington Heights on Thursday for the championship. Abington defeated Wyoming Valley West 5-1 on Tuesday.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever had the feeling of having 34 best friends, but that’s how it is here,” Crestwood senior defender Lexi Gaetano said. “We all play for each other this entire season and now it’s paying off for us.”
Crestwood set the tone early in the match getting four opportunities in the first 15 minutes, including an indirect kick inside the box that was saved. The Comets were on the attack and head coach Russ Kile knew something was going to happen soon.
“Sarah Andrews, the assistant coach was big on positive energy today. She said we need to come out strong which we did and we were able to maintain that throughout the whole game,” Kile said. “They kept working hard and it paid off.”
With the clock winding down in the first half, Atie nailed a perfect shot into the net beating keeper Rachel Nelligan with just 1:52 to go before the break. The goal sailed just out of reach of Nelligan for the 1-0 lead at halftime.
Needing some insurance, the Comets kept up pressure. And less than six minutes into the second half, the freshman Stover connected when she knocked in a rebound off Nelligan for the 2-0 advantage to give her team a little breathing room.
“It was the happiest moment. I knew we were up 2-zero and the game was ours,” Stover said. “We definitely calmed down, but our intensity was still up and we got a little flustered.”
With 33:48 remaining in the second half, the Mountaineers put together several chances after allowing the second goal, but couldn’t complete the act until All-State player Samantha Mazula scored from 35 yards out to cut the deficit to 2-1 with 14:20 remaining.
Dallas strung together more chances, but also fouled the Comets numerous times to eat some clock, while Crestwood’s defense held strong.
“We just had to play our own game. We are plenty talented enough to not let them score,” Gaetano said. “We deserved this win and we got it.”
Girls District 2 Class 3A Semifinal
Crestwood 2, Dallas 1
Crestwood ` 1`1` – `2
Dallas`0`1` – 1
First half — 1. CRE, Vanessa Atie 1:52. Second half — 1. CRE, Allie Stover 33:48; 2. DAL, Samantha Mazula 14:20.
Shots — CRE 11, DAL 8. Saves — CRE 4 (Cortney Dushanko); DAL 7 (Rachel Nelligan, Sarah Krokos). Corners — CRE 2; DAL 2.
