Serra upsets unbeaten Bishop Canevin in first round

By Jonathan Guth

MVI Sports

Serra Catholic proved that seeds don’t mean anything, as the 13th-seeded Eagles topped the fourth seed, Bishop Canevin, 2-1, in a shootout on Saturday in the first round of the WPIAL Class A girls soccer playoffs at Peters Township High School.

Serra Catholic (6-5-1) will play South Side, which upset Sewickley Academy,  at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the quarterfinals. The site has yet to be determined.

It took seven shooters, but Eagles senior Lindsay Schanck didn’t seem to mind the pressure as she stepped into the penalty area to face Crusaders keeper Tori Legleitner.

Schanck faked one way and buried a shot to the right of the diving Legleitner, causing the Serra Catholic contingent to erupt in jubilation.

“We practiced a lot at the shootout, but until you get into the game, you don’t know how it’s going to go, obviously,” Schanck said. “I wasn’t even supposed to have to do that. My teammates really helped me to get there. On the shot, I just changed my eyes and went from one side to the other. It is very exciting to prove the doubters wrong and to keep playing.”

Eagles coach Ashley Dorn knew her team was the underdog coming into Saturday’s tilt, but believed playing in a strong section prepared her girls to face a previously unbeaten squad in Bishop Canevin (11-1-2).

“We had a very strong section and that prepared us for this,” Dorn said. “GCC, Apollo-Ridge and Springdale are all really strong teams, so we have faced strong opponents. We were expecting a tough game, and a double-overtime shootout showed it was a tough game.”

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