Warriors into semis after dominating ’Lopes

By JEREMY SELLEW

jsellew@yourmvi.com

For the first time since 2004, the Elizabeth Forward boys soccer team finds itself in the WPIAL’s final four.

The Warriors got two early goals from Andrew Smith, and that was all they needed in a dominant 2-0 win over visiting Avonworth in a WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinal at Warrior Stadium.

Smith started the scoring just 1:22 into the game, gathering a cross from Gino Penascino and beating Avonworth keeper Jack Hustwit to his left to give Elizabeth Forward a 1-0 lead.

Ten minutes later, it was Smith again, on another helper from Penascino ripping a shot past Hustwit for the second and final goal of the game.

“It’s funny because those are the same exact plays we used before,” EF head coach Doug Finke said. “Last time, it was Gino getting the goals himself and finding the net, this time it was Andrew scoring them.

“Andrew feeds off emotion. One game it’s him, another it’s Donovan. These seniors are setting the tone. I think Robbie Hrabosky is the fastest player I’ve ever coached. I thought our speed and pace created a lot of issues for them and other teams we’ve played.”

The two teams are Section 1-2A rivals and have met twice before Thursday’s quarterfinal. The familiarity helped ease some of the nerves coming into the contest, Finke said.

“The first time we beat them 6-0. When we went up there, we were a little banged up and it ended up being a 1-1 tie,” he said. “I think that really motivated us in this one. The guys knew we went up there and didn’t play our best game and they really wanted to come out and prove we were the better team. The goal was to apply pressure in the first five minutes and set the tone. We did that tonight.”

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