Shady Side Academy shuts out Warriors

By Jose Negron

jnegron@yourmvi.com

Elizabeth Forward’s historic boys soccer season came to an end Monday night. 

The fifth-seeded Warriors played a solid brand of defense in the first half but were unable to completely contain top-seeded Shady Side Academy in a 4-0 loss in the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals at Michael J. Farrell Stadium. 

With the win, Shady Side (14-2) will play for a WPIAL championship for the fourth time in five years. SSA will play No. 2 Deer Lakes Thursday at North Allegheny. 

“They’re a No. 1 seed for a reason. We knew it was going to be a tough game coming in and we knew it would take our best effort,” EF head coach Doug Finke said. “They made it tough on us; they closed down the space and didn’t give us a lot of passing lanes. This is a wide field and I don’t think we adjusted the way we were hoping. Hats off to them, though.” 

EF (12-3-2) held a relentless SSA offense scoreless for more than half of the opening 40 minutes. 

Warrior defenders found a way to get in front of a number of SSA shots, while goalkeeper Austin Onofrey was rather busy in net. He made three saves in the first half, including two on a pair of late shots from all-state midfielder Sam Farner. Onofrey also made some big plays coming out of his net. He smothered a few loose balls that trickled into the box as well. 

“I think we tried to limit their guys and did a good job,” Finke said. “Austin was coming up big with saves and getting out on the long balls when he needed to.” 

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