Overtime goal earns Shady Side Academy 12th WPIAL field hockey title
In two regular-season meetings with Sewickley Academy, top-seeded Shady Side Academy outscored the No. 2 seed Panthers by a margin of 10-2. But after the Panthers rallied to tie Wednesday night's WPIAL Class AA championship game in miserable conditions at North Allegheny High's Newman Stadium, Indians' coach Erin Weir and her team knew this would not be a repeat of those two regular-season contests.
It wasn't until senior forward Sydney Mordoh's blistering shot from about 12 yards out that found the cage with 9:19 left in the first overtime that the Indians' coach and her team could breathe a sigh of relief with the 2-1 victory, their 12th WPIAL title and a berth in a first-round PIAA Class AA playoff game on Tuesday against the winner of a play-in game between the District 5 and District 6 winners. That game will be played at a time to be determined at Penn State University. The title was the second straight for the Indians, their third in four years and sixth in the past nine season.
"She's very consistent," Weir said of Mordoh's game-winning goal. "She played a great game, so any time we got a (penalty) corrner, I called a play where the ball would go to her. She was awesome tonight."
Mordoh was pleased she was able to end the game less than six minutes into the first overtime.
"I definitely felt really strong when I took (the game-winning shot)," said the 5-foot-6 senior forward. "The play went to me, and I wanted it so badly. This is my senior year and my last time with the team. This was overtime, and I knew this was it. We needed to go as hard as we can. Sharing (the WPIAL title) with the team is really special."
Mordoh -- like most players -- would like to see a game end in regulation with the Indians holding the lead. But she and her teammates don't back away from the challenge where the next goal is the last goal.
"We had an overtime game with Winchester (Thurston) at the beginning of the season and against Ellis," she said. "We're definitely not comfortable with overtime, but we worked as hard as we could. That's how we finish."
Weir said it's important to capitalize on penalty corners at any point during a game, but they're even more crucial in overtime when each team loses four of its players resulting in a more wide-open style of play that's evident when teams are playing 7-on-7 instead of 11-on-11.
"You're playing a man-up at that point," she said. "So, it's great that we got those corners."
Isabel Aiken, who scored the Indians' first goal, had plenty of praise for Sewickley Academy.
"We saw them previously during the season, and we beat them pretty easily," the 5-5 senior forward said. "But they definitely came out very strong tonight, and they played a great game."
Mordoh set up Aiken's goal with a sharp pass that Aiken was able to tip in. And she agreed that Sewickley was a difficult foe.
"The playoffs are a new season," she said. "We played them twice (and won by scores of 6-1 and 4-1 in the regular season), and you never know what's going to happen. They were a completely different team, and we knew they were going to come out strong. They wanted (the championship) just as much as we did."
It wasn't until senior forward Sydney Mordoh's blistering shot from about 12 yards out that found the cage with 9:19 left in the first overtime that the Indians' coach and her team could breathe a sigh of relief with the 2-1 victory, their 12th WPIAL title and a berth in a first-round PIAA Class AA playoff game on Tuesday against the winner of a play-in game between the District 5 and District 6 winners. That game will be played at a time to be determined at Penn State University. The title was the second straight for the Indians, their third in four years and sixth in the past nine season.
"She's very consistent," Weir said of Mordoh's game-winning goal. "She played a great game, so any time we got a (penalty) corrner, I called a play where the ball would go to her. She was awesome tonight."
Mordoh was pleased she was able to end the game less than six minutes into the first overtime.
"I definitely felt really strong when I took (the game-winning shot)," said the 5-foot-6 senior forward. "The play went to me, and I wanted it so badly. This is my senior year and my last time with the team. This was overtime, and I knew this was it. We needed to go as hard as we can. Sharing (the WPIAL title) with the team is really special."
Mordoh -- like most players -- would like to see a game end in regulation with the Indians holding the lead. But she and her teammates don't back away from the challenge where the next goal is the last goal.
"We had an overtime game with Winchester (Thurston) at the beginning of the season and against Ellis," she said. "We're definitely not comfortable with overtime, but we worked as hard as we could. That's how we finish."
Weir said it's important to capitalize on penalty corners at any point during a game, but they're even more crucial in overtime when each team loses four of its players resulting in a more wide-open style of play that's evident when teams are playing 7-on-7 instead of 11-on-11.
"You're playing a man-up at that point," she said. "So, it's great that we got those corners."
Isabel Aiken, who scored the Indians' first goal, had plenty of praise for Sewickley Academy.
"We saw them previously during the season, and we beat them pretty easily," the 5-5 senior forward said. "But they definitely came out very strong tonight, and they played a great game."
Mordoh set up Aiken's goal with a sharp pass that Aiken was able to tip in. And she agreed that Sewickley was a difficult foe.
"The playoffs are a new season," she said. "We played them twice (and won by scores of 6-1 and 4-1 in the regular season), and you never know what's going to happen. They were a completely different team, and we knew they were going to come out strong. They wanted (the championship) just as much as we did."
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