Saturday, November 16, 2002
Villa Joseph Marie nipped Sewickley Academy for its third straight girls title.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
HERSHEY, Pa. -- Goals by Daniel Robb, Brian Bartek and Adam Cline were more than enough to hand Thomas Jefferson a 3-1 victory over ELCO in the championship game of the PIAA Class AA boys soccer tournament on Friday at Hersheypark Stadium.
With the victory, Thomas Jefferson (27-1) secured its first state championship. The Jaguars fell 4-0 in last year's final to Middletown.
ELCO (25-5-2), which picked up a late score from Matt Keller, lost in a state final for just the second time. The Raiders won state championships in 1977, 1979, 1986 and 1998.
Robb gave Thomas Jefferson the lead with 9:07 gone, pocketing a 15-yard shot off the left post and in after fielding a dish from Shawn Wildman on the right side of the penalty area.
Leading 1-0 at the break, Bartek slipped around a sliding Keller about 35 yards out and took a few strides before chipping a shot from just outside the box. ELCO keeper John Mentzer (8 saves) got a piece, but the ball still found its way into the net.
After ELCO's Casey Clauser was denied on a penalty kick several minutes later by Thomas Jefferson keeper Jeff Stich (6 saves), the Jaguars tacked on insurance when Cline headed in a Jon Yee cross with 12:13 remaining.
ELCO averted the shutout with 3:28 left when Keller stuck a 15-yard direct past Stich.
Girls championship
Colleen O'Brien's goal with 6:59 remaining gave Villa Joseph Marie a 1-0 victory over Sewickley Academy and its third straight PIAA Class AA girls state championship.
The championship win at Hersheypark Stadium was the fifth state title in seven years and sixth overall since 1993 for Villa Joseph Marie (23-2-1).
Sewickley Academy, which fell to Villa Joseph Marie in the 1998 title game, closed out at 25-2-1.
Locked in a scoreless draw that was played primarily in the middle of the field, O'Brien scored on a restart just outside the penalty area. She cracked a right-footed shot into the back left corner of the net for the game's only score. Sewickley Academy goalkeeper Liz Carrier (1 save) never had a chance.
Sewickley Academy earlier had several decent scoring opportunities -- one in each half -- but Tammy Hoch fired high both times. Several minutes after O'Brien's goal, Hoch had another chance but her blast from 25 yards was too high.
Villa Joseph Marie keeper Bre Dillon was not tested often, but made the one save necessary to preserve the Jems' 18th shutout of the season.