Goal for Canon-Mac girls soccer is gold
Thirty-two seconds into the PIAA Class AAA girls soccer championship game last November, Canon-McMillan looked destined to claim the program’s first state title.
Sabrina Bryan’s goal erased any disappointment the Big Macs experienced from losing the WPIAL title game to Seneca Valley and it looked like a picturesque memory for a storybook season.
Canon-McMillan did not allow three goals in a game all season, recorded 11 shutouts and pulled off playoff wins in thrilling fashion, including a shootout victory over Peters Township in the WPIAL quarterfinals. Until that chilly night in Hershey, the Big Macs had not allowed more than one goal in almost two months.
As head coach Dave Derrico said following the 2-1 overtime loss to Central Bucks West at Hersheypark Stadium,”I did think that was a dream beginning, but you did see how quickly a dream turns into a nightmare.”
Sixteen days after a 1-0 loss to Seneca Valley for the WPIAL title, Canon-McMillan had to settle for a silver medal. The Big Macs, who enter this fall as one of the top teams in Class AAA, have vowed to never experience that anguish again.
“Our goal is we want to get back there. We want gold and we want redemption,” junior forward Aideen O’Donoghue said. “We got to the WPIAL championship and the state championship, and it’s still heartbreaking. We think about it all of the time. We want to get back to both and get gold.”
The task won’t be easy. Goalkeeper Kyra Murphy, who was selected all-state and to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-America Team as a senior, is playing at Duquesne University. Four other starters are gone, including senior defender Abby Gillespie.
As the Big Macs prepare for their season opener Saturday at Bethel Park, the coaching staff has paid particular attention to the development of the defense and goalkeepers.
Derrico will turn to either senior Elizabeth Hathaway or junior Megan Virgin in net. He classifies the Hathaway as a technician and Virgin as aggressive. Sophomore Riley O’Korn will get the first shot at replacing Gillespie, and Courtney Finney, who ran cross country last fall, could step in as the other outside defender while senior Allison Walker recovers from a minor knee injury.
“We lost critical players. We lost a keeper, a sweeper, a stopper and a center-midfielder, so we’re training new people for those spots, but we have talent,” Derrico said. “Losing Abby and Kyra is huge. They were awesome for us, but we have young players we are training.”
The strength of the Big Macs may shift from defense to offense. Bryan, a junior striker, is back after scoring six goals in three PIAA playoff games last year. O’Donoghue, a Rutgers recruit who shifted from to outside defender for the PIAA title game after Walker broke her collarbone, will line up as the other striker. Canon-McMillan again has midfielders with ability to drop back to defend and also feed precise passes to the forwards.
The group is led by senior Allison Thomas, plus senior Alena Poljak and junior Cheyenne Trest are returning starters. All three were critical to the offense’s success during the 19-win season a year ago. Several different players contributed goals in the playoff run and Derrico expects the same this season.
“It’s another one of those years where we don’t have somebody who plays like a star and we don’t have anybody who is selfish,” Derrico said. “That will help us again this year, the strength of playing together. That was the key to last year’s success and we’ll look to build on that.”
To reach Highmark Stadium for the second consecutive season, the Big Macs will have to emerge from the toughest section in the WPIAL. Section 4-AAA includes Peters Township, which returns six starters, and Moon, which has five starters back from an 18-win season.
Canon-McMillan had to defeat both in the WPIAL playoffs to reach the title game.
“We do have expectations and we do have a target on our back,” Derrico said. “We’ve heard some other teams are coming after us because of how well we did and they figure we’ll be in a down cycle this year. Our expectation is we’re going to win every game, win the section, win the WPIAL and win the state championship.”