Basinger hurt; Waynesburg falls in semifinal

McMURRAY – It was Waynesburg’s worst nightmare.
Just 19 minutes into the Raiders Class A semifinal soccer matchup against the Springdale Dynamos in the WPIAL playoffs, Ashlyn Basinger was lying on the far side of the field, near the 50-yard line, in pain.
The senior passed by a Springdale defender and crumpled to the artificial turf of Peters Township’s football field. Suddenly, the most prolific scorer in the WPIAL was out of the game.
Basinger, a Maryland commit, limped badly as she walked off the field to the medical table on the sideline, where she was examined by trainers. She was able to walk behind the bench but with a noticeable limp.
The night just got worse for the Raiders, who fell to Springdale, 5-0.
The Raiders won’t have a long layoff before playing the loser of the other semifinal game Wednesday, No. 5 Greensburg Central Catholic, at a site and time to be determined for the third-place game. The winner of that game advances to the PIAA tournament.
Springdale advances to the finals, which will be held at Highmark Stadium, Friday. The Dynamos lost in last year’s semifinals.
“We just had to readjust,” said Waynesburg Greg Basinger, who also happens to be Ashlyn’s father. “I’m pleased with their effort. Our offense runs through her. When you take her out of the game, it’s going to have an effect.”
The loss dropped Waynesburg’s record to 16-4 while Springdale moved 16-3-1.
“Our girls kept their heads up and they battled,” Basinger said. “That’s all you can ask for. I’m proud of them. It’s been a great season. It’s not over yet.
“We have an appointment with the trainers at the Riverhounds. We’ll get her in tomorrow and see what they have to say. If dad has anything to say about it, she’ll probably be sitting out.”
Ashlyn Basinger scored all the Riaders’ goals in a 1-0 win over Aquinas Academy and a 2-1 victory over Winchester Thurston.
Before Ashlyn Basinger was injured, Waynesburg trailed 1-0 on a beautiful breakthrough by Molly Hurley, who split two defenders and sent it home at the 31:40 mark.
“She’s an unbelievable talent,” Springdale head coach Marc Bentley said. “It was going to make things more difficult for them. The girls were keyed up to play her. I hope she’s all right. It’s never nice to see a girl like that go down. I was looking forward to watching her play after hearing what she did.”
At the half, Sprindale extended the lead to 3-0.
Grace Gent made a beautiful goal with a header off a shot from the corner at the 21:48. The third goal of the game came on a goal by Carissa Walsh, her 20th of the season.
In the second half, Gent would score her third goal of the game at 23:25, 10:12 after she scored to make it 4-0, turning the match into a rout. Gent had three goals and an assist.
“That first goal was really good,” Bentley said. “Bri Ross put a nice ball in.”
Springdale had 15 shots, 10 on goal. Waynesburg had two shots, none on goal.