Dillon’s late goal lifts Bentworth girls to first WPIAL title
PITTSBURGH – As the seconds ticked down on regulation any shot on goal was going to be a good one, especially in rainy conditions.
Brielle Dillon proved that.
Dillon put what seemed to be an innocent shot toward goal that skipped on the wet turf at Highmark Stadium and went right between the legs of Sewickley Academy keeper Gabrielle Edmunds and into the net with 1:33 remaining in regulation.
Dillon’s goal and an excellent performance by keeper Julia Brandau enabled Bentworth to win its first WPIAL girls soccer title with a 1-0 victory in the Class A final Thursday night.
“The defense was trying to stop, so I knew I had to shoot the ball when I had the chance,” Dillon said. “I got lucky that it went between her legs and I think it also had to do with the rain. I’m just grateful that we were able to win.
After the ball crossed the goal line, Dillon celebrated with a slide across the turf as water sprayed everywhere.
“I went for the knee slide, because it was raining and really that’s a dream scenario,” Dillon said. “It was the perfect chance, so I just had to do it.”
The Bentworth boys soccer team was also in action Thursday night against OLSH in the Class A boys championship. That match finished past the deadline for this edition. Full game details can be found at www.observer-reporter.com.
While Dillon got the game winner, Brandau was equally important to the victory.
She came up with several big saves to keep it scoreless.
None was better than the sequence in the 63rd minute.
Sewickley Academy’s Claire Karsman whipped a corner kick into the box and the ball bounced around before rolling toward the goal line, but Brandau somehow got back and jumped on it prior to it crossing into the net.
“If you were to measure it, I’d say it was by a hair,” Brandau said about how close the ball came to crossing the line. “The most important saves are those goal line saves that you have to slide and get them out of there. My defender Merideth Allender helped keep that one out of there.”
As the rain persisted in the second half, Bentworth coach Tyler Hamstra felt one was going to go in for the Bearcats.
“Anything can happen on a wet turf,” Hamstra. “I just felt like there was no way that we weren’t going to win this. We felt something was going to bounce for us. I told the girls that this rain was a blessing. Every 10 minutes it was going to rain harder and something was going to skip for us.”
Sewickley Academy controlled possession in the first half, but Brandau stood tall with four saves.
Brandau was challenged again in the 51st minute, but the all-section junior goalkeeper stopped a couple more shots.
“Julia is absolutely fantastic,” Hamstra said. “We joke all the time that if Penn State is Linebacker U, Bentworth is Goalkeeper High. I was not a goalkeeper, so I don’t have anything to do with that. It’s just a little bit of good fortune that we’ve always had good goalkeepers. Julia looked like a veteran out there. She puts so much work in, because she knew it was going to be her time.”
In the second half, Bentworth made its push.
Bella Moyer hit the crossbar twice, once on a long shot in the 44th minute and another time on a dangerous free kick from 25 yards on the right side.
Dillon had another prime chance for the Bearcats, but her attempt from 10 yards was thwarted by Edmunds.
Bentworth celebrated with some photos at midfield before getting ready to watch the boys team try to complete a three-peat.
“It’s a great day to be a member of the Bentworth community,” Dillon said.
The Bearcats felt pride in getting assistant coach Caroline Rice, who was on the 2018 Bentworth team that lost in the finals, a championship as much as getting their first one themselves.
Now they’ll continue their run in the state tournament.
As Brandau said, it’s been a long journey, but 100 percent worth it.
“We’ve all been together since like fifth grade and maybe before that,” Brandau said. “We’ve all built on each other, relied on each other, trusted each other and even hated each other. But you know what? It’s taken so long, but we’ve worked so hard for this and Tyler deserves a lot of credit.”