Raiders race past Freedom

Waynesburg earns first crown, 4-2

Waynesburg had been making short work of teams throughout the season, but defending WPIAL Class 2A champion Freedom figured to be the one squad that could derail the Raiders run to their first title.

Instead or providing a barrier, though, the Bulldogs were run over by a freight train.

Waynesburg (18-1-0) continued its offensive dominance as it scored three consecutive second-half goals and held Freedom largely in check as the Raiders won their first WPIAL Class 2A girls soccer title, 4-2, against the Bulldogs. In three playoff games, Waynesburg has outscored opponents, 15-2.

“The girls played physical and my forwards are very physical and they have good ball skills, too, and, if we can attack in the midfield we can attack on the edge,” Waynesburg coach Joe Kijowski said. “Actually we wanted to attack on the edge and, actually, I wanted to attack more on the edge and attack on crosses, but as the game went on, they pushed up and there was more of a gap between their forwards and their defense.”

Kijowski’s daughters, Rhea and Jillian, each scored key goals in the game. Rhea, a freshman striker, opened the scoring at 15:01 of the first half and Jillian, a sophomore midfielder, scored the go-ahead goal at 3:56 of the second half, just 2:20 after Alexsia Barlamas tied the score just 1:36 into the second half.

Freedom, which came into the game with a 36-game winning streak against WPIAL opponents, had an opportunity to tie the score again — and perhaps alter its fate — when the team was awarded a penalty kick just 16 seconds after the Jillian Kijowski goal. But instead of a tie, senior forward Lyndsee Monac, who later capped the scoring with a goal with 4:57 remaining, pushed the attempt well to the right and outside the post.

“It was huge and that was kind of the turning point,” Freedom coach Colin Williams said. “It was a definite penalty and we should have finished it and, I think, momentum would have changed again.”