Knights win crown, 1-0
Tri-State Sports & News Service
HERSHEY, Pa. — As time in regulation was running out, Norwin sophomore striker Danni Iannuzzo stood in the middle of a scrum near the Neshaminy goal crease, hoping for a chance to break the scoreless tie off a corner kick.
“Basically, I know that, when I’m in a corner my goal is to get in front of the keep andto get any part of my body on it,” Iannuzzo said. “I did and I got my foot on it and it was the best moment of my life.”
Iannuzzo scored the only goal of the game off a corner kick from Alyssa Victor at 33:33 of the second half to help Norwin (20-2-1) to a 1-0 victory against District 1 third-place finisherNeshaminy (19-7-1) to win the PIAA Class 4A girls soccer championship at Hersheypark Stadium. It was the first goal for the Knights in a state championship game since they took the 3A crown in 1996 in a 1-0 decision over WestChester Henderson.
Norwin had not appeared in a championship match since losing to West Chester Henderson,3-0, in 1997.
“These past four years have been incredible and, to havethis as the outcome after fouryears when these seniors were freshmen when I got here,” Norwin coach Lauren Karcher said. “We’ve had some great players go through this program and to get to this stage, this final moment and to win it all is just incredible.”
Iannuzzo took care of the offensive production after a series of missed opportunities and balls that clanked off posts and crossbars, but it was the defense, led by senior goalkeeper and Ohio recruit Sam Wexell, that kept Norwinin the game.
Wexell, who finished the state playoffs 4-0 with four shutouts and ended her career with a school-record 53 shutouts, the third-most in WPIALhistory, made several critical saves. Her biggest came late in the first half when she stopped two shots from point-blank range that could have given the Redskins an early lead and changed the tenor of the match.
It’s the first time a team has won a PIAA title with four shutouts in the state’s largest classification since Peters Township won the Class 3A championship in 2011. The previous team to pull off a scoreless PIAA run was District 1 Villa Joseph Marie en route to the 2014 Class2A crown.
“They say offense wins games, defense wins championships and the defense doesn’t get the credit through the season because they don’t have the point,” Karcher said.“But as a unit, our whole team played fantastic, but the defense has been fantastic in the playoffs and I’ve never seenthem play at this level.”