WAYNESBURG, Pa. (November 5) – The Waynesburg women's soccer team played host to the Saint Vincent Bearcats in the semifinal round of the Presidents' Athletic Conference playoffs on Wednesday night at John F. Wiley Stadium. Second-half goals from freshman midfielder
Miracle Hershey (Lebanon County, Pa. / New Covenant Christian) and junior forward
Julz Mohrbacher (Freedom, Pa. / Freedom) broke open a scoreless tie at halftime and propelled the Jackets into the PAC championship game with a 2-0 win.
The Yellow Jackets (15-2-2) and the Bearcats (15-4-1) played an evenly matched first 45 minutes, with the host team holding a slim 7-6 advantage in total shots (4-3 SOG). Sophomore forward
Amanda Pepe (Mantua, N.J. / Gloucester County Institute of Technology) and senior midfielder
Reagan Mittendorf (Bluffton, Ohio / Bluffton) each had one shot on goal, while Mohrbacher had two of her own.
The Yellow Jackets got the game-winning goal in the 79th minute from a Hershey breakaway. Mohrbacher assisted on the score with a pass to Hershey, who then set up the breakaway by placing it into position with a header and racing to the goal with two defenders behind her.
The Jackets added a crucial insurance goal by Mohrbacher in the 83rd minute set up from a pass by Hershey. The speedy freshman had control of the ball on the left side of the pitch and then provided a pass to the center to Mohrbacher, who powered it into the net.
Junior goalkeeper
Lex Greenlief (Chester, W. Va. / Oak Glen) provided eight saves in the win for her 10th shutout of the campaign.
The Jackets outshot the Bearcats 16-12 and attempted five of the seven corner kicks on the night.
Next up for Waynesburg is a rematch with top-seeded Grove City. The Jackets will travel north to face the Wolverines on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 4:30 p.m. Grove City downed the Jackets 4-0 in both teams' regular season finale on Wednesday, Oct. 29.
A win on Saturday would give Waynesburg its first PAC championship in women's soccer since 1998. The Yellow Jackets last reached league title tilt in 2011, when they dropped a 2-0 contest to Thomas More. The Jackets and Wolverines faced each other in both the 2000 and 2001 PAC championship games.
