Lady Panthers Soccer Team Earns Playoff Berth, Set To Face Charleroi

The Riverside girls soccer team has qualified for the 2023 WPIAL Playoffs and will set their eyes on opening round opponent – Charleroi – in the Class-A bracket.

The Panthers finished their regular season with a section record of 4-6, good for a #14 seed.

“The most impressive thing about the season has been the ability to overcome adversity,” says head coach Jordan Curcio. “We have a small team that has battled through injury throughout the season.”

Senior Emma Thellman missed more than half of the regular season games after recovering from a torn ACL from last November. Thellman was still a leading scorer for the Panthers this season including a game winner against section runner-up Eden Christian Academy with only 9 seconds left on the clock in double overtime to clinch a playoff berth.

“[That] was hands down the biggest and most important victory of the season,” adds Curcio.

To make a splash in the playoffs, Riverside will look to Thellman, Gi Finch, and Roslyn Steinbach to move the ball and provide scoring chances offensively.

“Finch is one of the most dependable players on the team,” says Curcio. “Her skills, and ability to read the field are absolutely incredible. She’s so consistently good that you sometimes take for granted what a dynamic player she is on the field.”

The Panthers lost Finch in the midfield for a few matches mid season due to health and the head coach got a real sense of the impact that she has on the field.

Finch returned to the field and buried an overtime game winning penalty kick in a walk off victory over Mohawk this season.

Curcio touts Steinbach as one of the biggest performers consistently this season for the Panthers.

“Her work rate is off the charts,” claims Curcio. “She has moved between the midfield and forward positions being involved in nearly all of our scoring chances. She is constantly looking to win the ball and create opportunities.”

Steinbach also scored a walk off goal against Mohawk in overtime in the first section match of the season for Riverside.

Three of the four victories this season by Riverside came from low scoring overtime wins.

Outside of one tough match against Sewickley Academy, the Riverside defense has only given up an average of two goals per game on the season.

Olivia Pettner leads the stout defense.

“She really has been the leader and communicator of that defense.” says Curcio.

Two of the biggest additions to the team this season has been two freshman – center back Jianna Curcio and midfielder Keeli Hess according to Curcio.

“Both of whom have been huge for us defensively.”

In goal for Riverside, senior Sianna Falk, will look to continue the strong defensive presence by the Panthers.

“She has been absolutely integral to our success,” says Curcio. “There were games where she did whatever it took in goal making saves that seemed nearly impossible. She stood on her head making numerous saves in our 2nd overtime win against Mohawk and has been a consistent leader all season.”

Riverside will travel to face Charleroi on Tuesday, October 24th at Charleroi High School. The match is schedule for 7:00 p.m [VIEW FULL BRACKET]

“We are excited about the playoffs next week and look forward to continuing to focus on locking down defensively and looking to create scoring chances,” concludes Curcio.

CLASS 1A CHAMPIONSHIPS
Start Date: Tuesday, Oct. 24
Championship Date & Location: TBA at Highmark Stadium
Amount of Qualifiers: 16
Top Four Seeds: #1 Riverview (15-2-0, 11-1-0), #2 Freedom Area (14-3-0, 10-0-0), #3 Charleroi (14-1-0, 11-1-0), #4 Winchester Thurston (10-2-0, 10-0-0)
Qualifying Teams: Aquinas Academy, Charleroi, Chartiers-Houston, Eden Christian Academy, Greensburg Central Catholic, The Ellis School, Freedom Area, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Riverside, Riverview, Seton LaSalle, Sewickley Academy, South Allegheny, Springdale, Waynesburg Central, Winchester Thurston
2022 Final: Freedom Area 3, Springdale 0