Ava Stackhouse was just doing what she normally does, hoping it would pay off.
The Fox Chapel sophomore forward found herself with the ball on the left side of the Plum defense 64 seconds into overtime and was looking to create something.
“I don’t even know what I was thinking,” Stackhouse said. “Whenever I get the ball, I try to take it on, and if that doesn’t work, cut in and see what I can get.”
What she ended up getting was the golden goal for a 2-1 overtime win for the top-seeded Foxes (18-1-1) over the No. 4 Mustangs (17-2) in the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals Monday at Gateway.
“It just happened to work, and I’m so happy it did,” she added.
Said coach Carlo Prati: “Ava’s had a few goals similar to that, but not in a big-time moment like tonight. I saw her cut in and hit it, and I knew as soon as it left her foot that it would be trouble.”
Moments before the goal, Stackhouse was on the bench catching a breather, but she didn’t need much time at all to recharge.
“She instantly told us she was ready to go back in,” Prati said. “I told her after that she should save the video to her phone so she can watch it whenever she wants.”
The win sends the Foxes to the WPIAL finals for the third straight year.
“It’s awesome, a crazy achievement, and I’m so proud to be on a team that’s done that,” Stackhouse said.
The game didn’t start in the same storybook way that it ended for the Foxes.
Plum wasted no time getting on the board, scoring 4:50 into the contest.
Brenna McLaughlin took a through ball and sprinted down the right side of Fox Chapel’s defense. As she neared the net, goalkeeper Lia Pizzella came out looking to either snuff out a shot or deter a pass.
McLaughlin was just a step quick as she sent the ball across the 18-yard box and it found the foot of Emily Grubich, who slipped behind the defender on the left side and tapped the ball into the yawning goal.
“That’s what we were trying to do, come out and apply a little bit of pressure, and I think we play a better game when we come out pressing instead of sitting back,” said Plum coach Jamie Stewart. “Especially against a team like Fox Chapel who has a lot of girls that can put it in the net, starting with Emily McKee.”
The Mustangs goal put the Foxes on their heels as they weren’t attacking 50-50 balls and went into a more defensive game.
“We started very sloppy, and I told the girls that we couldn’t play that way because they are a very well-coached team and play very well defensively,” said Prati. “They’re going to look to play over the top or off a through ball. Exactly what we worked on yesterday is how they scored.”
The tide slowly began to change in the favor of the Foxes as they began to find cracks in the Mustangs defense and started to get shots on net.
“That was one of the first times we were down for a long period of time,” said Foxes junior forward Emily McKee. “We started off slow and they capitalized, so it was a wake-up call for us.”
The Foxes’ persistence paid off at the 32:11 mark as Plum lost the ball near midfield and Fox Chapel sent a towering ball into the Mustangs’ end where it found McKee.
“Caylie Wilkinson had a long ball from about midfield, and that was something we’ve been trying all season and it finally paid off,” said McKee who jumped, connected with the ball in midair with two defenders on her and lofted a soft line drive shot that sneaked in under the bar.
Added McKee: “I was just trying to get anything on it at that point and was able to get a solid foot on it.”
The Foxes closed out the first half outshooting the Mustangs 5-2.
“After they put one in, we started to get after it, and Emily’s goal really lit a fire under us and helped us to start pushing it on them,” said Stackhouse.
In the second half, Plum continued to try and play a sound defensive game and looked to start the offense with anything up top.
“We tried a few different things, and I thought we played well defensively to take away some of their chances,” said Stewart.
Fox Chapel amassed plenty of chances as it continued its onslaught from the first half.
The teams traded chances throughout the frame with the Foxes getting the better looks as the half neared its end.
At the 28-minute mark, Lily McLaughlin hit the crossbar with a shot, and with just over two minutes remaining in regulation, Summer Hill found herself with the ball in front of the net off a corner kick but lifted a shot over the crossbar.
“We try to keep the ball as much as we can,” said Prati. “I told the girls we didn’t want to get into the long game or a fouling game. We want to keep the ball and move it the best we can. We did a good job of moving the ball with our wings.”
Goalkeeper Lia Pizzella stopped 5 of 6 shots for the Foxes and her counterpart, Malayna Smith, saved 11 of 13 for the Mustangs.
The Foxes will take on No. 2 South Fayette in the finals.
“This is three years in a row, and I told the girls a lot of teams hope to go once and you’ve been lucky enough to go three times,” said Prati. “Last year, I thought our finals performance was our worst all year. I told the girls that this year, they need to make it worthwhile.”
Plum will meet No. 3 Moon in the consolation match to send a third Class 3A team to states.
“The message to the girls after the game was that you don’t get many opportunities to go to the state playoffs, and we have that opportunity in 3A,” said Stewart. “We need to come out ready to go. We don’t want the season to end. If you get into states, it’s a new tournament and anything can happen.”