Burrell hopes the third time’s the charm.
Freeport hopes to get out the brooms.
A new chapter in one of the Alle-Kiski Valley’s most intense girls soccer rivalries will be written Saturday at Highmark Stadium.
The No. 2 Yellowjackets, who won both games against the Bucs in the Section 2 schedule, 3-1 and 1-0, seek to extend their winning streak to seven in the series when the teams meet at 10 a.m. in the WPIAL Class 2A championship.
“We’re all really pumped up for this game, and the school spirit is high for us being in the championship game,” said Freeport sophomore defender CeCe Schlegel, who scored one of her team’s two goals in Tuesday’s 2-0 WPIAL semifinal victory over defending champion Quaker Valley at Hampton.
“We were really confident that we could get here. Everyone has contributed a lot to what we’ve been able to do.”
Yellowjackets senior Nia DiSanti scored the first goal in the semifinal win. Both goals came in the second half of what was, to that point, a back-and-forth defensive battle.
Freeport is making just its second appearance in a WPIAL title game. The Yellowjackets fell to Freedom, 4-1, in the 2016 Class 2A final at Highmark, but they did qualify for the PIAA playoffs.
Freeport came close in 2017 and 2019 but lost in the semifinals both seasons.
“It is really interesting that two teams from the same section are playing for the WPIAL title,” senior forward Peyton Los said.
The Yellowjackets’ path to the finals also included a rematch with section rival North Catholic in the quarterfinals, and they completed the season sweep of the Trojanettes with a 4-3 overtime win.
“We expect another great game with Burrell,” Los said. “All our games with them are close and intense. We know each other so well. It just comes down to who wants it more at the end of the day.”
The No. 8-seeded Bucs return to Highmark with the goal of adding a first-place trophy to the 2024 runner-up hardware already in the trophy case at Burrell High School.
Burrell, the ninth seed last year, pulled a pair of upsets en route to Highmark and a date with Quaker Valley. Junior Makiah Buchak, who has come up with several high-pressure goals in three playoff seasons, scored for the Bucs against the Quakers. But QV made enough plays to score a 2-1 victory.
“We started the season knowing we had the team to get back there,” said Bucs sophomore midfielder/forward Allie McMahon, who scored Burrell’s first goal, which turned out to be the winner, in Tuesday’s 2-0 semifinal triumph over Mt. Pleasant at Gateway.
It was the Bucs’ third WPIAL playoff win over the Vikings in as many seasons.
“We had that (title-game) goal all season while making sure we focused on each step, whether that was a practice or a game,” McMahon said.
Bucs junior midfielder McKenna Miller, who scored a key insurance goal against the Vikings, said having Burrell and Freeport meet for the title shows just how good Section 2 was and how it got both teams ready for the rigors of playoff soccer.
“We were two of the best teams in the section, and now, we’re playing for the WPIAL title,” Miller said.
“We were (at Highmark) just last year, so we have that experience. Even though we didn’t win last year, we know the preparation and then the atmosphere and the pressure. We are excited and ready for this game.”
Burrell, like Freeport, is going after its first WPIAL title.
The teams are grateful to have three full days of rest and preparation before Saturday’s game. They had to wait until Wednesday morning, some 12 hours after their semifinal games concluded, to find out the date and time of the championship clash.
“It will give us a chance to work on our set pieces and things like that,” Schlegel said. “We have a few injuries, so a couple days to work to recover will be good for them.”
Freeport captured the first section matchup with Burrell, 3-1, on Sept. 15 behind goals from Schlegel, DiSanti, and junior Cam Woods.
Freshman Peyton Coury tallied Burrell’s goal in the loss.
Los, with an assist from Schlegel, scored the lone goal in the Oct. 6 rematch.
The winner of Saturday’s title game will face the District 10 runner-up in the first round of the PIAA tournament Tuesday at a site and time to be determined.
The loser will take on the District 10 champion.
Cathedral Prep and Fort LeBoeuf, the top two seeds in the District 10 Class 2A tournament, met Thursday evening to decide the championship.