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DALLAS TWP. — Even the greats sometimes get away with just a stroke of luck.
A slip of the ball by an otherwise perfect goalkeeper was just enough to deliver Dallas its third consecutive girls soccer district championship.
Ali Francis scored the game-winning goal in overtime Saturday to produce the only offense in a 1-0 victory over Berwick in the District 2 Class 3A Championship.
“Finally! It took a while, felt so real,” Dallas coach Nikki Pekarski said. “You just want to take it in, and let the girls enjoy it because they worked so hard in this game to get that goal. I was proud of them that finally something went in for them.”
Dallas moves on to face District 3 runner-up Mechanicsburg in a rematch of last year’s 4-0 defeat in the state playoffs. Berwick will take on District 4 champion Athens in its first PIAA appearance in six years.
After pummeling the Bulldogs for 22 total shots, it was a weakly-hit kick by Dallas’ school record holder that secured the championship. In the 88th minute, Francis sent a low 14-yard kick to the center of the box that was initially pounced on by the Berwick keeper. On the dive to the turf, the ball slipped out of her grasp and trickled past the goal line..
“That one was a little slow,” Francis said. “I was kind of upset because it didn’t get in. But then I heard everyone cheering. It was really great that my team was able to come out and celebrate with me.”
Berwick was without Kayla Hernandez, one of the top players in the Wyoming Valley Conference and a perennial thorn in every defense she’s faced, for the majority of the game. Hernandez went down with what seemed to be an ankle injury in the 18th minute. The Bulldogs’ top scorer never returned to the pitch.
“Our biggest challenge was Kayla, but unfortunately she got hurt,” Dallas center-back Sarah Krokos said. “That really sucked for her. We had to adjust because our plan was to put Kristen (O’Malley) on her. When that happened, we played our normal game.”
The Bulldogs played back, and the group of Dia Cruz, Emily Ouimet and Katie Starr hampered the normally potent Dallas offense.
Dallas nearly ended the scoreless impasse in the 74th minute. Francis sent a hard-struck, 10-yard shot from the right side of the box. Francis’ shot skirted beyond the reach of Jadyn Michael’s hands. It dinged off the lower far post and straight into Michael’s hands for one of her nine saves.
“I just said we had our opportunities,” Pekarski said. “I thought we had to get the ball up top. We were just unsuccessful. I said [before overtime] if you have the opportunity just put it on frame.”
For Francis and her fellow upperclassmen, Saturday’s championship resembled a very different feel than their previous two gold medals. Last season, the same starting 11 knocked off state-ranked Scranton Prep handily 4-1 on the road. During her sophomore year, Dallas blanked Abington Heights 3-0 in the final.
“Coming in freshman year, I had no idea that my team and I would be so successful,” Francis said. “It is just an amazing feeling.”
It marks Dallas’ fourth title since girls soccer moved to a fall sport in 2012.
District 2 Class 3A Championship
Dallas 1, Berwick 0 (OT)
Berwick`0`0`0 — 0
Dallas`0`0`1 — 1
Overtime — 1. DAL, Ali Francis, 88th minute.
Shots — BER 6, DAL 10. Saves — BER 9 (Michael); DAL 3 (Meade). Corner kicks — BER 0, DAL 7.
