Sarah Schupansky had a feeling as soon as the ball left her foot and headed into the back of the net that she had helped to make school history.
“It’s just a feeling of winning the first WPIAL championship for North Allegheny, and I wanted to share that with everybody,” Schupansky said. “We get a banner in the gym, which is a big deal, and everyone at our school is such a great support system and we had a lot of people come out and there’s a lot of people to play for.”
Schupansky will go down as the player who scored the game-winning goal for North Allegheny (17-2-1) when the school won its first WPIAL Class 4A girls soccer title Thursday night as the junior midfielder converted a perfect cross-crease pass from senior forward Emma Bundy as the first goal of the match at 6:34 of the second half and helped the Tigers to a 2-0 victory against top-seeded Norwin (17-2-0) at Highmark Stadium.
“When I first came to the program, that was a surprise when you look back at the history that they were never in a final and never won a championship,” North Allegheny coach Chuck Kelly said. “Our goal was never about winning a championship. It was about trying to bring them together collectively to play for one another and build a program that carries on, not just with one class.”
North Allegheny has had one of the most prolific athletic programs in WPIAL history, but girls soccer was one of the few sports in which the school had never won a title. And the players were acutely aware of the absence of a soccer trophy in the case.
“It’s so great, and I’m so proud of everybody on the team working really hard for this all season and all four years,” Bundy said. “We actually didn’t make it to playoffs at all my freshman year, so we’ve come a long way.”
Bundy certainly contributed. Not only did the Duquesne recruit set Schupansky up for the game-winner, she also assisted on Hannah Kirkpatrick’s clincher with 2:30 remaining in regulation.
“Honestly I was going to shoot the first one, but out of the corner of my eye I saw Sarah right at the last minute and she was wide open so I passed it to her,” Bundy said. “On the second one with Hannah, I saw her running up the whole time and I knew I was going to pass it to her.”
Bundy gave up the notoriety of owning the first championship-winning goal in North Allegheny history, but she has made a name for herself as a great ball distributor. And her teammates appreciate it.
“Emma Bundy, she’s just a great player and she works really hard to get the ball to us and, when she has it, we all know to try to get in the box so we can finish and it’s just a team effort every time,” Schupansky, a Pitt recruit, said. “It’s always a great feeling [to score], but I looked right to Emma because this team is just so special and we have such a great connection.”
It wasn’t just the scoring. North Allegheny had to play solid defense in front of junior goalkeeper Madison Vukas in the first half while Norwin had the wind at their backs on their attack. The Knights, though, could not generate much of an attack, and the Tigers then took advantage when the field flipped in the second half.
“It just seemed like they came out right away with a lot of speed ... a lot more than we were ready for at that point,” Norwin assistant coach Leslie Kaminski said. “And they adjusted better to the weather.”
Both teams qualified for the PIAA Class 4A playoffs, which open Tuesday, but neither knows what team they will face. North Allegheny will play the loser from the District 3 championship match Saturday between Cumberland Valley and Hempfield, while Norwin draws the winner of the District 6/District 10 sub-regional Saturday that pits McDowell against Altoona.
“We’re going to make some phone calls and see if there’s some reports going on,” Kelly said. “But we’re going to enjoy this, take our time — and we need a day off — and start this weekend to get ready.”
First Published: November 1, 2019, 3:10 a.m.
