Sewickley Academy beats Winchester Thurston 2-0 for its first WPIAL Class 1A title since 2004

PITTSBURGH. Sarah Merryman scored in the third minute and Claire Karsman, who set that goal up, scored in the 59th as Sewickley Academy beat Winchester Thurston 2-0 on Friday, Nov. 6, at F.N.B. Stadium to win the WPIAL Class 1A girls soccer championship. The title is Sewickley Academy’s fifth and its first since 2004.

Sewickley Academy (18-0-0) scored first in the third minute. Karsman, a sophomore midfielder, drove down the right wing and crossed the ball into the 6-yard box, and sophomore striker Sarah Merryman forced it past Winchester Thurston keeper Sky Hollins. The goal was Merryman’s sixth of the season. The final matched the top two seeds and two Section 1 rivals. Sewickley Academy had won the regular season meeting 6-2 on Sep. 28, and each team had allowed one goal in its three playoff games.

“We talked heading into this about getting that first goal on the board,” Sewickley Academy coach Gary Weber said. “Our back line has been solid all year and the backs have been spectacular.”

Sewickley Academy scored again in the 59th minute. Karsman carried the ball to the endline, kept it in as she was pushed around in the box, turned back inside and shot into the top left corner past Hollins. No assist was credited on the goal.

“I was getting pushed around down in the box but saved the ball from going out,” Karsman said. “Once I turned, I saw the goal and just shot it. When I saw it go in, I was so relieved because we needed another goal.”

Winchester Thurston (18-2-0) came closest in the 30th minute, when Karsman cleared the ball off the Sewickley goal line twice in one sequence from a Bears corner kick. Hollins kept the margin at one goal with a sliding save on an open Karsman at point blank range in the 45th minute. Sewickley Academy had a goal from a corner kick waved off for an offensive foul in the 11th minute, and after the second goal, Maeve Cooper chipped a shot off the crossbar in the 63rd minute.

Freshman Courtney Weinreich recorded the shutout for Sewickley Academy, her third clean sheet of the playoffs. She saved on Kimi Smuckler in the 24th and 48th minutes and made back-to-back saves on Keller and Iris Jarrin in the 70th. “It was a tough night to play in goal,” Weber said. “Courtney played a great game and remained calm throughout.”

The title closes a two year run for Sewickley Academy, which lost the 2025 final 1-0 to Bentworth on a late goal and beat Bentworth 4-1 in this year’s semifinal. Winchester Thurston lost the 2024 final and is still looking for its first championship. Sewickley Academy (19-0-0) hosts District 5 runner-up Conemaugh Township in the PIAA Class 1A first round on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 6 p.m. at Avonworth High School. Winchester Thurston (18-3-0) plays at District 5 champion McConnellsburg on Tuesday at 5 p.m.

Goals: Sewickley Academy, Merryman 3, Karsman. Sewickley Academy, Karsman 59, unassisted. Halftime: Sewickley Academy 1, Winchester Thurston 0.