The unusually warm weather in early autumn seems to suggest that with the arrival of the harvest month and the start of the WPIAL football playoffs this weekend, it is time to end.

The cool and fresh air on Saturday morning ushered in the start of the 1A women’s playoffs as the No. 8 seed Riverside defeated Winchester Thur 8-4 at the Kimbercourt Stadium in Liberty, Pennsylvania. Ston. 

Leading the way for Riverside is Emma Thelman and Megan Zelch, each of them staged a hat trick.

Normally, in the playoffs, especially in the first round, teams will take time to feel each other. 

Riverside and Winchester Thurston passed quickly.

In just 10 minutes and 37 seconds of the first half, Winchester Thurston scored 1-0 from Margherita Memoli's goal.

Just forty seconds later, Riverside found Emma Selman's equalizer, who struck again within less than a minute of her first goal, rewriting the score to 2-1 .

Lexi Fluharty rewritten the score to 3-1 Riverside because she picked up a rebound from the crossbar and found the empty net.

In order to maintain this speed, Winchester Thurston found a goal after an illegal touch in the penalty area about 12 yards from the goal. With 16 minutes left in the first half, Margee Dever took her shot home and rewritten the score to 3-2.

Just for a better measure, with four minutes left in the half, Riverside will find the goal for the fourth time, when Megan Zelch buried a shot to double the lead.

With a 4-2 advantage at halftime, Riverside will come out hoping to end the game early.

Britteny Boring started the second half for Riverside, providing Lexi Fluharty with a great diagonal pass. Lexi Fluharty was alone with Winchester Thurston goalkeeper Maeve Dever, who came up with a big save but couldn't control it. The ball allowed Megan Zelch to collect the rebound and score her second goal of the game.

When Emma Thelman got a hat-trick from Lexi Fluharty's cross, Riverside continued its second-half scoring surge, and then Zelch would shoot between the two defenders behind the net with a hat-trick and a 7-2 lead.

Winchester Thurston's Sasha Likhachev will get her first goal of the game, rewriting the score to 7-3, but when Lexi Fluharty scored 8 points for Riverside, Riverside responded again.

In order to finish scoring, Genesis added a goal for Winchester Thurston, who appeared in the WPIAL Women's Football Playoffs for the first time.  

Riverside will face the #1 seed Greensburg Central Catholics at a pending location on Wednesday.

Enter your email address to subscribe to PGH Soccer Now and receive notifications of new posts via email.

On Tuesday, 22 WPIAL teams started participating in the PIAA (State) Football Championship, 20 of which...

The PIAA Men’s Football Championship starts on Tuesday, 11 WPIAL (District 7)...

The PIAA Women’s Football Championship starts on Tuesday, 11 WPIAL (District 7)...

The 2021 PIAA Women’s Football Championship will return to its more traditional form because...