H.S. Sports Central

Seton-La Salle was perfect in 2008, when it won WPIAL and PIAA Class A titles.

Though the Rebels finished third in their section this season, they still found themselves only two wins from repeating as WPIAL champions.

Greensburg Central Catholic had other plans, however, as senior striker Tim Wood scored off an indirect free kick with 18:16 remaining in regulation to give the Centurions a 1-0 victory over Seton-La Salle in the WPIAL semifinals at Shaler.

"My assistant coach just said that we need one goal, and I felt it coming," Wood said. "We got a free kick, it hit off Dan Szekely, it just dropped and I put it away. It was awesome."

Greensburg Central Catholic (17-4-0) will play Springdale (15-1-3) in the WPIAL championship game Saturday at Elizabeth Forward at a time to be determined. How many players the Centurions have for that game is unsure, since several players, including Wood, have been nursing illnesses.

"They've all been sick, and I had two starters out against Seton-La Salle for the longest time and (midfielder) Dominic Pimpinella didn't play after the first half because he was sick and couldn't go," Greensburg Central Catholic coach Tom Kennedy said. "You can only cross your fingers, make the adjustments and hope they work."

Seton-La Salle (14-7-0) is still alive for a berth in the state tournament and will play Freedom on Thursday at Shaler in a match for the third and final WPIAL berth on the PIAA bracket.

"We just have to go back, work hard and get the guys focused," Seton-La Salle coach Michael Thomas said. "This will make them hungry. That would have been five years in a row that we would have been in the WPIAL finals, so this is going to sting a little bit."

Seton-La Salle had several outstanding scoring opportunities and almost tied the game late on a couple of occasions. The best chance game with 2:03 remaining in the game, when senior forward James Del Greco's header off a long pass sailed just over the crossbar.

The Rebels also had some other opportunities to open the scoring in the first half, as they took control of the play midway through the first 40 minutes, but they couldn't find a way to get a shot past Greensburg Central Catholic junior goalkeeper Nick Draghi.

"If I had to do an MVP for the game, he'd get it, because he just played fantastic," Kennedy said. "This is his first year as a goalkeeper -- he's a baseball player, and we sweat out some stuff with him -- but he's getting better every game, and he's peaking at the right time."

So is Wood, who missed considerable time this season recovering from offseason foot surgery. His game has now almost rounded back into shape, and he now has 23 goals to show for it.

"They're a good team, they have some seniors and they worked hard and I give them all the credit," Thomas said. "If you work hard enough good things happen, and good players make plays and Wood put a ball away. For a second we lost him, and he put away the rebound."

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