Springdale's dream season became twice as nice Tuesday night after the Dynamos beat former nemesis South Park, 2-1, for a second time this month in the PIAA Class AA girls' soccer semifinals at Chartiers Valley.

It was the third year in a row these teams have met in the semifinals of the state playoffs. South Park won the previous two meetings. Springdale (21-1-2) advanced to the PIAA final at noon tomorrow at Hersheypark Arena against Loyalsock.

For the Dynamos and Eagles, it was the sixth postseason meeting between these WPIAL rivals. South Park defeated Springdale for the WPIAL title in 2007 and 2008 before the Dynamos got their revenge, 2-1, against the Eagles in this year's district final Nov. 7.

"South Park is a good team, and we game-planned accordingly, so we know what their strengths are and we try to break those down the best we can and then we try to attack, the way we always attack," Springdale coach Jerry Concannon said.

"We tried to play in a similar way to the first time we played them, and it seemed to work again."

The first half of the state semifinal was scoreless, but South Park appeared to have the better of the play in the first seven or eight minutes of the second.

Springdale struck first, however, on senior midfielder Alexa Sarsfield's goal with 31:58 left. She hit a perfectly placed volley into the back of the net on a loose, bouncing ball that a South Park defender failed to clear from inside the penalty box.

"It's been an amazing experience to play South Park again and be in another rematch with them," Sarsfield said. "We've worked very hard to improve our skills. I can't wait to play in that state game.

"Playing South Park after what's happened in the past made it special because we were able to overcome that. We showed that we have the skill and that we are here to win. The team chemistry that we have has really paid off."

The Dynamos made it 2-0 when junior midfielder Ally Overly headed in a shot off a corner kick by senior forward Brittany Loveland with 25:05 left.

"We had been training that for awhile, and it had not paid off until tonight," Concannon said shortly after the game.

"We've worked hard all season and we've aimed for one goal," Overly said. "South Park is definitely our rival, and they gave us a good game. Getting that first goal was big. It pumped us up and gave us the momentum we needed."

South Park cut the deficit to 2-1 on Cassie Raymond's goal with 6:24 left, but could get no closer despite several other scoring chances.

"In a game like this, we think scoring first is a key factor in putting yourself in a position to win the game," Concannon said. "I told the girls at the beginning of the game that, if we score first, we will win. Even if the other team scores a goal, I strongly felt that we were going to win.

"A 2-1 lead in soccer is a very dangerous lead, but I was confident our girls would stay focused. They knew how to do the clock management at the end. We talked about that. And they did a good job of executing it."

Springdale has reached the PIAA final for the first time since 1997, the only other time they have played for a state title.

"We're looking forward to going there and we're looking to put a stamp on the season," Concannon said. "We've never taken an overnight trip before, so we're going to find out how to plan for that and see how it works.

"We know we're going to be facing a very good opponent in the state finals. I'm sure it will be a game similar to the one tonight."

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