Late Gilmour goal sends Radnor to first state final since 2021

In a game where any goal would’ve done, Ailsa Gilmour’s high floater to the back post with eight minutes left in regulation was exactly what Radnor girls soccer needed to grab a 1-0 win and advance to the program’s first PIAA state final since 2021.

Gilmour started the game-winning sequence herself with a corner kick that found its way back to her on the right flank off a dish from Arabella Steel. Gilmour floated in a left-footed cross with Maeve Mucksavage streaking toward the back post but the ball ended up not needing a touch to nestle into the goal.

“I just thought I could just try and shoot it and it ended up working out,” said Gilmour, a sophomore. “I definitely think we all stuck together as a team and that was important and all of the support from teammates on the field and the bench was super important.”

Radnor opened the match on the front foot on a wide field at Cocalico High School but despite creating multiple early chances were struggling to get enough pace on their shots in a gusting wind to really threaten Lower Dauphin goalkeeper Nahla Raab, who did well to command her box and cut down several promising looks from the Radnor attack.

Many of those looks were created off the dribble by Camilla Demontis, the goal-scoring hero in their 1-0 quarterfinal win over Abington Heights.

“We went into the wind that first half and I thought we handled it well,” head coach Jake Solderitsch said. “The message at halftime was keep doing what we were doing. We wanted to get some more numbers in the box in the second half and we did that at times but I’m just really proud of how they fought through the tough conditions and pulled it out.”

After four straight 1-0 wins going back to their District 1 final and seven straight shut outs in all competitions, Radnor will have the task of trying to slow South Fayette in Saturday afternoon’s 3A girls final at Northeastern High School in Manchester. The WPIAL runners up advanced to the final on Tuesday with a 6-1 win over DuBois.

Similar to how the Radnor boys won the Class 3A state title a year ago, Radnor has the school on the cusp of another state championship through a strong defensive front and timely goal-scoring. Goalkeeper Maddie Lynn barely had to touch the ball against last year’s state finalists Lower Dauphin but her return after missing the first two state games with a concussion will be one of the storylines heading into Saturday. Several players – a couple coming off the bench with blankets draped around them – ran to hug the senior after the final whistle sounded in Denver on Tuesday night.

Their task now after winning the Central Athletic League for the first time in 24 years and the District 1 championship is to bring home the program’s first state title since the 1999 team beat Charleroi in the 2A final in 1999.

“I was at that game last year, (the boys) state final and it was cool to get to watch them celebrate,” Solderitsch said. “Excited for the chance for hopefully our girls to have the same experience.”