South Park went through a bit of role reversal in this year's WPIAL Class AA girls' soccer title game last Saturday against Springdale.

Last year, the Eagles went into the finals as the underdog against defending champion and No. 1 seed Greensburg Central Catholic, but they stunned the Centurions en route to the district title.

This year, South Park (21-1-1) was the top seed and heavy favorite against surprising Springdale (20-3-1), which had not been to the finals since last winning a WPIAL title 10 years ago.

Springdale gave South Park a more competitive game than expected, at least during the first half, before the Eagles prevailed, 2-1, to claim their second district championship in a row and third since 2001.

The Eagles then defeated Villa Maria of Erie, 5-0, on Tuesday in the first round of the PIAA playoffs.

In the WPIAL title game, South Park struck early when Lauren Yobbi scored about eight minutes into the game. Springdale fought back and tied the score when Brittany Loveland hit a shot that skipped off the turf and into the net from about 15 yards away with 21:03 left in the half.

Springdale played evenly with South Park for most of the first half. In fact, the Dynamos could have had a halftime lead had Loveland's left-footed blast midway in the first half not hit the crossbar.

The second half was a different story. South Park dominated territorially and possession-wise as the Eagles seemed to beat Springdale to every loose ball.

"We just tried to keep the ball on the ground and possess it by playing our game and not worrying about the strategy of the other team," Eagles coach Shelly Thropp said. "We just tried to focus on what we wanted to do offensively.

"The only thing we changed in the second half was to pressure the ball a lot more. In the second half, we just told our players to pressure the ball and close down the open space as quickly as possible."

Although South Park controlled play in the second half, the score remained 1-1 deep into the contest. The deciding goal did not come until there was 8:31 left in regulation. Nicole Doria scored the winning goal on a tap-in. Doria was assisted by Jessie Morgan's header onto the net. Morgan set up Doria by redirecting Brittany Pfaff's corner kick.

"I didn't get enough behind [the header to score a goal], but I wanted to keep ball low and then Nikki got to it," Morgan said.

The first-half South Park goal also came moments after Pfaff sent a ball into the Springdale defensive box via a corner kick.

"We organize ourselves offensively and defensively on all set pieces. We work on set pieces for about five to 10 minutes every practice," Thropp said. "We're great in the air. We're tough to beat in the air. I think we scored a goal [in the finals] on a corner kick last year, too."

South Park entered the PIAA playoffs on a 13-game unbeaten streak. In the three WPIAL playoff games heading into the finals -- against Burrell, Steel Valley and Neshannock -- South Park outscored its opponents 13-0.

"We have a lot of senior leaders on this team, girls who have been in the playoffs for four years," Thropp said. "So we have a lot of experience of playing in big games. I think that's what won the championship for us this year."

Morgan, a midfielder and three-year starter, is among the team leaders who have played a key role throughout the season.

"It's a real accomplishment to win it two years in a row," Morgan said. "This is a nice way to go out [as a senior]."