South Park's magic against Springdale from the previous two seasons has apparently run its course.

The Eagles lost to the Dynamos by a 2-1 count for a second time this month on Tuesday at Chartiers Valley in the PIAA Class AA girls' soccer semifinals.

It was the third year in a row these teams have met in the semifinals of the state playoffs ... as well as in the past three WPIAL championship matches.

Until this year's WPIAL game, South Park had won the previous four meetings.

Springdale 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 WPIAL rivals. South Park defeated Springdale for the WPIAL title in 2007 and '08 before the Dynamos got their revenge in this year's district final.

In the game Tuesday, the first half was scoreless and South Park (20-3-2) appeared to have the better of the play in the first seven or eight minutes of the second half. With any luck, South Park could have had a 1-0 halftime lead, but a shot by junior forward Cassie Raymond hit the post early in the half.

Springdale struck first when Alexa Sarsfield scored a goal with 31:58 left in the game. She hit a perfectly placed volley into the back of the net on a bouncing loose ball that was not cleared out of the penalty box.

"We had two lapses defensively in the game, and it's hard to come back when you are facing a 2-0 deficit," said South Park coach Shelly Thropp, recognizing the great rivalry her program has developed in recent years against Springdale.

"We play the same schemes and Springdale plays the same schemes," Thropp said of the matchups the past three years. "It was their 11 players going against our 11 players. That first goal they scored was very important. It gave them the momentum.

"I thought we did some good things. We pressured them and played some great offense, we just couldn't finish. ... Sometimes you need a little bit of luck on your side."

The Dynamos made it 2-0 when Ally Overly headed in a shot via a corner kick taken by Brittany Loveland with 25:05 left.

South Park cut the deficit to 2-1 on a goal by Raymond, assisted by junior forward Jaclyn Wolf with 6:24 left, but could not manage to get the equalizer despite several other scoring chances.

South Park had its three-year WPIAL championship run end this season as well as its chance to repeat as state champion go down the drain, both at the hands of Springdale.

With players such as Raymond and freshman goalkeeper Sierra Davis expected to return, the Eagles should be a strong contender for WPIAL honors again. Teams from the eastern part of the state that play PIAA spring soccer, however, will be switching to fall soccer next year. It will expand the PIAA classifications from two to three divisions next year and make winning a PIAA title even more challenging.

The other big challenge for South Park will be finding replacements for senior defenders Maggie Conrad, Courtney Albitz, Nicole Miller and Marissa Raymond. These players were all multiple-year starters.

"I had high expectations for this season," Thropp said. "This group of seniors is a very decorated class. They've accomplished a lot in their four years here. I had high hopes for these guys. We played until almost the last game of the season.

"The classes will be changing for next year so we will be seeing some tougher teams in AA. We have a lot of rebuilding to do in the back. We have some big shoes to fill."

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