HEPBURNVILLE - Southern Columbia didn't have any postseason hangover after last year's success - Courtney Cecco made sure of it.
The senior scored the Tigers' first goal and added another in Southern's 6-1 District 4 Class A win over Wellsboro at Balls Mills soccer facility.
"We wanted this so bad," Cecco said.
Southern Columbia advanced to the second round of the state tournament last year.
"You could just tell from how everyone played in the first five minutes how determined we were and how much we wanted this from the start," Cecco said.
The Tigers go on to face what has legitimately become an arch nemesis in Loyalsock on Saturday, with site and time to be determined. The
Lancers beat the Tigers twice in the regular season.
"Obviously, at the point we're at now, this game is huge," Southern Columbia head coach Derek Stine said. "This gets us where we want to be - one more time with Loyalsock. The girls have a goal, they know who's there and what they have to achieve."
Southern, the No. 6 seed, took 10 minutes of hard pressing on Wellsboro's defense before the floodgates opened.
"They've been working on control and we stress that during the game," Stine said. "You keep the ball on the ground, you control the game."
Cecco started the scoring at 10:21 with a penalty kick after she was pushed down in the box.
Danielle Mowery followed it up just three minutes later with a floater off the head of Wellsboro goalkeeper Sherri Hovis.
The Hornets cut Southern's lead in half when Taylor Acorn scored on a breakaway halfway through the first period.
Southern didn't wait long to push its lead back to two goals.
Sam Fraley gave the ball to Kayla Hanley, who poked it home at the 22:17 mark.
Cecco scored her second goal with less than seven minutes left in the half and the Tigers went in with a 4-1 lead.
Despite the lead, Southern didn't lay off the gas. The Tigers nearly matched the 16 shots they took in the first half with 11 more in the second, but the placement was slightly off. Twice Tiger shots hit the crossbar, and a couple others were too strong and sailed completely over the goal.
Bailey Bzdak and Mackenzie Clark each finally connected to close the scoring.
Loyalsock was immediately on everyone's mind, and at least Cecco felt confident.
"It's always a good match with them," Cecco said. "Third time is the charm."
Game Summary
Wellsboro 1 0 - 1
Southern 4 2 - 6
SC - Courtney Cecco, penalty kick, 10:21
SC - Danielle Mowery (Kat Hutchinson), 13:59
W - Taylor Acorn, 20:01
SC - Kayla Hanley (Sam Fraley), 22:17
SC - Cecco (Hanley), 33:42
SC - Bailey Bzdak, 69:29
SC - Mackenzie Clark (Cecco), 70:10
Shots: Wellsboro 3, Southern 27. Corner kicks: Wellsboro 0, Southern 8. Saves: Wellsboro (Hovis) 7, Southern (Jess Watkins) 1.