Physical Lancers oust Rams

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November 10, 2009

By ERIC KNOPSNYDER The Tribune-Democrat Tue Nov 10, 2009, 11:45 PM EST

HOLLIDAYSBURG — Richland can chalk up Tuesday’s PIAA Class AA girls soccer playoff game to a learning experience.

The Rams, who only have two seniors on the roster, found out how the game changes at this stage of the season as they were beaten 4-1 by a Loyalsock team with eight senior starters.

“They were definitely aggressive, but when you get to high-level soccer, that’s what teams do,” Richland coach Nathan Gironda said.

“The best teams in the area are the most physical ones, and the best ones in the state are usually the most physical ones.”

Loyalsock (18-4-1), which ended the regular season ranked fourth in Class AA before finishing third in District 4, was more physical than Richland (18-2-2), but Gironda attributed much of that to the Lancers’ edge in experience.

“Part of the deal of being physical and aggressive is being a little older,” he said.

“It’s hard for freshmen to do that against girls four years older. I expect that to pick up a lot next year.”

The Lancers led just 1-0 at halftime but scored twice in the first 6½ minutes of the second half to break it open. Meredith Waters collected a loose ball in the box and put it past Richland keeper Katie Ross for a 2-0 lead in the 44th minute.

Less than three minutes later, Cassandra Soars split the Richland defense after a long pass from Marlee Hibbs and beat Ross from in front of the net.

“Once they got that second goal, we started pushing people up the field and trying to win the game,” Gironda said. “They broke it open a little bit on us, and that will happen.

“Like I told the girls at halftime, we need to score a goal, no matter what. We tried to go out and get that goal and push it into extra time.”

Loyalsock put the game out of reach in the 64th minute with a fourth goal. Ross came out of the net to challenge Waters, and the Loyalsock senior would have had an empty net to shoot at, but the ball trickled wide. Waters tracked it down and found an unmarked Kayla VanFleet on the far side of the field, and VanFleet buried it for a 4-0 lead.

Richland avoided the shutout when Maura Koshute took a pass from Savanna Wingard and beat Loyalsock goalkeeper Amanda Daneker in the 78th minute.

Loyalsock kept pressure on the Richland net throughout the first half, outshooting the Rams 10-4 and earning seven corners to Richland’s one.

The Lancers finally took advantage on their sixth corner to score the first goal.

Keely Henninger’s corner from the left side in the 32nd minute found Paige Klingerman, who headed it past Ross.

“The intensity was good from both teams in the beginning,” Loyalsock coach Kyle Bidelspacher said.

“We just couldn’t get that early goal. We kept pressing and kept pressing and finally got one of a corner kick, which was a good play.”

Loyalsock will play Montoursville or Tamaqua in the second round on Saturday while Richland ends its season after winning the District 6 title.

“You have to be happy that a young team like that just came out of nowhere and really took control of the district,” Gironda said.

“It’s going to be a good future for Richland soccer, and you’ve got to be happy about that.”

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