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Bad second half sinks PC

The Penn Cambria girls soccer team seemed to be in a comfortable position leading 2-0 at halftime. After all, they were going against a Bald Eagle Area team that only scored 23 goals in 18 games.

However, the Lady Bald Eagles exploded for six goals within a span of 8:41 as part of an eight-goal second half. The unforeseen barrage of goals, led by Madelynn Holderman’s five goals, helped 10th seeded Bald Eagle top seventh-seed Penn Cambria 8-3 in a District 6 Class 2A first round playoff game at Mansion Park.

“Honestly, it’s shocking,” said Penn Cambria coach Mackenzie Walter about BEA’s eight goals which doubled its previous season high. “They haven’t scored more 20 some goals all season. It’s a major letdown by us. When you’re up 2-0, you think you have it in the bag. Then one goal comes back and the gates kind of break open. It just kind of went downhill from there.”

Holderman, who came into the game with just one goal and seven assists on the season, scored the first two goals to force a 2-all tie. Both goals came in a 56-second window to change the game’s momentum in an instant.

“This is a team that just doesn’t quit. I know our record doesn’t always show the fullest capability of the girls,” Bald Eagle coach Jared Moore said. “They play 80 minutes. Maddie Holderman, she is our leader, she is our go-to player. She just stepped it up in the second half.”

Bald Eagle advances to the quarterfinals where it will play second-seeded Central, who beat BEA twice this year. The game is slated for Thursday night at Mansion Park at 7:30.

In what turned out to be a very even first half, Penn Cambria was finally able to break the ice with 5:12 left before halftime. Freshman Sydnie Reese blasted a shot past a sprawling Charlee Harris into the right side of the net. With 1:45 left, sophomore Casey Reese tapped in a corner kick from Kailyn Anderson to give PC a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes.

In the 52nd minute, Bald Eagle penetrated the Panthers’ defense and capitalize. Holderman scored two goals in 56 seconds to force a tie. Julia Cingle then tallied two goals in a span of 2:20.

“Definitely as soon as they went 2-2 with us, I think the third goal was a breakdown by us,” Walter said. “We played kind of shaky in the back and our center backs weren’t really together.”

Holderman and Emily Shiels added goals before Penn Cambria’s leading scorer, Emmy Harvey, was able to find the back of the net, trailing 6-3. But Holderman put the icing on the cake with two nifty goals.

Despite the disappointing loss, there is a lot to be excited about in the near future for Penn Cambria soccer, a team that has taken monumental steps forward in the last two years with back-to-back postseason appearances.

“It’s great to see Penn Cambria come to where it’s come the past two years,” Walter said. “Having a winning season is something they haven’t done in about 15 years. We are very young. We’re losing two senior starters but we’re mostly sophomores and freshmen. So in the next two years, we’ll be looking to show teams that even though you start from the bottom, you can work up and definitely create something out of nothing.”

SCORE BY HALVES

Bald Eagle Area     0 8 — 8

Penn Cambria     2 1 — 3

FIRST HALF: PC-S. Reese (unassisted), 5:12; PC-C. Reese (Anderson), 1:45.

SECOND HALF: BEA-Holderman (unassisted), 28:04; BEA-Holderman (unassisted), 27:08; BEA-Cingle (unassisted), 23:50; BEA-Cingle (unassisted), 21:30; BEA-Holderman (unassisted), 20:29; BEA-Shiels (unassisted), 19:23; PC-Harvey (unassisted), 16:13; BEA-Holderman (unassisted), 13:36; BEA-Holderman (unassisted), 9:36.

Records: Bald Eagle Area (9-10-1); Penn Cambria (11-9).

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