Mirror photo by Michael Boytim The Cxentral girls soccer team exit the field as Clearfield celebrates behind them.

By Michael Boytim

mboytim@altoonamirror.com

CLEARFIELD — Central keeper Darcy Heltzel faced more shots Tuesday in the Scarlet Dragons’ PIAA Class 2A girls soccer first round game against Clearfield than she had the whole season.

The senior held her own, especially early, with several great saves on shots by star Bison senior Elle Smith — who came into Tuesday’s game with 54 goals this season.

After holding up for more than 20 minutes, Clearfield’s Riley Ryen scored the first of her two goals and Smith finally broke through with less than eight minutes to play until halftime before the Lady Bison poured it on in the second half during a 7-0 triumph.

“We were just very persistent,” Smith said. “We knew if we kept shooting and creating chances, we knew they were going to go in eventually.”

Smith finished with four goals for Clearfield, which improved to 18-2 and won its first-ever PIAA playoff game in girls soccer.

“They are loaded with a lot of seniors that are fast and skilled,” Central coach Randy Trexler said. “That’s a fast team. They were just faster than us.”

Following Ryen’s goal with 19:42 to play in the first half, the Dragons had a decent look at tying the game when Lakkyn Dibert got out ahead of the Clearfield defense and beat keeper Cayleigh Walker to the ball. In the rush to do so, however, Dibert’s shot was slightly off balance and missed to the right with 11:22 to play in the half. Smith scored about three minutes later to make it 2-0, though Trexler didn’t think tying the game would have changed the outcome.

“I don’t think so,” Trexler said. “We had two opportunities. I don’t know if their goalie even had any save opportunities, except maybe that one from Lakkyn in the first half. They were just winning everything in the midfield. There’s a lot of ninth and 10th graders on our team.”

Megan Hamm also scored for the Lady Bison on a perfect lob shot over Heltzel’s outstretched arms.

“It’s a really big advantage, especially when we keep running throughout the game,” Smith said. “We tire them out and move the ball quickly at a pace we know we can score.”

Central concluded a 20-2 campaign that ended with two straight losses after the Dragons qualified for the District 6 championship game with a 4-3 win over Tyrone.

Heltzel and Ella Garner are among the seniors the team will lose to graduation.

“Ella was the leader, her and Darcy were our captains,” Trexler said. “We had a great season. They feel crappy right now, but they were phenomenal. Ella had a great year. We’re going to miss them. It starts with the commitment. We have a lot of kids that play year-round, and we have some Division I club kids on the team, which helps with our success.”

Garner was proud of the team’s progression during her career.

“My freshman year, I don’t think we even made playoffs,” Garner said. “Sophomore and junior year, we went to the playoffs and lost in the first round in 1-0 games. This year, we said it was ours. We made it to the District 6 final. Unfortunately, Bedford beat us, but we made it to states, which was pretty amazing. I have loved being part of it. Every year, we kept building.”

Late in the game, Central senior Katie Ritchey was checking in alongside freshman Carli Hart, who gave her teammate a hug.

“I really liked the passion we had for the game,” Garner said. “Everyone supported each other the whole year. Every game we went out with a positive attitude and fought for what we could. I just love the team and the girls. Even outside of sports, we hang out and talk and have a good time.”

Clearfield will play District 10 runner-up General McLane, a 5-1 winner over WPIAL champion Avonworth, on Saturday.

“To get the first state playoff win, especially on our home field in Clearfield, it feels amazing,” Smith said. “It feels so good.”

SCORE BY HALVES

Central 0 0 — 0

Clearfield 2 5 — 7

First Half: CL–Ryen, 19:42; CL–Smith, 7:48.

Second Half: CL–Smith, 37:47; CL–Hamm, 33:36; CL–Smith, 26:47; CL–Ryen (corner kick), 21:36; CL–Smith, 20:30.

Records: Central (20-2); Clearfield (18-2).