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This scholastic soccer season saw a number of firsts for area teams in the district and state playoffs.
For the first time, four Blair County soccer teams garnered district championships -- the Hollidaysburg boys and the Central, Bishop Guilfoyle and Altoona girls.
n The Hollidaysburg boys, starting a majority of sophomores and freshmen, shut out Bellefonte, 3-0, to grab the District 6 3A title.
n The Central girls defeated a familiar foe in Bedford and went through 30 minutes of overtime to stay strong to grab the District 6 2A title, 5-4, in the second round of shootouts.
n The BG girls had seen the district finals the past two seasons, falling short of grabbing the title, but they were not to be denied this year with senior Nicole Hawk leading the way in a 2-0 victory over Bald Eagle Area.
But the Lady Marauders, stingy on defense all year and strong on ball control, went through their first game of the state playoffs the same way, shutting out Karns City, 2-0, and their blend of incredibly talented seniors and freshmen working well as a unit were not done making soccer history. They became the first team in District 6 history to make the state semifinals with another 2-0 shutout of WPIAL Class A champion Freedom. Bishop Guilfoyle controlled the pace of play, and Hawk again got things going, putting a header in back of the net.
The Marauders' run ended when they dropped their state semifinal game to WPIAL powerhouse Riverview, 4-1. They were forced to play down a player on a 11-10 disadvantage when scoring leader Hawk was lost to a red card.
n The Altoona girls squad made some history of their own in the state playoffs.
After dominating longtime foe State College for the District 4A title, 4-0, the Lady Lions captured a victory in the PIAA subregional playoff for the first time in the history of the program with a 1-0 win over a McDowell team which had sent Altoona home in past seasons. Altoona sealed the win with a 5-3 shootout edge.
Altoona then faced WPIAL runner-up North Allegheny, which had beaten the Lady Lions to open the season, 11-3. This game was quite different. After a rough start for first-year coach Marc Frye's squad, it reeled off a 13-game winning streak. The team battled North Allegheny from starting to ending whistle this time, coming up short, 4-2.
Hailey Kravetz, Altoona's scoring machine, notched her 45th goal of the season, becoming the all-time single-season scoring leader for Altoona soccer on both the boys and girls teams.
Learning on the job
Perhaps the most interesting twist to the Altoona girls season is that they started the season without a goalie. Senior defender Aubrey Dietzel, with the help of assistant coach Mike Metrick, stepped up to take the job. Dietzel hadn't played outdoor goalie since AYSO games nine years ago.
"She has worked hard on using her hands correctly,'' Metrick said. "She has good height, is very athletic and uses her feet well . The girls will play the ball to her now, and she gets the ball back in play, putting Altoona in good position."
After giving up 11, 6, 2 and 12 goals in the first four games, there was some crisis of confidence for Dietzel. Metrick said she was extremely perseverant and motivated and went back to what she needed to work on. It was a baptism by fire, and the team gained confidence in her as she registered a number of shutouts in Altoona's 13-game winning streak that followed her trying early season games.
"She learned the angle makes the save, and coming out on Hailey Kravetz in practice has helped greatly," Metrick said.
Heading indoors
Indoor soccer is underway for another season at the Summit Tennis and Athletic Club under soccer director Mike Alianiello, now in his 17th season.
The first indoor session of league play started Nov. 5 and will end the weekend before Christmas. There are 82 teams competing in the first session. Age brackets include: u-9 coed, u-11 boys, u-12 boys, u-14 boys, u-16 boys, u-16 girls, u-17 boys, u-19 boys and u-19 girls, along with an over-30 league and men's open.
There are balanced teams in the over-30 with six teams competing with eight-player rosters. The only tournament scheduled for the season is the 7 vs. 7 tourney on Jan. 13-14 and 20-21 for junior high, high school and adult play.
The blue all-purpose court is now raised Omniturf, which will slow the pace of play, slightly requiring more ball control. All courts play futsal soccer.
Alianiello has teams coming in from Ebensburg, Philipsburg, Cresson, Bedford, Tyrone and Roaring Spring to play in the initial league session.
Tom Schmitt writes a monthly soccer column for the Mirror.