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ERIE -- When Alannah Irwin tore the ACL in her right leg in January, she didn't think there was any way she'd play soccer this fall.
After working hard to recover faster with rehab, she made it back to the soccer field to make one of the biggest kicks in program history.
Irwin clinched a 5-3 shootout win over McDowell by burying the final shot among the first round of shooters to give Altoona a historic win on Saturday at Dollinger Field in Erie.
"Everyone knows that McDowell has ended Altoona's season every year that we've won District 6," Altoona coach Marc Frye said. "Whether we come here or play them at home, McDowell always beats us in a close, tight game. We had to take it to penalty kicks, and I'm extremely proud of this team to be the first team to win this round and make it into the top 16 in the state."
Altoona (15-5-0) hosts WPIAL powerhouse North Allegheny on Tuesday in the PIAA first round at Mansion Park at 6:15 p.m.
Altoona and McDowell traded goals in the penalty kick shootout throughout the first three rounds. Ava Frye, Tatum Shoeman and Hailey Kravetz scored for the Lady Lions before Sylvia Bosley made it 4-3 in the fourth round. McDowell then opened the door for Altoona as the Trojan shooter hit the crossbar in the fourth round.
Irwin made her approach to the shootout spot with a chance to end the match with a goal.
"It was really scary. I thought I was going to have a heart attack," Irwin joked. "I didn't know if I was going to make it so I just kept praying."
Irwin lined up with a big brace on her right leg and ripped a shot to the left side. McDowell keeper Vivian Sanders guessed right, but she was too late to stop the powerful shot to the corner of the net.
"I don't really have an approach, I just went to the side that worked every time in practice," Irwin said. "This means everything because I didn't think I'd be back this season to be a part of the first team to win this match is awesome."
Altoona was on the attack throughout the first 15-20 minutes of the match as the Lions seemed to be riding on plenty of adrenaline. They just couldn't find many shots as the McDowell back row went to straight marking the forwards instead of playing any kind of team defense.
The Lady Lions kept getting set pieces and corner kicks, but they couldn't find that clutch shot to take the lead. At one point, Kravetz had an open net but her momentum to the net made the shot awkward and it hit the post.
The next 40 minutes were spent mostly in the middle third as once the adrenaline wore off, both teams started to struggle to get separation as the rain came down.
Altoona was back on the attack in the final 20 minutes, but it was more of the same as set pieces and corners were unsuccessful. One free kick banged off the crossbar for the Lions.
"It was frustrating because at times it seemed like we were reactive instead of proactive," Marc Frye said. "It was almost like instead of anticipating where the ball was going, we waited for it to be played so we were a half step behind at times. Credit to the McDowell back line because they played well."
After two quick overtimes, the match was decided in a penalty kick shootout. Frye had anticipated the match could be that close and made sure to put penalty kicks into the practice plan this past week.
"I'm actually happy it went to penalty kicks because we practiced them in three of the past four practices," Frye said. "I knew my first five shooters were going to score and it's a good way to win, but I've also been on the other end of it and it's a tough way to lose."
Frye also made several changes to counter McDowell's attack.
"Sophia O'Day is normally a forward and we slid her back to defense as well as Ajaycia Alexander," Frye said. "They both can play forward for us but I wanted us to be tight on the back end and I couldn't be prouder of the defense."
SCORE BY HALVES
Altoona 0 0 0 0 (5) - 1
McDowell 0 0 0 0 (3) - 0
First half: No scoring.
Second half: No scoring.
First overtime: No scoring.
Second overtime: No scoring.
Keepers: A - Aubrey Dietzel 2-for-2; M - Vivian Sanders 8-for-8.
Records: Altoona (15-5-0); McDowell (10-10-0).