Lady Lions take 2 OTs to beat rivals
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By John Hartsock
jhartsock@altoonamirror.com
After opening its 2024 season with two losses on the road to Pittsburgh area opponents, the Altoona Area High School girls soccer team was in dire need of a shot in the arm Thursday night.
And junior forward/midfielder Tatum Shoemaker was able to provide it --against archrival Hollidaysburg no less.
Rushing toward the cage after following a corner kick from teammate Ava Frye, Shoemaker knocked in a rebound for the game-winning goal at the 2:30 mark of the second overtime period, lifting Altoona to a 2-1 victory over the Lady Tigers at Mansion Park.
"Ava had a beautiful corner kick and I saw the ball coming in,'' Shoeman said. "I ran in and crashed the goal. After all the work that we've done as a team, it was nice to finish an opportunity.''
Hollidaysburg (1-2), and particularly its standout senior goalkeeper Natalie Foster, deserved a better fate. Foster stopped 17 of 18 shots -- Altoona's first goal of the game was knocked into the cage by a Hollidaysburg defender at the 14:15 mark of the second half -- and Foster made several outstanding saves, mostly in the second half, to keep Hollidaysburg's hopes alive.
"She's fantastic,'' Hollidaysburg coach Tristan delGuidice said of Foster. "She's been an excellent keeper for us for her entire career, and I feel terrible for her because of the way that things ended tonight. She deserved a better fate, and so did our girls as a team. They played extremely well.''
Shoeman's ability to cash in on the opportune chance decided the outcome.
"After opening the season with two losses in Pittsburgh, I think our girls really needed this for our confidence going forward,'' Altoona coach Marc Frye said. "But in soccer, you never know how a game is going to unfold.
"Tatum rushed in, and she was at the right place at the right time, and she buried that shot,'' Frye added. "Natalie Foster is a fantastic goalkeeper, but Tatum was ready. She got the shot off quickly and put it into the back of the goal.''
After Altoona got the first goal of the game in the second half, Hollidaysburg senior forward Bella Vent - the Altoona Mirror's 2023-24 High School Girls Basketball Player of the Year last winter - displayed her athleticism on the soccer field, blocking an Altoona outlet kick and scoring on a shot along the ground into the lower left corner of the cage at the 17:13 mark of the second half to tie the game, 1-1.
Thanks in large part to Foster's heroics in the cage, the score remained the same until Shoeman scored the game-winner in the second overtime.
"This was a great win, and a much-needed win, for us,'' Marc Frye said. "Hollidaysburg definitely played very well tonight. I thought we were just a little bit better, especially in the second half and in the overtime.''
Game notes: The junior varsity game between the two schools ended in a scoreless tie ... Hollidaysburg and Altoona will meet again in a rematch on Monday, October 7, in Hollidaysburg ... Altoona hosts Central Mountain next Wednesday night, while Hollidaysburg is off until Monday, Sept. 9, when it hosts Bald Eagle Area.
SCORE BY PERIODS
Hollidaysburg 0 1 0 0--1
Altoona 0 1 0 1--2
SECOND HALF
1, A--Own goal, 14:15.
2, H--Vent (unassisted), 17:13.
SECOND OVERTIME
3, A--Shoeman (Frye), 2:30.
Shots on goal: Altoona 18, Hollidaysburg 6.
Saves: Foster, H, 17; Rodriquez, A, 5.
Records: Hollidaysburg (1-2); Altoona (1-2).