Trending
By John Hartsock
jhartsock@altoonamirror.com
ROARING SPRING -- In a matchup of talented, athletic teams, a quick-scoring streak of any length often makes all the difference.
The Hollidaysburg Lady Tigers rode a three-goal spurt in a span of just over three minutes early in the second half Wednesday to break a 2-2 tie and go on to defeat Central, 5-2, in a Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference game played on the Roaring Spring Middle School soccer field.
Junior midfielder Bailey Stoehr scored two of the three second-half goals for Hollidaysburg, which made it into the District 6 Class 3A championship game a year ago.
After senior forward Bella Vent scored off an assist from sophomore midfielder Kate Steiner at the 3:17 mark of the second half to put Hollidaysburg ahead for good, 3-2, Stoehr scored on a free kick at the 4:22 mark and added her second goal at the 6:29 mark after finding herself free in front of the Central cage when the ball came to her out of a corner scrum.
"I thought we played well in the second half,'' Stoehr said. "There was a lot more communication among our players, and we had better passes and better touches on the ball in the second half.''
Hollidaysburg coach Tristan delGiudice said that the Lady Tigers -- who play their home games on artificial turf at Tiger Stadium -- took awhile getting adjusted to Central's grass field.
"We're not a great grass field team -- we're just not,'' delGiudice said. "We came out a little slow today, and we made some mistakes in the first half, but we tightened things up in the second half. We challenged our players at halftime to come out strong in the second half, and I think they responded.
"Offensively, we came out of the gate quickly in the second half, our girls played fantastic to start the second half, and that was the difference in the game,'' added delGiudice, whose Lady Tigers improved to 2-2-1 overall and 2-1-1 in the LHAC.
Central (2-2-1 overall and in the conference), scored two of the first three goals in the game, both in the first half. Junior forward Carli Hart opened the scoring at 5:58 on an assist from Bethany Kensinger, and, after Hollidaysburg senior Lauren Stevenson scored a goal on a free kick at 25:49 to tie the game, 1-1, Central senior Kira Trexler broke past the Hollidaysburg defense and scored on an assist from Hart at 30:33 to give the defending District 6 Class 2A champion Lady Scarlet Dragons the short-lived 2-1 advantage.
Less than a minute later, Steiner scored on a long shot with an assist from Stevenson at 31:08 to tie the game, 2-2, at intermission.
After Hollidaysburg's three-goal streak to start the second half, Lady Tigers senior goalkeeper Natalie Foster secured the Hollidaysburg lead with four outstanding second-half saves.
"We had our chances, but Natalie is a really good keeper, and it's tough to get a ball past her,'' Central coach Randy Trexler said.
Both teams are off until next Monday, when Hollidaysburg hosts Clearfield and Central visits Bald Eagle Area.
"That's a really good, well-coached team,'' delGiudice said of the Central squad. "We're happy to get out of here today with a win.''
SCORE BY HALVES
Hollidaysburg……………………………. 2 3--5
Central………………………………………..2 0--2
First half: 1, C--Hart (Kensinger), 5:58. 2, H--Stevenson (free kick), 25:49. 3, Trexler (Hart), 30:33. 4, H--Steiner (Stevenson), 31:08.
Second half: 5, H--Vent (Steiner), 3:17. 6, H–Stoehr (free kick), 4:22. 7, H--Stoehr (unassisted), 6:29.
Shots on goal: Central 12, Hollidaysburg 10.
Saves: Foster, H, 10; Harbaugh, C, 5.
Records: Hollidaysburg (2-2-1 overall, 2-1-1 in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference); Central (2-2-1, 2-2-1).