AAHS wins first game without fallen teammate

Altoona's Lilyahna Wisor pushes the ball up the pitch. / Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski
Sometimes the results of a game take a backseat, and an event is put into perspective.
The Altoona girls soccer team, in the midst of grieving the loss of teammate Lundyn Treese over the weekend, opened up the District 6-8-10 Class 4A subregional with a 5-0 win over Allderdice on Monday evening at Mansion Park.
Treese, a senior for the Lady Lions, was killed in a car accident early Sunday morning in downtown Altoona.
“The last few days have been an absolute whirlwind,” Altoona coach Marc Frye said. “Lundyn was a great teammate, a great friend to the girls. She made everyone around her happy. We’re still trying to adjust to a new life without her in it.
“We met here Sunday. The girls made shirts. There were a lot of tears and a lot of emotions. Then the happy stories started to come out. We got them out on the field (Monday). Everyone showed up with tears in their eyes, but once they started playing soccer, they loosened up.”
Tuesday’s game was originally to be held on Monday at Allderdice in Pittsburgh, but when Allderdice learned of Treese’s passing, they agreed to move the game back to Tuesday and travel to Altoona.
“It wasn’t a decision,” Allderdice coach Jeremiah Dugan said. “Once we found out what happened, we wanted to do whatever we could do to help. At the end of the day, it’s a game.”
Before the game, the Treese family was presented flowers from the Altoona coaching staff and Lundyn’s cousin, freshman midfielder Lilyahna Wisor. A moment of silence was also observed for Treese, as well as for Altoona sophomore Keagahn Smith-Price. Smith-Price was also killed in a car accident on Sunday in Bedford County.
To make things even tougher, Wisor was taken off the field on a stretcher with a back injury late in the second half. However, Frye said taking Wisor in an ambulance was a precaution.
When the game started, the Lady Lions came out firing with three goals in the first 25 minutes. Alannah Irwin, Sophia O’Dea, and Allison Little all scored in the first half. Lia Sankey, who assisted on the Irwin goal to open the scoring, showed an example of the shirt that she made that said #LiveForLundy under her jersey.
“It was Ava (Frye’s) idea,” Sankey said. “We talked about it two days ago and we figured it was the best way to honor her. Let the crowd know we’re doing it for her.
“She made such a big impact to the team. She was very vocal. She had one of the best personalities. It did feel like something was missing.”
“Lundyn as a teammate was so outgoing and fun,” Ava Frye said. “She brought so much energy. As a teammate she lifted us all up.”
After taking a 3-0 lead to halftime, Sankey scored on a header in the 50th minute, while Little put in her second goal of the evening with four seconds remaining to set the final.
“They came out with an energy that was tough to match,” Dugan said, whose team finished the season at 4-11. “We were in a section with North Allegheny, Seneca Valley, the powerhouses of 4A in western Pennsylvania and they came out with the speed and intensity we see in those schools. I was impressed with what I saw. They’re going to be a tough out the rest of these playoffs.”
“It was a little sloppy compared to how I like to see it,” Coach Frye said. “We tried to go a little too fast, but overall, I’m extremely pleased. We found the back of the net when we needed it.”
Altoona (14-5) will advance to play McDowell on Thursday at 4 back at Mansion Park for a spot in the PIAA Tournament. McDowell defeated Erie, 9-0, in the District 10 championship earlier this week.
“I’m extremely proud of the maturity these girls handled (Treese’s passing), and the strength that they have with this,” Coach Frye said. “We definitely bonded because of it.”
SCORE BY HALVES
Allderdice 0 0 — 0
Altoona 3 2 — 5
First half: ALT – Irwin, (Sankey assist), 7:04; ALT – O’Dea, 23:33; ALT – Allison Little, 24:26
Second half: ALT – Sankey, 49:49; ALT – Little, 79:56.
Shots: Allderdice 6, Altoona 15
Saves: Allderdice (Cohen) 7; Altoona (Rodriguez) 5.
Corner kicks: Allderdice 2, Altoona 1.
Records: Allderdice (4-11); Altoona (14-5)