Balanced Lady Lions dominate State for title
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By Nate Ritchey
nritchey@altoonamirror.com
WINGATE -- Top-seeded Altoona was looking to claim a second straight district title when it met third-seeded State College on Wednesday night.
The Lady Lions put on a dominating first half performance that left little doubt they would accomplish that feat.
Altoona got four goals in the first half and three more after the break to roll to a 7-0 victory over State College in District 6 Class 4A championship action at Bald Eagle Area High School.
"I definitely couldn't be more proud of the girls. We lost some really good talent last year that graduated out," Altoona coach Marc Frye said. "We've worked really hard with this group, and they've really gelled as a team. This team truly doesn't care who scores or who has the assists. They really are a team-first team."
The two schools met early in the season with the result being a 5-1 victory for Altoona.
State High got the first good opportunity in this edition just four minutes in, but Leah Sampsel's direct kick from 35 yards out went right into the arms of Altoona goalkeeper Haylee Rodriguez.
The Lady Lions jumped out to a 4-0 edge at the half as they showed their overall team-first strength with four different girls registering goals.
"Altoona's a great team with talent at every single line -- defense, midfields and forwards," State College coach Evan Smeltzer said. "... It was a tough game against a great team."
Alli Little's goal off an Andie Adams pass at 30:43 gave Altoona a lead it didn't relinquish.
"Starting fast is always important -- it lets everybody calm down and everybody starts playing with confidence," Coach Frye said.
Nearly 19 minutes later, Aubriana Berardinelli delivered a shot from about 40 yards out that sailed over the head of Lady Little Lion keeper Maya Birkenholtz and into the back of the goal for a 2-0 advantage.
Altoona, which had nine of its 15 total shots go on goal, wasted little time getting a third just over a minute later.
Ava Frye took a free kick from 50 yards away that was cleared out by SC but then quickly recovered by Little.
Altoona's Sophia O'Dea dribbled along the right side of penalty box before making a 45-degree back pass to Little who hit a one-touch shot into the goal to make it 3-0 with 10:07 left in the first half.
"This (winning districts) feels really great (because) our team has come a long way," Little said. "We're playing the right way, and I could not be happier or prouder of my teammates."
On the Lady Lions' fourth goal, Lia Sankey got a pass ahead from Ava Frye then used her speed to outrun the nearest State College defender to the ball before dribbling into the 18 box and drilling a left-footed shot by Birkenholtz with 1:37 to go in the first 40 minutes.
"It (winning districts) feels very good -- I think it's very well deserved," Sankey said. "As a team, we worked very hard to get to where we are. ... I'm excited to see where we'll go now."
In the second half, SC was able to penetrate into the Altoona defense more than the first half, but quality chances weren't easy to come by.
The Little Lady Lions' best opportunity came with 15 minutes remaining off a corner kick as Natalie Ausherman came from the backside to get a head on it but pushed it wide left.
"We switched things up with people who are more technical and can rip it from farther out," Smeltzer said. "We just changed up the look a bit."
The Lady Lions would get their first goal of the second when O'Dea took a feed outside the penalty box from Ava Frye, dribbled around a defender before being temporarily stopped by another. The junior quickly regained possession and placed the ball between Birkenholtz and the left post.
Altoona would make it 6-0 just over a minute later when O'Dea took the same route but found Sankey open in the middle of the box for a one-touch shot.
"I think that our team cues are very good with each other," Sankey said. "I think we know the way we play very well. Our communication has gotten a lot better from the start of the year to now. I think our team dynamic is just really strong right now."
Frye would get the running clock into effect on a shot from about 30 yards out with around 11 minutes left to play.
Rodriguez made two saves to earn the shutout for the Lady Lions.
"We had really good stuff in all three phases of play today," Coach Frye said. "My backline was lights out as well -- really good stuff."
SCORE BY HALVES
State College 0 0 — 0
Altoona 4 3 — 7
First half: A--Little (Adams), 30:43; A--Berardinelli (unassisted), 11:40; A--Little (O'Dea), 10:07; A--Sankey (Frye), 1:37.
Second half: A--O'Dea (Frye), 24:36; A--Sankey (O'Dea), 23:12; A--Frye (unassisted), 11:10.
Goalies: State College -- Birkenholtz: 7 saves, 14 shots on goal; Altoona -- Rodriguez: 2 saves, 2 shots on goal.
Shots: State College 7, Altoona 21.
Corner kicks: State College 2, Altoona 5.
Records: State College (2-16-0); Altoona (13-5-0).