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High School Girls soccer

Frye helps Lady Lions beat rivals

By Matt Michelone 4 min read

HOLLIDAYSBURG -- It's not often that anyone gets to shoot not just one, but two penalty kicks in a soccer match, and for Altoona Lady Lion Ava Frye, she had the chance to do exactly that Thursday night.

She ended up making both of them.

Those two penalty shots ended up being the difference for the Lady Lions as they doubled up Hollidaysburg, 4-2, extending their winning streak over the Lady Tigers which dates back to October 2018.

"When you put Ava in a position for a PK, she's very confident," Altoona coach and Ava's father Marc Frye said. "She's made a ton of them over her life. She goes up, she relaxes, she enjoys the moment and places them well. It's just a hard pass into the corner. She reads the goalkeepers extremely well."

It's something that Ava has taken a lot of pride in over the years.

"I've taken a lot, so I don't really feel much pressure anymore," she said. "I know my team is counting on me. I just go up, and I know that I have support behind me, and I finish it up. I just trust my gut."

The Lady Lions broke the ice a little over a minute in as Ingrid Steward, from around the 35-yard line, ripped a shot to the back of the net from Andie Adams.

Sage Capone answered about five minutes later as she buried a crossover to the match at 1-1.

Fast forward a little over 20 minutes later and the Lady Tigers took the lead as Ashlynn Callahan took a feed from Allie Hayer and tucked in the score that made it 2-1.

But about five minutes later, a Lady Tiger foul in the box set up Frye for the first of her penalty kicks which put the game level at two going into the half.

"I thought our girls played really well in the first half," Hollidaysburg coach Tristan delGiudice said. "I thought the second half they definitely did not come out and play the same. They were still playing hard, they weren't connecting passes, they weren't winning balls."

Coming out of the break, another Hollidaysburg infraction set up another penalty shot, as Frye fired one right to give the Lady Lions a 3-2 lead.

"This is our favorite game of the season because we know that they play us really hard," Ava Frye said. "We know that we have a good game coming up. We come up, we play hard, and we finish it up."

Adams put the game on ice with a little over three minutes to play after Ajaycia Alexander found her open for the game-deciding score.

"Hollidaysburg is a proud program," Marc Frye said. "These girls battle hard. It's a rivalry game. These are some of the greatest games I think for both teams all season long."

Altoona is now 5-6-2 while Hollidysburg is 8-2-2.

"I know they look forward to playing us; we certainly look forward to playing them. We don't take them for granted. There was a lot of passion, a lot of tears in the handshake lines. It means a lot to both programs and both schools. I couldn't be prouder of the girls."

Altoona will welcome DuBois while Hollidaysburg will get a visit from Bald Eagle Area on Monday.

SCORE BY HALVES

Altoona 2 2 - 4

Hollidaysburg 2 0 - 2

First Half: 1,) A - Steward (Adams), 1:21; 2,) H--Capone (Hayer), 5:48; 3,) H--Callahan (unassisted), 28:12; 4,) A--Frye (penalty kick), 33:11.

Second Half: 5,) A - Frye (penalty kick), 46:51; 6, ) A - Adams (Alexander), 77:51.

Records: Altoona (5-6-2), Hollidaysburg (8-2-2).

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