Shaler soccer wears down Lady Tigers in victory
PIAA 3A Soccer
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HOLLIDAYSBURG -- For nearly 60 minutes of action on Tuesday night, the Hollidaysburg girls' soccer team's game plan was going well.
Despite trailing by one, the Lady Tigers were keeping Shaler in check and not allowing them to run away with the contest.
Unfortunately, for Hollidaysburg, a nearly five-minute stretch around the midway point of the second half saw the Lady Titans put three insurance goals in the back of the net.
The Lady Golden Tigers struggled to get off shots on the counterattack all game -- being held to three -- so, the four-goal deficit was way more than they could overcome in a 4-0 season-ending loss to Shaler in PIAA Class 3A first round action at Tiger Stadium.
"I thought for 60 minutes we did a pretty good job containing them," Hollidaysburg coach Tristan delGiudice said. "We had a formation designed to kind of be a little more defensive and frustrate them (Shaler). We could see that some of their top goal scorers were getting frustrated. It wasn't really our intent to win a lot of stuff in the middle of the field as we were set up to counterattack. We just weren't connecting passes on the counterattack."
Shaler completely dominated the first half of play as they had 15 total shots with 11 requiring a save by Hollidaysburg goalkeeper Ellie Jadlocki.
Meanwhile, the Lady Tigers were able to unleash just one shot in the first forty minutes.
The Lady Titans won nearly every 50/50 ball as they were a few steps ahead anticipating than the Tigers were.
Shaler's persistence finally paid off in the 28th minute as Lillian Trgovic received a ball on the right side of the pitch then lifted a pass into the middle of the box.
Jadlocki came charging out but the Titans' Naudia Zotter got to the bouncing ball first. Zotter redirected the ball by Jadlocki as it rolled into the goal with 11:38 left to play in the first half.
"I just kept telling the girls to just be patient," Shaler coach Carlo Prati said. "We had a ton of shots in the first half."
Despite Shaler having several quality looks through the next 30-plus minutes, the score remained at 1-0.
Zotter put the Titans up by two when she took a low cross from Etta Warner that got through to her right foot, and the senior buried the ball into the goal at 20:08 mark of the half.
With 18:57 on the scoreboard, Zotter was on the passing end as she crossed into the box from the right side to Warner who gave it a quick touch before nailing the ball above the hands of Jadlocki to make it 3-0.
"I just kept telling the girls that anybody you face in the states is going to be a really good team," Prati said. "You can't just let them sit around because one break it's tied up and it's a whole different ballgame. I told them to just keep chipping at it."
Just over a minute later, the Lady Tigers gave up the seventh corner kick of the evening to the Lady Titans who stayed with the ball as it pinballed off a few legs, causing Jadlocki to make two close-range saves before it bounced to a Shaler player who put it into the goal but was called offside.
Trgovic got the fourth goal to stand at 14:52 when she dribbled the ball just beyond midfield, used her speed to go by two Hollidaysburg defenders before beating Jadlocki off a shot on the outside of her right foot.
"We had a five-minute stretch where there was just some breakdowns," delGiudice said. "We gave up too many chances by not getting the ball out (when it was) in front of the net. They (Shaler) scored three quick goals and kind of took control of the game."
The Tigers' best chance of the night came in the 76th minute when a direct kick was knocked away by Shaler goalkeeper Livia Ryan from a charging Hollidaysburg player.
delGiudice was proud of his team throughout the year as he especially pointed out the senior class.
"Sage (Capone), Bella (Creamer), Taylor (Buss), Kaitlin (Davis), Kate (Steiner), Sam (Garman) and Sophia (McClelland). It's a great senior class," delGiudice said. "We're certainly going to miss them."
Hollidaysburg finished the season with a 13-4-4 record. Shaler moved to 16-4-0 and will face Gwynedd Mercy, a 1-0 winner over Cocalico, in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
SCORE BY HALVES
Shaler 1 3 — 4
Hollidaysburg 0 0 — 0
First half: S--Zotter (Trgovic), 11:38.
Second half: S-- Zotter (Warner), 20:08; S--Huerbin (Zotter), 18:57; S--Trgovic (unassisted), 14:52.
Goalies: Shaler -- Ryan: 3 saves, 3 shots on goal; Hollidaysburg -- Jadlocki: 16 saves, 20 shots on goal.
Shots: Shaler 29, Hollidaysburg 3.
Corner kicks: Shaler 8, Hollidaysburg 2.
Records: Shaler (16-4-0); Hollidaysburg (13-4-4).