The Lady Eagles entered the first round of the District 6 AAA playoffs against Hollidaysburg with more confidence than most four seeds have going up against the number one seed.
Despite their disappointing 5-10-3 regular season record, Tyrone knew that they could upset the 13-5-1 Lady Lions. They proved that just seven days earlier by battling the Lady Tigers to a 2-2 tie after two overtime periods in their regular-season finale.
However, this time around, the Lady Tigers were able to dictate the pace of the game and limited Tyrone’s scoring chances to just two shots on goal, defeating the Lady Eagles 2-0 on Hollidaysburg’s home turf.
Hollidaysburg was able to keep the pressure on the Tyrone defense the entire game, outshooting the Lady Eagles 24-3.
“Our defensive line was very stable and held themselves well, but we couldn’t build possession up the field offensively,” sophomore forward Kadence Berry said.
Tyrone junior keeper Pyper Sparklin had an outstanding game, keeping her team close with 12 saves while defending seven Hollidaysburg corner kicks.
Hollidaysburg’s only goal of the half came 25 minutes into the game from senior Bailey Stoehr, who scored from inside the penalty area on an assist from Kate Stiener.
Despite giving up 10 shots on goal, the Tyrone defense was able to keep Hollidaysburg off the scoreboard for the remainder of the first half and went into halftime only down by one goal.
“We knew that we were still in this game,” Tyrone head coach Lance Robinson said.
But Hollidaysburg came out of halftime strong, dominating possession and scoring again seven minutes into the second half. Steiner sent a pass across the box to Bella Creamer, who scored on a shot to the right side of the goal.
“That goal was huge because one breakaway, one missed play, and it’s a tie game,” Hollidaysburg Head Coach Tristan delGuidice told the Altoona Mirror. “Getting that second goal really put everybody at ease in that half.”
Tyrone did have one very good scoring chance of their own halfway through the second half. Sophomore Kadence Berry got past the Hollidaysburg defense on a well-placed through ball, but had the ball deflected away by a Hollidaysburg defender just before she could take a shot.
However, other than that, Tyrone couldn’t produce enough offense to challenge the Lady Tigers, who will advance to face second-seeded Bellefonte in the District 6 AAA girls championship game on October 28.
SCORE BY HALVES
Tyrone 0 0 — 0
Hollidaysburg 1 1 — 2
First half: H–Stoehr (Steiner), 25:06.
Second half: H–Creamer (Steiner), 33:23
Records: Tyrone (5-11-3); Hollidaysburg (13-5-1).
