The Tyrone Lady Eagles are going to the District 6 Championship game for the first time in school history after beating Bellefonte 2-0 on Monday, November 1st.

“The win was such a huge accomplishment for the team and the fact that we’re moving onto the championships is so incredible. It was such a great feeling to beat Bellefonte in the semifinal round and I can’t wait to see what happens on Wednesday against Hollidaysburg,” said senior Mackenzie Latchford

The win was especially sweet for Tyrone because they lost 2-1 to Bellefonte just two weeks ago.

The game started on a bad note for the Lady Eagles when senior Natalie Saltsgiver was lost 4 minutes into the game after taking a hard shot to the head.

But the defense rallied without her and the Lady Eagles managed to hold possession for most of the first half.  Even though the game was scoreless at halftime the Lady Eagles felt that the momentum was going their way.

“Our backline and midfielders did a great job of getting in passing lanes and forcing long shots from bad angles. We had to adjust our attack slightly to break their high pressure. Once we did, we started to control the game,” said Tyrone Head Coach Mike Sparacino.

Both of the Lady Eagles’ goals came in the second half off the foot of junior Eliza Vance.

Vance was assisted by junior Avalyn Moore on the game’s first goal. Moore took the ball to the far corner and made a nice cross in front of the goal. Vance managed to get a leg on it, sending the ball to the back of the net.

“Making good choices with the ball led directly to our first goal. Then we continued pressure, causing the foul in the box that led to the penalty kick. All in all, it was the overall team performance we needed,” said Sparacino.

The Lady Eagles continued to push hard and keep Bellefonte from scoring.

Vance’s second goal came when she was tripped inside the goalie box, resulting in a penalty kick.

Vance calmly took the penalty kick low and to her right, freezing Bellefonte’s keeper in the net and giving the Lady Eagles a 2-0 lead.

“It felt great to score for the team and to see them get so excited. A lot goes into scoring a goal and we really all worked hard for them this game,” said Vance.

The defense then held the Lady Raiders off for the remainder of the game. Even though the defense lost Natalie Saltsgiver, an asset to their line they made things work. They adjusted quickly and continued to play with what they had.

“The defense stepped up a lot especially when we lost Natalie, Kenzie Soellner played in place of her and had a huge role in the outcome of the game. It was unexpected and sad we lost Natalie but the defense worked well together and didn’t let that change the game,” said sophomore Rebecca Lewis.

This is the Lady Eagles’ first time making it to the District 6 championship in school history. The girls hope to play their best and become District 6 champs by the end of Wednesday.

The Lady Eagles will be at a slight disadvantage not having juniors Chloe LaRosa and Alyson Partner along with senior Natalie Saltsgiver due to injuries and covid.

But it’s nothing the Lady Eagles haven’t seen before having many people absent throughout their season due to COVID and injuries.

The Championship Game is at Mansion Park in Altoona. There will be a send-off for the girls at 6 pm in front of the athletic office. The kickoff is at 8 pm.

D6 AAA Girls semifinals

First half:
No scoring

Second half:
T: Vance(Moore) 42:38
T: Vance PK 57:31

Final:
Bellefonte 0
Tyrone 2