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DALLAS TWP. — Things got going in a hurry during the opening minutes of Lake-Lehman’s first state tournament in 20 seasons.
Three goals were scored faster than the time it takes to exit Dallas High School.
Eventually, after the dust settled, The Black Knights prevailed with a 4-3 victory over Loyalsock Tuesday in a topsy-turvy PIAA Class 2A girls soccer first-round game. The Black Knights advance to play District 1 champ St. Basel Saturday.
“I don’t know if I’ve seen that in a long time,” Lake-Lehman coach Kelly Adamshick said. “It was definitely an eye opener of what the game was going to bring. I don’t know if both teams were ready to be on the field. It was just shot-shot-shot-goal. I’m just glad we took the lead.”
In a matchup between two defensively efficient teams that held opponents to a combined .65 goals per game, three goals were scored before many fans settled into their seats. Five goals were scored in the first 17 minutes.
After the Lancers scored an early goal, Lake-Lehman tallied three unanswered in the early minutes. Loyalsock’s Sarah Van Fleet corralled a corner kick and centered it into goal.
From there on, the Black Knights continued the assault that gave them a plus-100 goal differential throughout the year. Amanda Ayers evened the score in the second minute on a loose ball in front of net. Less than a minute later, MacKenzie Love dribbled right, stopped left and shelved a shot into the upper-left 90 with her left foot to give Lake-Lehman a 2-1 lead.
“After that start, we just needed to get a goal right away, to bring it back to reality again and start to play soccer game,” Adamshick said. “The second goal definitely settled us down.”
Love finished with two goals and an assist – her top postseason performance. Love surpassed the 100-point plateau for the season with 104.
“She gives it her all when she is out there,” Adamshick said. “Yes, she does struggle when they put two or three girls on her. She worked through it today and made it happen. Usually, when she gets one, she loosens up a little bit.”
Love tacked on her second in the 11th minute. She took advantage of indecision by the goalkeeper and tapped around the left side to advance the lead to 3-1.
Loyalsock regrouped at halftime and held possession for the majority of the second half as Lake-Lehman buckled down defensively to protect its 4-2 lead. The Lancers finally dug into the lead when Julia Cruz scored following a corner kick in the 70th minute.
Lake-Lehman’s Kit Patla made a key defensive play late in the 77th minute. Patla tackled to keep the ball out of a forward’s possession when the ball was behind the goalkeeper.
Minutes after Love’s second goal, Loyalsock’s top forward Rhiallie Jessell cut the lead in half when she took an Adriana Barone pass to goal. In the 31st, Lake-Lehman held onto its two-goal advantage at the break with a 25-yard Love through ball from the sidelines to set up an open lane for a 1-on-1 chance for Abby Paczewski.
“They definitely put the pressure on us,” Adamshick said. “We’re young. It was a challenge. We stepped up to the challenge. They were a great team. We held onto it.”
Lake-Lehman becomes just the second Wyoming Valley Conference program, joining Dallas in 2013 and 2014, to win a state playoff since 2012’s spring-to-fall season switch.
PIAA GIRLS SOCCER
Class 2A First Round
Lake-Lehman 4, Loyalsock 3
Loyalsock`2`1`—`3
Lake-Lehman`4`0`—`4
First half — 1. LOY Sarah Van Fleet (Rhiallie Jessell), 1st minute; 2. LL Amanda Ayers (Sarah Salus), 2nd; 3. LL MacKenzie Love (Abby Paczewski), 3rd; 4. LL Love (Kyra Apaliski) 11th; 5. LOY Jessell (Adriana Barone), 17th; 6. LL Paczewski (Love), 31st. Second half — 7. LOY Juliana Cruz (Barone), 70th.
Shots — LOY 7; LL 19. Saves — LOY 4 (Grace Schreckengast); LL 2 (Stephanie Ayers). Corner kicks — LOY 8; LL 2.
