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Unbeaten Montoursville girls need OT in opener

HUGHESVILLE — When asked whether she was nervous when she had the opportunity to put away a game-winner in overtime against a tough Lewisburg team, Montoursville’s Kyleigh Balint at first said yes, she was. Then she caught herself.

Actually no, she wasn’t nervous at all with the chance at hand.

“I thought about all the hard work we put in and that put the power behind my kick,” Balint said.

Just 10 seconds into overtime was all it took. After the opening kick from midfield by Montoursville was sent down field, Balint sprinted toward the ball and from roughly the 18, Balint fired a great shot to her right just past Lewi­sburg’s goalie toward the far post.

As soon as the ball went into the back of the net, Balint was greeted by a sea of white jerseys as her teammates hugged her. It was a tough game, but Montoursville defeated Lewisburg in overtime, 2-1, at Raymond H. Perritt Stadium at Hughesville on a rainy Thursday night to keep its perfect season intact.

“I saw the chance and I knew I needed to put it away and I put my all into that. I don’t think I ran that fast in my entire life,” Balint said with a laugh.

“Kyleigh is a very explosive forward for us. She can play well anywhere on field, but no surprise that she was able to strike quickly,” Montoursville coach Vic Gorini said.

Montoursville (18-0) advanced to the District 4 Class AA semifinals on Monday against Mifflin­burg, which beat Midd-West, 4-3.

It was the third time Montoursville beat the Green Dragons (9-10) this year, and the third time they had to go to overtime to do so.

“We feel confident in overtime with our conditioning and our mental toughness. We feel good in overtime,” Gorini said. “We’re 4-0 in overtime this year, so we actually feel pretty good late in game or overtime. Whether we’re tired or not, the girls know how to perservere through.”

“They definitely put up a fight, but we fought harder,” Balint added.

The game was a low-shooting affair, as Montoursville held just a 6-3 shots on goal advantage. But that’s par for the course when the Warriors meet the Green Dragons, and Gorini knew that coming in.

“That’s how it’s gone against Lewisburg all year: low number of shots. It’s just one of those style matchups for us that we don’t necessarily show our best on the field, but credit to them,” Gorini said. “They make it tough on us everytime we play them.”

Montoursville scored with 10:23 to play in the first half. Balint took the ball from outside the goal box and dished it to her right as Caroline King chased it down with a Lewisburg defender on her. King then tapped it toward the right post for the early 1-0 lead over the Green Dragons.

Lewisburg scored just six minutes into the second half. Selena Permyashkin took a breakway to roughly 15 yards out and rifled an excellent shot to her right just past Montoursville goalie Marlene Bassett for the game-tying goal with 34:24 to play in regulation.

“All year Selena has been a beast for a sophomore playing the way she’s playing. She flies up and down (the field). She never stops,” Lewisburg coach Jose Vega said. “She got a great goal to get us back in the game. Unfortunately again, we cannot show in overtime. But look, three times we played them, three times we went (to) overtime. So I’m proud of the girls. They gave it their all and a hard one to swallow.”

Lewisburg had a great chance to put away a possible game-winner with 2:05 to play in regulation. The Green Dragons’ Allison Reed took a ball down toward the baseline and fired a great shot to the right post, but Bassett came up with an excellent save from her knees to prevent a possible huge goal.

The Warriors had a great look a few minutes after Lewisburg tied the game when Lexi Marchioni passed the ball from outside the 18 to King from outside the goal box. King had a great header attempt, but it went just high over the goal. Montoursville’s Bri Ulmer also appeared to have scored a goal with 4:59 to play in the first half when she had a slow roller to the right post, but the referee waved it off for an offsides violation, negating what would have been a huge 2-0 lead going into the half.

After the Green Dragons tied it up though in the second half, Montoursville was confident they wouldn’t allow another goal to get in.

“We rallied at the center of circle and we were all like ‘that was their one chance. That was their one chance and they put it away, now it’s our turn to shine,'” Balint said.

And they definitely did shine in the quarterfinals when they needed to.

M–Caroline King (Kyleigh Balint), 10:23. L–Selena Permyashkin, 34:24. M–Balint, 14:50.

Shots: L 3, M 6. Corners: L 2, M 2. Saves: L (Bethany Rippon) 4, M (Marlene Bassett) 1.

Records: Lewisburg (9-10), Montoursville (18-0).

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