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Montoursville loses at home in girls soccer to Central Columbia, 4-1

Montoursville had its chances throughout the night. Lily Saul lined up for a penalty kick in the first half. After halftime, she again got a look and fired a shot from inside the 18.

But each time, things went Central Columbia’s way.

Alaina Humphrey read Saul’s penalty kick and dove on it in the first half. As for Saul’s second-half shot inside the 18? It ricocheted right off the upright, just narrowly missing being a huge goal.

It was that type of night for Montoursville as Central Columbia walked away from Memorial Stadium with a 4-1 win Tuesday night.

“Central’s just really good. They’re very offensive. They’re very fast. For us to get a score on the board was a big deal,” Montoursville coach Vic Gorini said. “We had other opportunities to score as well. We’ve been trying to be more offensive and play a large roster. We feel good with how the kids competed tonight.”

The Warriors (9-4-1) got on the board early against the Blue Jays (14-1), scoring just 70 seconds into the game when Alexa Ulmer got her leg up high to send in a high shot just past the fingertips of Humphrey for the 1-0 lead. And while the Warriors played Central Columbia tough in the first half, the Blue Jays kept pressing and finally broke through with an equalizer.

Kayla Keefer got inside the 18 and buried a shot toward the left post to make it a 1-1 game with 21:38 left in the half. Seven minutes later, it was Madelyn Blake who rifled a shot to the left post from the 18 for a 2-1 lead.

“The girls are really good at overcoming. I even remarked about that at halftime,” Central Columbia coach Kelly Calvert said. “They don’t let it get into their head and I knew we just had to play our game and I knew in time things would be falling into place.”

The Warriors were limited to just three shots on goal, but did fire eight throughout the night, having numerous go just over the crossbar or sent wide one way or the other.

Central Columbia’s back line made things difficult for Montoursville the entire night. The Blue Jays used that speed to track down every throughball the Warriors had and often forced Montoursville to go wide and not get a great look at the goal.

“The speed in the back really helps us play a game to condense further up the field, and we do rely on that,” Calvert said. “It’s great defensively for us.”

The Blue Jays scored with less than 10 minutes until halftime to make it a two-goal lead when Sydney Hunsinger was fed a ball at midfield and turned on the jets, racing past two Montoursville defenders to get a 1-v-1 look with Montoursville keeper Kierstyn Dawes. That’s when she dribbled to just inside the 18 and rifled a shot to the left.

“That was big. We’re always like before halftime lets do something here and get that energy,” Calvert said. “It’s been a consistent goal we’ve had the whole season.”

Saul lined up for her penalty kick right before halftime which would have cut the deficit to one goal, but Humphrey dove and blocked the shot. Saul ended the night with three shots inside the 18, including her penalty kick, and Ulmer twice fired off a shot from inside the 18.

“We thought we had good effort from our kids all night. Good things just happen when they put effort in out there on the field and they play together,” Gorini said. “They were playing well together, covering territory and Central’s just a little better than us in some areas. We’d have to have a good night to beat them.”

The Blue Jays made it a three-goal lead when they sent in a corner kick right to the head of Madelyn Blake inside the 6. Blake sent it to her left, sneaking it inside the near post for the 4-1 lead with 11:14 to play in the game.

Central Columbia out-shot Montoursville, 14-3, but the Blue Jays managed just two shots on goal in the second half.

“They’re solid all over the place. We don’t have a ton of speed on the team this year. We’re not a real quick team, so we just have to play different tactics and we’re pleased with how the girls competed tonight,” Gorini said. “We need to see where we stood competing with them as we go forward in districts and we feel good about our opportunities now.”

Both Central Columbia and Montoursville have one game left on the schedule before the District 4 playoffs start next week.

Central Columbia 4, Montoursville 1

M-Alexa Ulmer, 38:50. CC-Kayle Keefer, 21:38. CC-Sydney Hunsinger, 14:45. CC-Madelyn Blake, 9:03. CC-Alyx Flick, 11:14.

Shots: CC 14, M 3. Corners: CC 4, M 8. Saves: CC 1 (Alaina Humphrey), M 5 (Kierstyn Dawes 4, Anna Baylor 1).

Records: Central Columbia (14-1), Montoursville (9-4-1).

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