×

Jon Gerardi on soccer: SW grad Green focused on team succeeding, not own stats

PHOTO PROVIDED South Williamsport graduate Bella Green competes with Lycoming in this photo provided by the Lycoming athletics department.

To say Bella Green’s career at Lycoming College has been a great one would almost not do it justice. The former South Williamsport standout has been climbing up the all-time ranks.

She currently sits tied for sixth all-time in career goals with 22 with Carolyn Tascione. In the career points column, the Warrior sits with 54, alone in sixth all-time above Tascione.

And Green still can move up both respective lists. She’s just five points behind fifth all-time and just four goals from tying Donna Mongiello for second all-time at Lycoming.

While Green’s more than excited to have those marks and still have room to climb, she’s not hung up on her individual accolades. After all, statistics only tell so much of the story, and for Green, she’d rather see the Warriors as a whole succeed than herself individually.

“It means a lot to me, but stats are only so much when it comes to soccer. I like to think of it as game-to-game rather than my own personal statistics going forward,” Green said. “I’m more of a team player, so I think that focusing on the next game wtih the team will help us succeed more and help myself succeed more, than focusing on my own stats.”

It’s the type of player Green is and why she not only is having a remarkable individual career, but as a senior is helping the Warriors play outstanding. Green’s a big reason Lycoming’s women’s team is currently 5-2-1.

“Definitely keeping a positive attitude with everyone (has been key). The freshmen that came in this year have been very skilled and really talented, so that’s helped a lot and our defense this year is really strong,” Green said. “We really owe to them for the wins that we’ve already gotten because they kept the other teams from scoring every single game.”

And those freshman, and others on team, have been looking up to Green since the start of the season. While she can score seemingly as quick as she wants, Green has a knack on the field for being able to place the ball perfectly or directing her teammates to the right spot. And she’s embraced her leadership role right away.

“I think that’s really important to show leadership to the younger players, especially the freshmen coming in, because that shows them it’s possible to score that many goals in a game or succeed like I’ve succeeded in the past couple of games,” Green said.

“My strengths out on the field are my skills and my ability to know where to play the ball before I even get the ball. I think both these things have really helped the team and hopefully will help the team going forward,” Green continued.

What makes her senior year even more special is the fact she gets to play alongside her sister Claudia one more time. The two played together at South Williamsport for a season, but Bella never thought the two would play together on the pitch again. After all, Claudia was a solid basketball star, which is what Bella figured she’d play in college.

So to play one last time has been nice for Bella, even if Claudia told her sister that Bella had to mention her for this column.

“It’s definitely really cool to have her playing by my side and she’s actually taught me to be more of a leader,” Green said. “She’s one of the strongest and she has so much leadership qualities to her that I kind of learn off of her and she learns off of my knowledge of the game and so we kind of bounce back off each other.”

THE 700 CLUB

It wasn’t too long ago when St. John Neumann’s Addy Matz and North Penn-Mansfield’s Alaina McKee were having quite the competition in terms of saves and a career stops.

That was in 2017, where McKee ended with just more than 1,000 for her career and Matz ended with 918.

Who would have thought just five years later, Mansfield would have another goalie making a remarkable run in the career saves column.

Last week, North Penn-Mansfield’s Tierney Patterson recorded 21 saves against Northeast Bradford. It put her at 720 for her career, surpassing the 700 milestone.

“It is a great milestone for her. She is a very disciplined athlete during the season as well as the off season,” North Penn-Mansfield coach Maryann Wilcox said.

Patterson has been big for Mansfield the past four seasons, keeping Mansfield in games with her usual double-digit saves each game.

“Goal keepers in general have to be tough both physically and mentally. Tierney is one of the toughest kids that I have ever had the privilege to work with. She doesn’t make excuses when a mistake is made and soldiers on,” Wilcox said. “She sacrifices her body as goal keepers do and with every bruise she just grins and bares it without complaint. She is definitely a great role model for the team.”

Patterson, a senior, is someone players on Mansfield look up to and she’s taken on the leadership role in 2022.

“They definitely look up to Tierney. They voted her as one of their captains and they have much respect for her,” Wilcox said. “It takes a special kind of person to be a goal keeper and Tierney takes her role seriously.”

Who knows where Patterson will end up in terms of career saves, but she’s made her mark at Mansfield and, perhaps even more importantly, has made her impact felt in terms of being a leader and captain.

Another area goalie who helped reach a nice milestone for her career was Gracie Welshans, Jersey Shore’s goalkeeper. Welshans recorded 12 saves in a 5-0 loss to Milton which put her at 200 for her career.

STATEMENT MADE

Montoursville defeated Midd-West last week, 2-0, and made a big statement across the district by defeating one of the most consistently good soccer teams year in and year out.

“Midd-West didn’t give us a lot of opportunities, but our offense took advantage of what they were given to get the win,” Montoursville coach Bryan Pauling said. “Our offensive team continues to gel and step up to the challenge each night. We felt good about our team this season and the game results back that up.”

Those game results have Montoursville at 7-2-1. Those big wins against strong teams are only building Montoursville’s confidence as the season continues and we enter October.

And while the win against the Mustangs was impressive enough, add in the fact that goalie Mason Morrow stepped up and recorded 14 saves to preserve the win and the shutout.

“Mason Morrow is a player that we have been working with and coaching since way back to his club soccer days. He is bigger and faster this year and he came into this season ready to work. Throughout the season, he has prepared to step in and has worked hard every day to be ready,” Pauling said. “This week he had the opportunity to step in and he has taken advantage of it. His teammates have been so positive and so supportive, which has helped him feel confident and ready. He is now 3-0 as a starter and we expect that he will continue to be successful every time he steps on the field.”

COLLEGE NOTES

There’s a lot of area athletes playing and having success in the college ranks.

Former South Williamsport standout and 2019 Sun-Gazette Player of the Year runner-up Haley Neidig has started in all eight games so far this season for and has played in 707 minutes, the second-most on the Mountain Cats team. Neidig is also tied for most goals on the team with three, has an assist, and her seven points are second-most on the team.

Jaela House has started in every game as well this year for Saint Francis, playing in 690 minutes as a midfielder/defender.

At Lock Haven, the Pombor brothers — Kolachi, Tom and Jimmy — have all gotten experience in games as Tom and Jimmy have each started in six games and Kolachi has played in four.

“I have already played with Tom throughout high school and two seasons at Lock Haven so far, so to have all three of us on one team is something new for us, but I’m really looking forward to that experience,” Kolachi said over the summer.

Williamsport graduate Sam Hillman is also having success this year. He started all 18 games at Slippery Rock as a junior and as a senior, he’s started all seven games so far.

Jon Gerardi is the sports editor at the Sun-Gazette and covers high school soccer. Email comments to jgerardi@sungazette.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JonGerardi.

JON GERARDI’S TOP 5 RANKINGS

GIRLS SOCCER

1. MONTOURSVILLE (11-0): The Warriors are playing outstanding every game. The offense is putting up goals and the back line is doing what it does best and limiting goals against. Mount Carmel on Saturday was the first team to score a goal against Montoursville since Lewisburg on Sept. 15.

2. HUGHESVILLE (9-2): The Spartans are currently riding a four-game win streak having beaten Mifflinburg, Milton, Loyalsock and Towanda after a 6-0 loss to Central Columbia. Makenzi Leitenberger and Sophia Clark have combined for 16 goals and eight assists so far this year, forming a really tough 1-2 punch.

3. SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT (8-3): The Mounties have won four straight since an 8-1 loss against Central Columbia and, perhaps just as importantly, the Mounties are 8-0 in the Mid-Penn this year. South Williamsport has talent scattered throughout its roster, and it’s showing in every aspect on the field, from forwards and midfielders to the back line and goalie play.

4. WILLIAMSPORT (6-6): The Millionaires have been on a bit of a losing skid, having dropped three in a row to Shikellamy, Montoursville and Altoona. But Beckham Sibiski will have his team refocused entering Thursday’s game at Shamokin.

T-5. MILTON (5-3): The Black Panthers went 2-1 to move two games above .500. Milton fell to a really talented Southern Columbia team. Mackenzie Lopez has proven to be a solid weapon up top for Milton, as she leads the team so far with nine goals.

T-5. WARRIOR RUN (5-5): The Defenders schedule is tough moving forward with games against Southern Columbia (Tuesday), Milton (Thursday) and Central Columbia (Oct. 4). That’s a tough three-game span. One good thing though for Warrior Run is offensively, the Defenders have weapons to spread the ball around. Amara Bieber and Raygan Lust each have eight goals this year.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Piper Minier, South Williamsport

The senior Mountie accounted for four goals in a 10-0 rout over Sullivan County as she scored and dished out three assists. Minier then scored twice to help South Williamsport defeat Benton, 3-0, in a big Mid-Penn contest.

BOYS SOCCER

1. LEWISBURG (6-0-1): The Green Dragons may not be cruising in every game like some former Lewisburg teams have done, but Lewisburg is still a tough team this year. Henry Harrison has been playing well in goal, having recorded four shutouts so far this season and yielding just four goals through 520 minutes of action.

2. MONTOURSVILLE (7-2-1): The Warriors are close to clinching a District 4 playoff berth and are on pace to surpass last year’s win total. It was noted in my column, but the Warriors made a huge statement by shutting out Midd-West last week. That win will only give the Warriors a ton of confidence going forward.

3. WILLIAMSPORT (6-3): After a win earlier this year, coach Lee Kaar joked with me that the schedule never gets easier as it goes on. That’s evident with a tough game against Danville today just a few days after the Millionaires fell on the road at Altoona on Saturday.

4. JERSEY SHORE (5-2): Jersey Shore has games looming against Shamokin, Juniata, Selinsgrove and Central Mountain coming up. The Bulldog have a solid chance of getting through that stretch with just one loss. But as they say, you have to play the games first.

5. MILTON (7-3): The Black Panthers had a bit of a tough stretch in mid-September, having consecutive losses against Benton, Midd-West and Selinsgrove. Since then however? Four straight wins against Hughesville, Central Mountain, Williamsport and Danville to improve to 7-3.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Wyatt Fry, Montoursville and

Mason Morrow, Montoursville

Both players were absolutely outstanding in Montoursville’s 2-0 win against Midd-West this past week. Fry came up with two goals, including one on a penalty kick, to give the Warriors the win.

On the defensive side, Morrow recorded 14 saves to keep the blank sheet in tact against the Mustangs, who out-shot Montoursville 14-2.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

COMMENTS

[vivafbcomment]

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today