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Ella Moore scores 50th career goal as South Williamsport routs Montgomery

By HENRY HUBER 4 min read

MONTGOMERY — Sophomore forward Ella Moore went into Tuesday's matchup against Montgomery needing just three goals to become the third South Williamsport girls player to reach 50 career goals in the last three years. Though the Red Raiders would not make it easy for her, or the team in general, to score early, South Williamsport's offensive pressure would eventually prove to be too much to handle.

The sure hands of Montgomery goalkeeper Addison Muhl - which attributed 13 saves in the first period - were outmatched, then overwhelmed in the second. She surrendered eight goals in a matter of 23 minutes, as South Williamsport took the victory on the road, 8-0.

It was a frustrating bout for the Mountaineers early, with 23 attempted shots falling short in the first half, both due to sound defense from the Red Raiders and their own mistakes. South Williamsport coach Marc Lovecchio spoke with them at the break and was able to get them under control.

"I told them to just relax and play smarter, make nice passes instead of just kicking the ball," said Lovecchio. "I think what was happening is that they (Montgomery) were playing very strong and aggressive, and they built on that emotion. We were getting caught up in it and just had to focus more on what we needed to do."

On their way to an 8-0 win, Moore and fellow Mountaineer Olivia Loudenslager each put up hat tricks, with Loudenslager getting the ball rolling for South Williamsport. Less than three minutes into the period, Moore had a great shot bounce off Muhl's hands before Loudenslager finished the job with a perfectly fielded rebound. The hat trick gave Moore the milestone.

They, along with junior midfielder Abby Akers, would fuel many of the team's second-period attacks from there, whether as the scorer on the play or as one of the players that set it up. Before they knew it, the game had gone from neck-and-neck to out of hand, as they became an unstoppable force.

"We tend to have rough starts. We're really a second-half team," said Ella Moore on the team's performance. “Me and my best friend and neighbor, Olivia (Loudenslager), we really work well together. And our friends Abby (Akers) and Addy (Morrison), we all just really mesh well together and get everyone else included in it."

Moore's first goal would come less than six minutes after Loudenslager's, with Akers setting her up well and Moore delivering a shot just outside of Muhl's grasp to the right.

Five minutes later, at the 26:11 mark of the second half, Moore converted a rebound into her team's fourth goal in 11 minutes. She was happy with the accomplishment of 50 career goals, but emphasized that doing what's best for the team has always been more important, including on Tuesday.

"It's always a team effort and I'm never looking to just score all by myself. I'm more of an assister," said Moore. "It's a great accomplishment and I can't thank my team enough and my coaching staff. It's great to be a part of the other people that have scored 50 goals at South Williamsport."

With her high school career being less than halfway complete, it'll be interesting to see what she's able to accomplish in the long run. To be celebrating 50 goals this early is certainly commendable, and she's excited to have so many people celebrating it with her.

"I’m just excited to go celebrate with my family and my sister will be home Thursday, so we can celebrate at our home game against Benton," said Moore. "I'll get to celebrate with all my team and friends too."

South Williamsport improves to a respectable 4-6 on the season, with Lovecchio proud of what his team was able to accomplish despite its shortcomings early. He hopes the team continues to show progress and that it's able to find a way to be more effective early on offense.

"I was really happy with the second period. They started playing together and passing the ball around," said Lovecchio. "It's cliché, but we're just trying to improve every day. We're young and inexperienced. So, what we have to do is just improve on the little things. Just keep improving, keep chugging away."

South Williamsport 8, Montgomery 0

SW-Olivia Loudenslager, 37:05. SW-Ella Moore (Abby Akers), 31:16. SW-Abby Akers, 28:40. SW-Naomi Pfirman (Olivia Loudenslager), 24:34. SW-Olivia Loudenslager, 24:05. SW-Olivia Loudenslager, 20:04. SW-Ella Moore (Abby Akers), 14:08.

Shots: SW 45, M 10. Corners: SW 5, M 3. Saves: SW 7 (Althea Street), M 23 (Addison Muhl).

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