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Moore goal helps Mounties scrape by East Juniata, advance to fourth straight District 4 Class A final

By HENRY HUBER 6 min read

BLOOMSBURG - Facing a stout East Juniata defense that had allowed just two goals in its previous six games, the top-seeded Mounties had their hands full, struggling to find the back of the net through much of their District 4 Class A semifinal matchup on Tuesday.

Numerous strong scoring opportunities fell short, thwarted by the heroics of goalkeeper Landyn Cramer, as the prospect of their game seeing overtime picked up steam. But as it approached the midway point of the second half, those opportunities just kept on coming.

With just over 20 minutes left in regulation, South Williamsport junior Ella Moore got the ball at top of the box, using grace and agility to expertly navigate her way through a wall of East Juniata defenders. She'd find the shot she wanted, firing it to the right of Cramer and scraping it off her hands to grant South that coveted goal.

The Mounties would hold firm from there, finishing the shutout and going on to defeat the up-and-coming Tigers, 1-0. With Moore's goal, the team secured its spot in the district title game for the fourth straight time, where it'll look to make it three straight titles on Thursday.

"The whole game, we worked. We had so many opportunities," said Moore on their efforts. "So that one really just came in clutch and we worked hard up to that point to get there."

"It was huge," emphasized South head coach Marc Lovecchio when asked about Moore's shot. "But there was still 20 minutes to go, so we switched things around defensively. I think our defense was smart, knocked the ball out and did what they needed to do."

Whether South drew East Juniata or Southern Columbia following its quarterfinal win, Lovecchio anticipated a battle, and the team got exactly that.

Though the Mounties dominated the shot discrepancy 27-6, the Tigers had multiple chances to take the initial lead and were just the third team to hold the Mounties to less than two goals this season. Lovecchio was quick to give East Juniata credit following the win.

"They were very skilled; they passed the ball around well, their defense was so solid and their goalkeeper (Cramer) was absolutely amazing," said Lovecchio on East Juniata. "It was an amazing game, a battle of epic proportions."

Prior to Moore's game-winner, the Mounties had landed nine shots on goal, four of which were taken by Moore. Time and time again, they seemed primed to take a lead and time and time again, Cramer was there to prevent it.

In the first half, Moore received a great pass in the box from Coco Kline and fired a well-placed ball towards the left side of the net. But Cramer made the correct, knee-jerk decision, diving to the left to secure her first save.

She'd go on to make six saves by the end of the period, capping it with one of her best saves of the night. Despite South's Olivia Loudenslager putting a seemingly out-of-reach ball on a path towards top-center, Cramer shot up and got a mitt on it, making an improbable play look easy.

"She does a tremendous job back there," said East Juniata head coach Valeria Dressler on Cramer. "She had some incredible saves, but our entire defense did a tremendous job as well. When you can stop a 100-goal scorer for 60 minutes, it takes the entire defense to do that. I'm just so proud of everybody."

From there, Cramer would secure three more saves before finally giving way, thwarting a heroic effort from Moore before succumbing to the next just a few minutes later. On the day, she totaled ten saves.

While South's many efforts to set up great shots were in vain, the players understood the challenge East Juniata's defense posed and weren't deterred by their lack of scores. Moore finished with four shots on goal, Abby Akers and Addy Morrison each had two and the team as a whole had 11, while also seeing multiple close missed shots. It took a tremendous effort, but that effort ultimately paid off.

"Their defense was great. Our shots weren't falling, and their goalie was good," said Moore. "We knew we had to pick low corners but couldn't find them today. But that's okay because we found it anyway. So that's what matters."

For East Juniata, it closes out the season with a 13-7-1 record. Though the loss was tough, the team showed tremendous progress throughout the season and ultimately reached the district semifinals for the first time since 2020. Dressler was proud of what he saw on the field Tuesday night and expressed excitement when discussing next season.

"Something happened and we really started clicking midway through the season. I just hope the seniors can take tremendous memories away from this and that the underclassmen can use this as motivation to work on what they need to work on," said Dressler.

"I want to thank all the seniors that graduated in the last four years that kept this program going because without them, we wouldn't have a program. They're just as important to this as everybody else."

For South, it clinches its fourth straight states appearance alongside its title appearances and will look to earn its third straight district title on Thursday against Muncy.

"That's going to be a great game," said Moore on the matchup. "It's going to be a good, friendly matchup and will definitely be competitive. We're hoping to come out with the gold for the third time."

"At the beginning of the year when I talked to Jon (Gerardi), he asked me who I thought had the best chance of getting to districts and I said Muncy," said Lovecchio. "So, it doesn't surprise me that Muncy and us are in the final. It's going to be a battle."

South Williamsport 1, East Juniata 0

SW - Ella Moore, 20:40.

Shots: EJ 6, SW 27. Shots on goal: EJ 3, SW 11. Corners: EJ 2, SW 4. Saves: EJ 10 (Landyn Cramer); SW 3 (Althea Street).

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