The Mounties got a throw in with less than 10 seconds to play and were hoping for a buzzer-beating goal, but by the time the ball got to the feet of senior Ella Moore outside of the 18, the horn at Milton’s Alumni Stadium went off.

Just like that, South Williamsport’s great season and title hopes came to a tough end.

There were many tears on the field as a handful of players consoled one another, and even more after the team left the field as South coach Marc Lovecchio addressed the team for the final time. South Williamsport’s hopes of winning a fourth consecutive District 4 Class A championship were erased by Southern Columbia as the top-seeded Tigers beat the Mounties, 1-0, on Tuesday evening to advance.

The win moves Southern to Saturday’s District 4 Class A championship game against Muncy, 2-1 winners over Line Mountain.

Ivy Minier (2) of South Williamsport watches as Rosie Martino of Southern Columbia dives for the shot by Minier at Milton High School. Southern won 1-0. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

“Very tough way (to end the year). I thought we played our hearts out. I thought we played very well,” South Williamsport coach Marc Lovecchio said. “I thought we had opportunities and I thought we controlled a lot of the play. We played very hard physically, we matched their physicality and their speed. An unlucky break, I mean that happens in soccer.”

Southern Columbia’s goal came with 28 minutes, 28 seconds to play in the second half. The Tigers had the ball inside of the 18 and were in front of the 6-yard box. The ball stayed in play as the Mounties attempted to clear it, but instead it bounced off of Bella Snyder, who used her body to hit it in for the goal.

Once the Tigers took the lead, Southern Columbia played more defensive to prevent a momentum-shifting game-tying goal from South Williamsport.

“I just saw their defender was slow to clearing the ball, so I just decided to charge at her. Thankfully when she went to clear it, it deflected right off my butt and into the goal,” Snyder said. “Once I got that goal, I knew it was time to play defense. We had very few shots, so once we got that it was time to lock in and lock down on our defense.”

Both teams ended with four shots apiece as looks at the goal were few and far between as both back lines were playing great from start to finish. 

Ella Moore of South Williamsport centers the ball to team mates as she plays Southern Columbia at Milton High School. Southern won 1-0. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

South Williamsport pressured well throughout the final 20 minutes of the game, but weren’t able to get a goal to fall.

With 1:46 to play, the Mounties’ best chance came when senior Ella Moore got the ball 40 yards out and tried feeding a throughball to teammate Coco Kline, but the pass had just a little too much on it and Kline wasn’t able to track it down for a shot. Rather, Southern keeper Rosie Martino grabbed it, preventing a shot attempt.

That would be South Williamsport’s best chance in the final few minutes to score.

Martino also took away South Williamsport’s chances off corner kicks. The Mounties had four corners throughout the game, and each time Martino came out from between the posts and grabbed it at its high point to prevent a Mountie shot attempt from inside of 10 yards.

“We had so many opportunities I have to give a lot of credit to their goalie,” Lovecchio said. “Their goalie made some nice saves. … She played very well.”

Ella Moore of South Williamsport walks off the field after getting a yellow card as she plays Southern Columbia at Milton High School. Southern won 1-0. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

The Mounties had a chance to put in a goal six minutes into the game. South Williamsport found itself in the Tigers’ end of the field and had a loose ball near the 6-yard box. The Mounties had two quick shots in succession right near the goal, but Martino had a solid block before a Southern defender got in the way of a lane and prevented a ball from going in.

In the second half, the Tigers came out more aggressive and had the ball in South’s end more frequently and had a few attempts before the go-ahead goal. That includes 10 minutes in when the Tigers had the ball right outside the 6-yard box, but Althea Street grabbed it before a shot by the Tigers could occur.

“There are ebbs and flows to every game and we expected that. They did catch us on our heels a little bit, but I thought we withstood the first 10 minutes,” Lovecchio said. “We were playing more defense than they particularly wanted to and we came back, but it was just an unlucky goal.”

Moore had a header attempt with 23:55 to play rom 10 yards out off a free kick, but Martino was able to block it. That would be South Williamsport’s lone shot on goal in the second half as a handful of attempts went just wide to the left or right.

In total, the Mounties fired eight shots, but only four were on frame, and had one shot on goal out of five attempts in the final 40 minutes.

Ayla Minier of South Williamsport takes a shot that’s blocked by Kennadie Reamer of Southern Columbia at Milton High School. Southern won 1-0. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

“We knew that they were a good team and they weren’t just going t roll over. They had a good player in the back that we knew we needed to be aware of and shut down,” Snyder said. “We needed to come out with effort and aggressiveness and just shut their play down.”

The Tigers had two solid chances to score within the first seven minutes of the second half. First, with 34:21 to play, the Tigers’ Alyssa Conner fired a low shot from outside the 18 that Street saved. Almost exactly a minute later, the Tigers’ Kennadie Reamer got inside of the 18 and took a shot to the far-right post, but had it sail just wide off the mark.

With how the two teams battled in the first half, it seemed that whoever scored would end up winning in a low-scoring affair, and that’s precisely how the game turned out with Snyder’s goal being the only one.

“We knew we were up 1-0 and at that point all we had to do was defend,” Snyder said. “We put everyone behind the ball and everyone went all out defending.”

Southern Columbia 1, South Williamsport 0

Coco Kline of South Williamsport passes the ball into the center of the field as they play Southern Columbia at Milton High School. Southern won 1-0. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

(DISTRICT 4 CLASS A SEMIFINALS)

SC–Bella Snyder, 28:28.

Shots: SW 4, SC 4. Corners: SW 4, SC 3. Saves: SW 3 (Althea Street), SC 3 (Rosie Martino).

Records: South Williamsport 912-5-3), Southern Columbia (17-3).

Kloey Persun of South Williamsport falls to the ground after making contact with Kennadie Reamer of Southern Columbia at Milton High School. Southern won 1-0. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Coco Kline of South Williamsport and Kennadie Reamer Southern Columbia collide at Milton High School. Southern won 1-0. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Coco Kline of South Williamsport and Harper Thompson of Southern Columbia collide as they both go for a ball in the air at Milton High School. Southern won 1-0. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Ivy Minier (2) of South Williamsport lines up a shot as Rosie Martino of Southern Columbia dives to make the block at Milton High School. Southern won 1-0. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette