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Kline’s second-half goal sparks Mounties in 3-1 win vs. Wyalusing in districts

By Jon Gerardi 6 min read

As she was inside of the 18-yard box in the second half, South Williamsport's Coco Kline pushed up near the 6-yard box and noticed a small gap on the right side of the goal.

Then she noticed the goalie was moved over a bit.

So Kline did what any other good soccer player does and instantly took advantage, rifling in a shot.

Kline had a small window to put the ball in with defenders nearby and gave South Williamsport a two-goal lead and a lot of momentum.

The goal helped South get some breathing room en route to a 3-1 win on Tuesday at Balls Mills in the opening round of the District 4 Class A playoffs.

"It was crazy. I turned, saw a little gap right on the side of the goal and saw the goalie was over and no defender was on me," Kline said. "I just took the shot and it was just so exciting. It was a big thing to get our momentum going more."

Kline's shot was a perfectly-placed shot near the left post for a 2-0 lead and the Mounties got a second-half spark from there. The goal came with 27:16 remaining until halftime.

"The goal gave us a little bit of confidence, but I still wasn't too happy with the way we played in the first half," South Williamsport coach Marc Lovecchio said. "I'm very happy with the way we played in the second half."

The Mounties were aggressive in both halves, but led just 1-0 going into the break despite a 9-2 edge in shots on goal and 11-2 in total shots through those first 40 minutes. The first goal came when Italia Mangiardi sent a great cross right before the ball went out of bounds in front of the goal. The ball rolled to the far-right post and Sofia Santori was in the right place to tap in the goal in front of an open net to lead 1-0 with 18:57 until the break.

"It was honestly amazing. We've been talking all season again about our subs coming in and bringing the energy. We're kind of an older team, but we have a lot of freshmen and we don't sub a lot just because they're not as experienced," Cline said. "So, them coming in and doing that really just shows they stepped up and it was really amazing for them. I had that feeling as a freshman before and it's so exciting, so I'm so happy for them."

Lovecchio was glad to see the Mounties strike first and take a lead into the break instead of going scoreless to halftime.

"It helped us. We didn't play very well in the first half. They were beating us to a lot of balls. They're an unorthodox team. They get their foot on the ball all the time, they get their head on the ball and it's not necessarily where you think it's going to go," Lovecchio said. "Even the way they cut the ball back a lot, they're an unorthodox team and it's tough to play against them."

With 16:21 remaining in the second half, the Mounties struck again to make it a 3-0 lead. Mangiardi scored off an assist by Kloey Persun and the Mounties took a huge lead into the final stretch of the second half.

"We won a lot more 50/50 balls, we made some beautiful passes (in the second half). I thought we were hitting into space or feet, depending where it needed to go," Lovecchio said. "I think the second goal really helped us and the third goal was the icing on the cake. I wasn't too happy we gave up that goal, but she had a nice shot."

Wyalusing avoided being shut out with 12:31 to play when Greta Bohn placed a great shot near the left upper 90 out of the reach of Annika Harding for a 3-1 deficit. The Mounties had a near goal just a minute prior on a shot 25 yards out that went just over the crossbar.

But the Mounties' back line and Harding played well in the final 12 minutes to avoid a late rally attempt by the Rams. Wyalusing ended the game with five shots on goal, but only two -- one of which was Bohn's goal -- came from inside of the 18 as the Mounties didn't allow easy looks.

"So all season we really been working on blocking, especially in the 18 because that's usually our struggle," Kline said. "We've been working at practice almost every day at blocking, using any part of your body to block the ball."

South Williamsport ended Tuesday's game by rifling 20 total shots, 16 of which were on frame. While the Mounties did score three goals, the Rams' Sierra Gromley came up with 12 saves to prevent the Mounties from running away with the game.

Four minutes into the second half, the Mounties had a chance to score when Carly Quimby tried firing from 16 yards out towards the right side of the goal, only to see a high attempt narrowly go high.

In the first half, Kline got inside of the 18 and tried to fire a shot to the right side of the goal with 23:11 left, but the shot got blocked. Three minutes later, Kloey Persun had a shot 30 yards out that went low and got blocked.

The Mounties now prepare to face top-seeded Line Mountain, a 17-win team that's ranked in the top-10 in the state in Class A. And South Williamsport knows it'll be a tough battle.

"Play our best game ever," Lovecchio said with a laugh when asked for the key against the Eagles. "I mean, they're a great team and we're just going to have to play hard-nosed, disciplined, committed defense and try to take advantage of our opportunities when we get them. If we get them."

South Williamsport hasn't suffered a loss since Sept. 21 and has played great in the second-half of the season, especially from a defensive perspective. And Kline feels that gives the team some momentum and confidence.

"I think we're pretty confident. The whole season we've kind of out-ran the other teams," Kline said. "I think our athletic running is above the other teams, so they get tired and they sub but we're used to being on. It kind of gives us an up because they bring their subs in and that's when we try to take advantage."

South Williamsport 3, Wyalusing 1

SW--Sofia Sartori (Italia Mangiardi), 18:57. SW--Coco Kline, 27:16. SW--Mangiardi (Kloey Persun), 16:21. W--Greta Bohn, 12:31.

Shots: W 5, SW 16. Corners: W 0, SW 4. Saves: W 12 (Sierra Gromley), SW 4 (Annika Harding).

Records: Wyalusing (10-7-2), South Williamsport (9-4-6).

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