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Hughesville girls fall to Line Mountain in District 4 Class A final

By Jon Gerardi 6 min read

DANVILLE -- Hughesville went into the half down by a goal and knew coming out of halftime that an early second-half goal would be huge to help shift momentum. And to Hughesville's credit, they were aggressive those first few minutes in the second half.

But one counter was all it took for Line Mountain to break through again.

A cleared ball in Hughesville's end turned into a lengthy pass to Emily Shingara. And Shingara took her chance and buried a shot to give Line Mountain a huge two-goal lead.

It wasn't a dagger, but it was a hole that Hughesville struggled to claw out of as Line Mountain, ranked in the top 10 in the state, won the program's first District 4 Class A title, 2-0, over Hughesville, denying the Spartans their first title.

Both teams advance to Tuesday's state playoffs in Class A, which begin on Tuesday afternoon.

"Honestly, there wasn't any specific game plan. We knew they had some speed right up top in Shingara, and we knew they played in the middle of the park a little bit," Hughesville coach Cody Hack said. "But we felt the way we've been playing the last couple of games that we were poised and ready for it. Unfortunately, our game did not show up tonight and I think all the girls would attest to that."

Shingara's goal was huge for Line Mountain to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead and put the Spartans in a tough spot to rally against a state-ranked team.

"One goal is great, it sets the tempo. The second goal gives you a little bit of breathing room. We'd have loved a third goal, that third goal's a nail in the coffin typically, but getting that first goal early builds momentum," Line Mountain coach Dylan Tomlinson said. "It makes you believe you're going to win the game. They just fought hard all game long. It doesn't just take talent, you got to fight in games like this."

Hughesville didn't give up and kept fighting later on throughout the game trying to put in a goal. Line Mountain did a superb job defending against Hughesville and not letting talented playmakers like Kat Temple, Sierra DeWire, Tori Morgan or Regan Sellers -- among others --strike.

"We still had opportunities and that's all we can ask for," Hack said. "Especially when the game is not going your way, maybe a deflection here or a header there. Put it in the back of the net and maybe the game changes a little bit, but unfortunately tonight the game didn't go that way."

"Everybody we have on the team top to bottom can play soccer," Tomlinson noted. "We don't have to cover up any holes; we've got playmakers everywhere."

Hughesville had one of its best chances to put in a goal with 19:30 to play. Jaysa Kiess got a breakaway and got to 20 yards out, but Line Mountain's defense did a great job on a slide tackle to prevent a shot on a 1-v-1 opportunity with Eagles' keeper Addy Nelson.

With 17:50 to play, Hughesville got a loose ball inside of the 6-yard box, but Line Mountain's defense swarmed and prevented the Spartans from shooting the ball at close range and it was eventually cleared out.

"Honestly, we just couldn't put them in today," Temple said. "I wouldn't say unlucky, but we just couldn't get the ball to the net."

Line Mountain went ahead early in the first half. Cora Moyer sent in a great corner into the 18, which Mady Grindstaff connected with on a shot to the right as she used her body to send it in and the Eagles went up 1-0 with 34:54 to play until halftime.

Both defenses limited their opposition as Line Mountain held a 6-4 edge in shots on goal. Of Hughesville's four shots, three came in the second half as Hughesville was doing everything it could to try to get a goal in to spark its offense.

"Honestly, other than the two goals, their chances weren't very dangerous. And I'm not taking anything away from them because they were working just as hard," Hack said. "But again, on the other side of the field, we gotta make sure we put our opportunities in. But they did that better than us tonight."

In the first half, the Spartans struggled putting shots on frame. Other than Kiess' attempt, Hughesville's other two first-half shots off free kicks were off target, sailing just wide to the left.

It was just a night where the Spartans couldn't get the shots to fall in their favor.

"Hughesville's no joke, they're a great program," Tomlinson said. "We knew coming into this season between Hughesville, Bloomsburg, those teams bumping down from AA, it was going to be a gauntlet to get to this point. I could not be more proud of them. Shutouts every game to get to this point."

With 2:59 to play, Hughesville got a loose ball near the 18 and the Spartans' Leah Lehman fired a shot from just outside the box that was deflected off a Line Mountain defender. The ball rolled back to Lehman, who tried passing near the 6-yard box to a teammate, but it ended up going out of bounds and no ensuing attempt was fired.

Hughesville had a chance with 1:25 left to break up the shutout, but the shot by Kendall Hamm form 20 yards out, while a nice shot, was blocked by Nelson to preserve the shutout and seal Line Mountain's gold medal.

"It's just a weight off your shoulders. This team, this group of seniors, has changed the face of Line Mountain soccer. When they stepped on as a freshman, it instantly changed Line Mountain soccer. Instantly went to districts, league championship, 17-win season. We knew this was what the end-goal was," Tomlinson said with his gold medal around his neck and his players filming a celebration for social media behind him. "We had a lot of misfortunes and things not working our way in previous years and there was a lot of pressure this year, because for this group it was the last year. They prepared in the offseason, it was great stuff. All offseason long, this team works in the weight room, speed training, all the summer camps, all the summer leagues. They do it all and it shows out here."

Line Mountain 2, Hughesville 0

(DISTRICT 4 CLASS A CHAMPIONSHIP)

LM--Mady Grindstaff (Cora Moyer corner), 34:54. LM--Emily Shingara, 37:52.

Shots: H 4, LM 6. Corners: H 7, LM 2. Saves: H 5 (Kalia Hack), LM 3 (Addy Nelson).

Records: Hughesville (12-8-2), Line Mountain (20-2).

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