Bellefonte girls lacrosse clinches first state bid, defeats Cathedral Prep in PIAA sub-regional
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LEWISTOWN – Taking their game to new heights, the Bellefonte girls lacrosse team punched their ticket to the Big Dance Thursday as they captured the D6/D10 regional playoff game. Defense wins championships and it was the "D" that dominated in the team's 9-5 win over Cathedral Prep.
"That’s been our stronghold all year, the defense. I asked the girls to play within themselves, keep us in it and they did it the first half," said Bellefonte coach Kerry O'Hara. "Got a little nervous, we came out in the third quarter and gave up two quick goals. But our girls shut them down, and we scored seven ourselves then after that."
But I would agree the 100-percent. Our defense won this tonight for us. Nothing against our offense,” he added.
With the victory, the Lady Raiders are making their first appearance at states program team history.
“This is our first trip to states, and the second-time winning a postseason game," said O'Hara. "So, this is a great opportunity for our team to see what we can do. I realize the next level is a whole new game, but you’ve got to be in it to get the experience, and that’s what we’re all about."
Leading the tough defensive play was Bellefonte goalie Ava Hill. Hill put up 11 saves in the game. The counterpart in the visitor’s goal, Sophia Montoya, finished her day with four.
In the first quarter, the Bellefonte defense tossed a zero goals scored for the Ramblers. Its offense was able to take an early lead as the two teams went into the second quarter.
In its first possession of the game, Lila Dawson – who finished her day with a hat trick – took the ball down field, looking for a breakaway goal, but it was stopped by the Prep backline. However, minutes later, the Red Raiders opened the scoring.
Zoe Wilson led the charge all evening as she handled the ball with precision and was able to hit numerous passes to her teammates. Wilson launched a pass to Dawson at the 9:35 mark as Dawson found nothing but net.
At the eight-minute mark, the Raiders scored goal No. 2 thanks to a blast by Aubry Bernard. Bellefonte's and Cathedral Prep's defense clamped down immediately keeping their opponents off the board, and Bellefonte held a 2-0 advantage going into the intermission.
Coming out of the intermission, the Ramblers made it a tie game quickly.
Kendall Krae scored Cathedral Prep’s first goal off an assist from Brooke Powers to cut the deficit to 2-1 with just under 11 minutes left in the third. Seconds later, Powers connected with Lilly Blake to knot the game at 2-2.
But the sign of a great team is how a squad reacts to adversity. Bellefonte not only responded but rolled out seven consecutive goals to to take back and extend its lead to 9-2.
Starting the scoring was Taylor Badger who scored just seconds after the Ramblers last goal. Aubrey Bernard added a goal at 7:20 , putting her team back into the lead at 3-2.
When the dust settled ending the third, Bellefonte had rolled up a very secure 9-2 lead. The Ramblers added a late 19-second goal to cut into the lead, but the night belonged to Bellefonte as its defense continued to frustrate the Ramblers, carrying forward the 9-5 win.