HS Girls’ Soccer: Waschko’s goal lifts Blue Mountain to 3rd straight league crown
The Blue Mountain girls' soccer team poses with the Schuylkill League championship trophy after defeating Schuylkill Haven 2-1 in Thursday's league final at Rotary Field (Photo by Leroy Boyer).
SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — Lexi Waschko was in the right place at the right time for Blue Mountain.
The sophomore booted in a rebound for the game-winning goal in the 67th minute as the Eagles captured their third straight Schuylkill League girls’ soccer championship with a 2-1 victory over Schuylkill Haven on Thursday evening at Rotary Field.
Waschko’s goal came after Addie Warke advanced the ball up the left side and put a solid shot on goal that Schuylkill Haven goalie Allyson Becker stopped but couldn’t contain.
The ball trickled right out to Waschko, who ripped it into the wide-open net.
“Normally we don’t really pressure too well after a shot,” Waschko said, her Schuylkill League gold medal draped around her neck. “But today it found my foot at the right time and it gave us a goal.”
Waschko’s goal capped a dominating second half for Blue Mountain after Schuylkill Haven controlled the first half and took a 1-0 lead into intermission.
The Division II champion Hurricanes (14-5-1) compiled nine shots on goal in the opening 40 minutes, with Taylor Haag’s goal at 34:53 off an assist by Kylie Siket giving Haven a 1-0 lead.
The Hurricanes nearly made it 2-0 in the final seconds of the half when a blast by Haag clanged off the post and Blue Mountain keeper Karley Koch stopped a shot on the rebound.
“At halftime we talked about Schuylkill Haven’s flaws and we weren’t winning 50-50 balls,” Waschko said. “We were just standing there.
“We got more hyped after the half. We passed on the ground because the wind was blowing toward Haven’s goal. We knew if we played it on the ground to feet we would do better.”
The dominance of each team coincided with a steady wind that blew from the playground side to the school side of Rotary Field. Schuylkill Haven had the wind at its back in the first half … Blue Mountain had it in the second half.
Blue Mountain (17-3) coupled that advantage with an aggressive attack. The Eagles controlled possession for most of the half, peppering Haven keeper Allyson Becker with nine second-half shots.
Hailey Scheuer tied the game with a goal after a scramble in front at 46:15. The game remained tied until Waschko put Blue Mountain ahead for good.
“I think it was just them needing to wake up, them needing to play their game,” Blue Mountain coach Matt Kenitzer said. “We just came out slow in the beginning … whatever it was, it got us out of our rhythm, out of our groove. Energy, work ethic, all of that was lacking, everywhere.
“It was them coming to the reality that you have 40 minutes, what are you going to do? I’m glad they woke up.”
Another key to Blue Mountain’s second-half success was a more focused defensive effort on Haven’s top two scorers, Haag and Siket.
Audrey Hutchinson nearly put the Hurricanes ahead with a hard shot at 61:50 but Haven was unable to mount any extended attack on Koch.
“They have some good strong players,” Kenitzer said. “One thing I stressed at halftime was that we needed to be first to win it. We need to have strong tackles, be strong and get possessions.
“The defense stepped up, middle stepped up, to just progress and get control of the game to where we could do what we wanted to do.”
Both teams will continue in the District 11 playoffs. Blue Mountain will be the top seed in Class 3A while Schuylkill Haven is No. 2 behind Minersville in the Class A playoffs and will face No. 3 Moravian Academy in the semifinals.
Kenitzer said his team’s growth during the season has been fun to watch. The Eagles’ only losses this season were non-league road games at Muhlenberg, Conrad Weiser and ELCO.
Schuylkill Haven’s goal was the first the Blue Mountain defense had allowed since Oct. 1.
“I’m proud of these girls,” Kenitzer said. “It’s amazing to just see them progress every year and to see how they just keep going, keep fighting and keep the quality up and building on that. I’m so, so proud of them.
“Coming back from a goal down … they did not quit. They deserve it. They did a great, great job.”
Match Summary
Schuylkill League Girls’ Soccer Championship
At Rotary Field, Schuylkill Haven
Sch. Haven (14-5-1) 1 0 — 1
Blue Mtn. (17-3) 0 2 — 2
SH — Haag (Siket), 34:53
BM — Scheuer, 46:15
BM — Waschko, 67:00
Shots on goal: Schuylkill Haven 12, Blue Mountain 12
Corner kicks: Schuylkill Haven 6, Blue Mountain 1
Saves: Schuylkill Haven (Becker) 10, Blue Mountain (Karley Koch) 10
