D-11 Soccer: North Schuylkill girls, Pottsville boys fall in District 11 openers
Soccer
PALMERTON — When something keeps working, keep doing it until it stops working.
That was Palmerton’s strategy against North Schuylkill in Monday night’s District 11 Class AA first-round girls’ soccer matchup. The Bombers used lead passes to speedy strikers driving past the Spartans defense, resulting in a first-half scoring outburst that led to a 7-0 victory.
Originally thought to have been the top eight seeds in Class AA, it was learned Thursday that North Schuylkill had qualified for districts based on its Schuylkill League record (5-5-2). Even head coach Clint Warner did not find out about the Spartans’ postseason berth until after his team had already put a book-ending on the season.
“We didn’t think we made districts, but when we found out we made districts, we got spooled back up to play,” he said. “The score isn’t what we wanted, but ultimately it’s another successful season for the Lady Spartans … second time qualifying for districts in history.”
Palmerton (8-9) was also preparing to travel to Northwestern Lehigh for its quarterfinal matchup Wednesday but ultimately got the opportunity to have one more home game to begin playoffs.
“I definitely think that it was nice to have another home game,” Bombers’ junior Aubrey Frable said. “Being able to play with them one last time on our home turf was definitely special. I’m grateful for the opportunity and I think that it was great coming into the first round of playoffs with confidence.”
It didn’t talk long for the Bombers to get on the board, as just over four minutes into the contest, Frable dribbled downfield and set up freshman Avery Barry for a backdoor tap-in.
The strategy for Palmerton became apparent — send through balls between NS defenders to open space where forwards can catch up with speed and generate scoring chances. Not only did it work again, but it kept working, resulting in another five Bomber goals in the first half, including four in less than seven minutes.
Frable and Barry became the beneficiaries from this strategy, as Frable tallied two of these goals, while Barry added another three to cap off a four-goal night plus an assist.
“I kept getting those through balls, which was really good,” Barry said. “I think it’s just something we noticed as the game progressed. We have really quick forwards. I know Aubrey (Frable) and I are both really fast, so those threw balls just work a lot of the time. We like to use those to our advantage.”
The second half for Palmerton was all about ball management and defense to close out the game along with freshman Harper Lake adding a late one to put the cherry on top of a dominant performance.
“I think the performance today matched exactly what we had gone over the last few days when we found out that we had to play today,” Bombers’ head coach Jon Perloni said. “Obviously we were expecting to have a little bit more time before the game on Wednesday, but sometimes you just have to do what you have to do. I think that myself and my assistants prepared them well and I think the girls responded to the preparations going into today’s game.”
For the Spartans (5-12-2), Coach Warner had high praise for what his team managed to accomplish in spite of adversity and what the future of the program holds.
“In the case of our team, we had within the first two weeks, two of my starters out. By the end of the season, I had five,” Warner said. “The really cool thing about the season is I had girls who maybe wouldn’t have gotten a lot of varsity time had we not had injuries. They got an opportunity to play and they stepped up.
“I think the talent in the group and the resiliency despite the injuries (stood out). It’s easy to just hang up the boots and call the season done when things get tough, but they did not. We’re young, freshmen, sophomores and a junior, two seniors graduating. So they still have a lot of good years ahead of them.”
Match Summary
Palmerton 7, North Schuylkill 0
District 11 Class AA First Round
North Sch. (5-12-2) 0 0 – 0
Palmerton (8-9) 6 1 – 7
Scoring Summary
1st Half
P — Barry goal, Frable assist (35:44)
P — Frable goal, Buck assist (22:10)
P — Barry goal, unassisted (14:02)
P — Barry goal, unassisted (10:31)
P — Frable goal, Barry assist (9:50)
P — Barry goal, Fritz assist (7:23)
2nd Half
P — Lake goal, Borger assist (1:02)
Shots: North Schuylkill 8, Palmerton 27
Corners: North Schuylkill 2, Palmerton 1
Saves: North Schuylkill — Keira Wengrenovich 7; Palmerton — Taylor Wasilewski 4
