On Saturday, September 3rd, the Lady Warriors held their first annual “Kick-Off” Tourney since 2019. The Lady Warriors dominated Clarion 5-0 and faced State High (AAAA), who they fell short 3-2. Their game stats left the Lady Warriors in second place out of four teams.
Nine minutes into the first game, Emily Parks laid the ball to Jenna Mertz, who dribbled past a Clarion defender and scored, giving the Lady Warriors a 1-0 lead. Later in the first half, Kamryn MacTavish was in the right spot when she scored her first varsity goal to get the Warriors ahead 2-0.
Starting the second half strongly, Mertz scored another goal, assisted by Kaylea Fenush. Parks scored the fourth goal for West Branch, receiving a direct kick after getting fouled 10 yards outside the goalie box. Less than 10 minutes later, freshman Sydney Sankey laid the ball off for Parks to score again. The Lady Warrior defense: Abby Diviney, Payten Johnson, Ciara Condon, and Olivia Koleno, along with goalie Alexa Prestash, gave the Bobcats their first shutout of the year. Winning their first game 5-0, the Lady Warriors would next meet the State High Little Lions in the tournament championship.
To kick off the championship game, Natalie Yingling won the ball from a State High defender and passed it to Mertz, who scored the first goal 8 minutes into play. Roughly 10 minutes passed, and the Little Lions broke the Warriors’ defensive line, making two more goals that would put them in the lead 2-1. In the last three minutes of the half, Mertz headed the ball to Parks, who tied the game 2-2. With less than a minute left in the first half, State High scored their third goal. Prestash and the Lady Warrior defense held State College to zero goals in the second half with no offensive gains, finalizing the score 3-2.
The Lady Warriors will next face Northern Bedford at home on Tuesday, September 6th, at 4 P.M.
