CENTRE COUNTY — The State College boys soccer team has made winning a District 6 AAAA title a tradition that it can proudly celebrate.
The Little Lions captured their sixth straight District 6 title with a 3-2 win over Altoona on Oct. 29 in the rain at Hollidaysburg’s Tiger Stadium.
Unfortunately, the Little Lions’ season came to an end with a 3-0 loss to McDowell on Nov. 1 in a sub-regional game at Erie’s Gus Anderson Field.
The Little Lions’ D-6 championship trophy was the only one among the three Centre County teams competing in the district title games. Both the State College girls team and the Bellefonte girls teams lost in respective championship games and were eliminated.
State College’s 12th district title under coach Danny Orton was the second one-goal win over the Mountain Lions this season. The Little Lions won the first one, 4-3, on Oct. 6 at home.
“Six in a row for the D6 title feels great,” Orton said. “We’ve had a great year and have a great group of players, so I am pleased for them. We scored from two corners, which we’d worked on during our 15 days off.
“We weren’t at our free flowing best, but much of that was down to the work rate from Altoona. Altoona played well and coach Travis (Young) has done a great job. They have improved as the season progressed, which is a sign of good coaching.”
The Little Lions scored twice in the first half off the corner kicks. Senior Bryce Dwyer scored the first goals at 5:25, and senior Lucas Caraces followed at 16:55 to give State College a 2-0 halftime lead.
Altoona’s Jace Black made it 2-1 with a goal at 16:57 in the second half. State College senior Daniel Sahakian scored at 35:05 of the second half off an assist from Alex Zlupko.
“Daniel Sahakian’s goal was a big relief,” Orton said. “It gave us a little room to breathe, and he took it really well.”
Altoona’s Guillermo Majias scored a few minutes later with 1:36 remaining, but that was the last threat from the Mountain Lions.
State College goalkeeper Erik Sulman made seven saves.
“Erik played really well in goal.” Orton said, “and came up with three big saves.”
The Little Lions finished with an 11-8-2 record with the loss to McDowell. It’s the second straight year the Trojans have ended State College’s season
STATE COLLEGE GIRLS
While the Little Lions were winning a district title, the State College girls team lost to Altoona, 5-1, in the D6 AAAA championship game that same night at Tiger Stadium.
Altoona, which has beaten State College in the last three district championships, scored three first-half goals, including the first two from Sophia O’Dea and Ajaycia Alexander. State College’s Natalia Andrews scored on a breakaway run with 28:22 left in the half.
“When Natalia scored, it was huge for our squad,” State College coach Kent Dwyer said. “That goal showed our girls that we could compete in the match and generate scoring opportunities.
“Even when Altoona was awarded a (penalty kick) a few minutes later, we continued to test their backline getting in and behind. Our missed PK took the wind out of our sails a bit.”
Altoona’s Ava Frye scored the first of her two goals at the 22:50 mark of the first half to make it 3-1. She scored again in second half, as did O’Dea.
The Lady Little Lions finished with a 3-15 record.
“We knew that it was going to be a rebuilding year, so we focused on raising our standard of training and competition in match play, developing more cohesion on and off the field, and refining the mental approach to the sport,” Dwyer said. “Because of their buy-in with these three process goals, we did see results.
“Other teams in our league now understand that we’re no longer a rollover team. This was a demanding year both physically and emotionally for our players because a culture shift takes time and effort. I’m so proud of our girls.”
BELLEFONTE GIRLS
The Bellefonte girls team clashed with Hollidaysburg for the D6 AAA title for the second straight year.
The Lady Red Raiders battled Hollidaysburg every yard of Philipsburg-Osceola’s Mountaineer Stadium on Oct. 28, but they lost to the Lady Golden Tigers, 1-0.
“We played so well,” Bellefonte coach Stacey Miller said. “The girls had their chances but just couldn’t find the back of the net.”
Bellefonte had been scoring more than three goals per game and had been shut out only twice this season before the title game.
“It’s a playoff game,” Miller said. “They are always close.”
The game was scoreless until Hollidaysburg’s Sage Capone scored off a corner kick from Bailey Stoehr at 59:56. It was the only goal that the Lady Golden Tigers got by Bellefonte’s freshman goalkeeper Ronni Spotts, who made 20 saves.
“She did phenomenal,” Miller said. “As a freshman to be put in a big game like that and to see her play lights out is amazing. Her improvement from the start of season to the end was impressive.”
The Lady Red Raiders finished with an 11-7 record.
“I think a lot of people didn’t expect us to be as good as we were last year,” Miller said. “I think we exceeded expectations. For me as a coach, I loved this team, and this season is one of the best I’ve coached.
“The team was cohesive, got along well, and played together as a team. As a coach, seeing their improvement and how much progress they made over the course of the season makes me happy.”
