ORWIGSBURG — For a program that has ruled the Schuylkill League over the last four years and won back-to-back District 11 titles, playoff wins aren’t unusual. But the Blue Mountain Eagles’ girls soccer program was still looking for that definitive, breakthrough win to show this era of the program was more than just a local powerhouse.
That win came on Monday night at the Eagles’ Nest.
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Hosting the 22-2 Conrad Weiser Scouts—the District 3 runner-up and one of the favorites to win the Class 3A state title—the Eagles knocked off the Scouts 2-1, thanks to a Reegan Spangler goal in the 68th minute. It marks the program’s first PIAA tournament victory since 2018, when Blue Mountain defeated Oakland Catholic 2-0 before falling to Villa Joseph Marie in the Class 3A state final. The win also avenged an early-season 6-1 loss to the Scouts.
“We’re a whole new team,” said Blue Mountain head coach Matt Kenitzer. “We changed our formation basically right after that game that we lost, I believe. So we had an extra back, four back. That gave us a lot more stability in the back. And then kept hammering how we play and not giving up. And just the work ethic today has just been a reflection of what we’ve done the whole season.”
As is often the case in postseason upsets, Spangler’s game-winner wasn’t the prettiest. It wasn’t a top-corner strike from distance, nor did it involve beating a defender with a dazzling move. Instead, it came down to a favorable bounce.
Throughout the evening, Conrad Weiser goalkeeper Taylor Rabold played aggressively off her line. When the Scouts were in their attacking third, Rabold often came 30 or more yards out of the net, sweeping up loose balls long before an Eagle attacker could reach them.
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“That’s how they play. They played that last two or three years we played them,” Kenitzer noted. “And that’s super difficult to handle because, one, they have basically an extra sweeper. So that makes it difficult defensively. And then, two, we know she’s out. So when we get the ball, it’s super hard to get a good shot on goal. And so you’re even more flustered in that situation. But knowing that if we don’t have that, we just keep building and building and pushing them back. And then it’s just like regular play.”
With under 12 minutes remaining, Rabold charged out once more as the Eagles pushed the ball downfield. A collision between Rabold and a Scouts defender sent the ball bouncing toward the opposite side of the field, straight to Spangler’s feet. With only one defender between her and an open net, Spangler cut to her right and tapped the ball home, giving the Eagles a 2-1 lead and sending the home crowd into a frenzy.
“Smart, smart player,” Kenitzer said of Spangler. “Composure in that moment because, again, she’s flustered and she’s wanting to play it right away. But just to realize that situation really quickly and all that you have to do is really just play that simple ball, especially on turf. It’s just going to be running. So it was very, very smart. And, I mean, yeah, that’s just incredible to have that happen.”
“The ball, it was bouncing away to me, and I saw an opening between the defenders and the goalie,” Spangler said. “And I was just like, ‘I need to just tap this in. I can’t hit it hard.'”
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The strike was just the ninth goal Conrad Weiser conceded all season. Blue Mountain also became only the second team to score multiple goals against the Scouts this year, joining Twin Valley in a 7-2 Conrad Weiser victory back on September 10.
While the Eagles emerged victorious, Conrad Weiser controlled much of Monday’s play. The Scouts held a 14-6 advantage in shots, forcing Eagles keeper Karley Koch to deliver several masterful saves, especially in the second half.
Early on, Conrad Weiser looked like the more comfortable team, controlling possession and garnering numerous goal-scoring opportunities, narrowly missing taking an early lead on several shots that sailed just over the crossbar or just wide.
But the Scouts eventually cashed in following a scoreless opening 25 minutes as Noelle Clabaugh put Conrad Weiser ahead, heading home a corner kick from Scarlett Sadowski. Blue Mountain answered just over five minutes later when Olivia Chipriano leveled the match off a corner kick of Blue Mountain’s own, it marked the Eagles’ first goal scored directly from a corner this season.
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“It’s just, again, that work ethic of not giving up,” Kenitzer said. “Our girls did a very good job at that because, I mean, whether even that was a goal or not, it was very hard to tell. So even just the nature of that particular goal could bring us down. But we kept up. We kept going. We kept going. And then getting that goal, that’s the first corner kick we scored on all season. So what great timing, and that just gave us the boost to just go, go, go and put it together.”
“When they first scored, obviously it was a big hit on us,” Spangler said. “But I’m glad that we didn’t give up. We kept pushing, and we got it right back on the corner.”
Coming out of halftime tied at 1-1, the Scouts quickly reclaimed momentum, generating pressure and consistent scoring opportunities. Koch, however, stood tall in goal, including making crucial back-to-back saves within 20 seconds during the 62nd minute to preserve the 1-1 tie.
The Eagles’ backline and entire team defense in the defensive third deserves plenty of credit as well, helping slow down an offense that entered Monday averaging nearly five goals per game.
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As the game progressed in the second half, the dynamic on the pitch and in the stands clearly changed. Blue Mountain was garnering more and more confidence as they kept Conrad Weiser at bay. In the stands, Blue Mountain fans’ excitement for every clearance and push into the attacking third grew louder and louder. On the other side, Conrad Weiser fans began to sense the building momentum and the danger that the Scouts were in, and that level of nervousness began to show on the field.
It’s often said in matchups like Monday’s playoff opener that the longer the underdog stays in the game, the better their chances grow. Every mistake in the final minutes is magnified: one poor move, one mistimed tackle, or one collision can be the difference between euphoria and heartbreak.
Ultimately, in the 68th minute, that dichotomy was on clear display on the collision that opened the door for Spangler’s winner.
Of course, there were still 12 minutes to go, and the Eagles knew those final 12 minutes would be significantly harder than the first 68. But they didn’t blink; instead, they became the commanding side to secure the shocking victory.
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“Those goals are super hard because then, you know, you’re really—they’re coming at you, right?” Kenitzer said. “So the composure that we had, and not only the composure and being strong and keeping that defensive strategy, but, like, we then possessed way more than they did. So we kept that control going and going and going and just kept pressing and pressing and pressing and not just kind of sit back on our heels and just act defensively completely. Like, we just kept going. So I think just the control and keeping that momentum, it was awesome.”
“Nervous. No matter what. No matter the situation, nerves,” Kenitzer added regarding the final minutes. “But, I mean, again, just the confidence that we have on our team and how we have just been building and building. And just to see, like, again, their composure and keeping control, keeping calm, and that really showed. Like, it could be easy to just get flustered and start getting out of play, but we actually tightened up better. So it was great to see.”
“Incredible,” Kenitzer said of the win and what it could do for his team’s confidence going forward. “And this is something that, after we won districts, we sat down at the next practice and we really just hammered, again, reiterated that confidence that they should have because they are a very solid, good team all around. Not just 2, 3, 4 players, but everybody. And even our bench is very deep. So it’s like, you just keep building and have that confidence going in and knowing, again, that we’re a completely different team now too and how far we’ve gone, that now that we have this under our belt, it’s like that confidence just is boosted even more. Especially, again, as you said, that they were considered favorites.”
With the victory, the Eagles advance to the PIAA quarterfinals on Saturday, where they will face District 1 runner-up Radnor. The Raptors edged Conwell-Egan Catholic 3-2 on Monday night. Game time and location have yet to be announced.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
