The North Turf stands were packed with friends and family of the seven seniors for the girls soccer Senior Night on Sept. 12. Seniors Lorelai St. Sauver, Gabriella Rothermel, Marie Meredith, Addison Hertzberg, Dorothy Heilman, Ava Bathgate, and Natalie Ausherman were all celebrated. The Little Lions took on Altoona and endured a tough 5-1 loss.
The Little Lions started off strong with key saves from goalie Maya Birkenholtz. Birkenholtz was an extreme asset in this game with 12 saves for the night.
Just over halfway through the first half, Altoona secured its first goal of the night. Down 1-0, the Little Lions needed to even it out.
The Little Lions were hustling to gain possession and advance the ball on offense. Bathgate and Ausherman led the charge into the Altoona half of the field. Ausherman had a slight breakaway, allowing her to take a shot. Altoona goalkeeper Haylee Rodriguez saved Ausherman’s shot, leading to freshman Kennedy Ayers stopping the rebound and scoring from the right side of the goalie box.
This was a huge moment for Ayers and her team. Not only was this the freshman’s first varsity goal, but it was the first goal for their team the entire season. Ausherman, who was credited with the assist, said this first goal, “[…]brought energy to the team and expanded people’s views of the possibilities our team has.”
Following this special moment, the score was tied at one with 11:53 remaining in the first half. Altoona quickly responded with another goal, to make the score 2-1 at the half.
After the second half began, Altoona could not be stopped. Even with multiple saves from State’s goalie Birkenholtz, Altoona went on to score 3 more goals, one being a penalty kick.
The final score of 5-1 was not the outcome State High wanted, but there were many positives to take away from this Senior Night. Senior Addison Hertzberg decided to play soccer for the first time this year and talked about her experience. She pointed out how she met so many sweet people through this team. “Everyone is very welcoming and supportive!” Hertzberg said.
The girls on this team are staying optimistic about the rest of the season. They are confident the important progress they’ve made in this game will help them to a great extent in the future.
The team still has goals that it is working towards. “As any team, one of our goals is to win more games this season. More specifically, we aim to work together as a team and continue our positive and enthusiastic energy throughout the season,” Ausherman said.
The Little Lions are back in action on Thursday, Sept. 19, when they travel to take on Carlisle.
