For the second consecutive season, Wyomissing is heading to the District 3 Class 2A girls soccer championship match — this time with a chance to defend a title.
The top-seeded Spartans defeated No. 4 seed Trinity 3-1 in the semifinals on Tuesday night at Conrad Weiser. Wyomissing will play against Bishop McDevitt in the district final on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at Hersheypark Stadium.
“It’s really exciting,” senior Hannah Hurleman said. “This is what we’ve been playing for, training for the entire season.”
Hurleman scored the decisive goal for Wyomissing late in the first half, giving the Spartans a 2-1 lead. Fellow senior Isabel Marshall sent an accurate cross to a well-positioned Hurleman, who turned and ripped a shot into the back of the net.
“She’s one of my closest friends, so being able to do a combination like that to secure a win like this, it means everything to us,” Hurleman said. “It was an exciting moment.”
Both teams played with physicality and aggression throughout the match, especially in the midfield. Neither side committed many fouls.
“We did a pretty good job,” Wyomissing coach Rachel Hoffman said. “I actually think we were initiating more of the contact than we were actually being dealt this time, which was nice to see.”
The game was largely even early in the first half. Play resided in the midfield, and neither team generated many scoring opportunities.
The Spartans took the lead midway through the first with a goal from Abigail Noey. The freshman beat the goalkeeper with a shot from inside the 18-yard box.
The Shamrocks responded just four minutes later with a goal off of a corner kick. Kari Powell took the kick and sent an aerial cross to a streaking Jessica Knaub, who blasted a header into the net from close range.
Wyomissing was unfazed by the equalizer, and retook the lead about six minutes later with Hurleman’s goal. Once ahead 2-1, the Spartans dominated the final 50 minutes.
“I didn’t want this to be my last game,” Hurleman said. “I wanted to go to Hershey.”
Wyomissing possessed the ball on Trinity’s side of the field for the majority of the second half, and limited the counterattacks. The Spartans sealed it with just over 10 minutes remaining, as Cadi Hoke found an open Sophia Zeppos on a corner kick. Zeppos buried the shot to make it 3-1.
“As a team, we really came together,” Hurleman said. “If you give it your all, good things happen.”
Wyomissing will now try to become the first team in school history to win back-to-back district championships. The Spartans beat Northern Lebanon in the title game last year.
“We’re looking for that back-to-back district championship,” Hoffman said. “That’s what we want, and that’s what we’re going for on Saturday.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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