TAMAQUA — Sophomores Rachel Edge and Mariah Lesh were a high-scoring pair for Pine Grove last season.
They haven’t been too bad this year, either, especially Tuesday night.
Edge and Lesh each had a pair of goals to lead the Cardinals to a 4-0 victory over Williams Valley in a Schuylkill League girls’ soccer semifinal at the Tamaqua Soccer Complex.
Lesh scored a little over 5 minutes into the game, while Edge followed with goals in the 15th and 33rd minutes. Lesh finished the night by scoring with 5:18 left in the game to set the final.
Steph Aungst assisted on both of Edge’s goals as Division I champ Pine Grove (19-1) advanced to the championship game for the second consecutive year. Awaiting the Cardinals is Division I runner-up Blue Mountain (16-3-1), a 1-0 winner over Minersville in Tuesday’s other semifinal.
It will be the fourth meeting between the two this season. Pine Grove has won two
of them, including a 4-3 victory in the Division I tiebreaker game Monday.
Pine Grove also is seeking its second straight title. The Cardinals beat Schuylkill Haven 6-1 in last year’s championship game.
“We’ve been working so hard this entire season and now we are able to play in a championship game,” Edge said. “It’s surreal.”
This season certainly has a much different feel for Pine Grove, making its title game appearance Saturday all the more satisfying.
The Cardinals were an unknown in 2014 and rose up to win their first league title in program history. Pine Grove had been the team to beat the entire season and have pretty much been able to live up to the expectations.
“It’s great that we can come together as a team and prove to everyone that we are a team on the field and off the field,” Lesh said.
It’s been somewhat of a different year for Edge and Lesh, too.
As freshmen, Edge (40 goals) and Lesh (23) combined for 63 of Pine Grove’s 104 goals scored in 2014. This season both found have themselves marked more, and their production is down slightly. Edge currently has 23 goals on the season, while Lesh is at 22.
But others have stepped up, such as Aungst (23 goals, 17 assists), who finished second in the Schuylkill League’s regular-season points race to Minersville’s Abby Schoffstall. It’s taken the pressure off Edge and Lesh.
“It’s a lot different this season because they know Mariah and me,” Edge said. “Everyone else is working as a team and everyone else combined has a lot of goals and there is a lot of different people who can score.”
In fact, Pine Grove has scored more goals as team so far this season (125) then they did in all of 2014.
“It shows that we are all very well-rounded players,” Lesh said. “We can all play everywhere and everyone else can score, not just me and Rachel.”
But Lesh and Edge are both are still dangerous, as Tuesday showed.
Lesh scored off a bad Vikings’ goal kick, shooting from about 18 yards out as the ball hit the back post and bounced out of the net.
Edge scored her first goal from about 10 yards out, popping the ball over the head of Vikings’ keeper Alyssa Schadle. Edge’s second goal started on a free kick by Aungst. Schadle and Edge both went for the ball, but Edge got there first and put it in.
Statistically, Pine Grove dominated the game, holding a 16-0 advantage in shots on goal.
“We had good solid possession in the first half,” Cardinals coach Jason Brown said. “The ball didn’t fall as much as we would have liked in the second half. We struggled finishing, but I’d say we held 95 percent possession in the game, which is what we needed to do.”
For the Division II runner-up Vikings (13-6), Tuesday was their second consecutive appearance in the league playoffs after making it for the first time last year. The league postseason, however, ended as it did in 2014, with a loss to Pine Grove in the semifinals.
“We just went out and tried to play them straight up,” Williams Valley coach Gary Fetterhoff said. “They are so good, you can’t really mark any of them. From 1 to 11 they are just a great team. I want to get my program to that point. They are that good.”
Fetterhoff was pleased with his team’s effort. Despite falling behind early, the Vikings kept the intensity up and didn’t allow another goal until late in the game.
“We got down 3-0 fairly quick, but we played them tough the entire second half,” Fetterhoff said. “We were a little depleted and we couldn’t sub as much as we are used to. We’ve been here once before and we’ve made a couple of district games, but tonight I felt like we belonged here. A couple times in the past we got blown out early and hung our heads. I was proud of them tonight.”
Game Summary
Schuylkill League Girls’ Soccer Semifinal
At Tamaqua Soccer Complex
Wms. Valley (13-6) 0 0 — 0
Pine Grove (19-1) 3 1 — 4
PG — Mar. Lesh (unassisted), 5:36
PG — Edge (Aungst), 14:00
PG — Edge (Aungst), 32:43
PG — Mar. Lesh (Malave), 74:42
Shots on goal: Williams Valley 0, Pine Grove 16. Corner kicks: Williams Valley 0, Pine Grove 11. Saves: Williams Valley (A. Schadle) 12, Pine Grove (Kaufman) 0.