POSA, 2006 U16 & U19 GIRLS SPRING REC SEASON

6-18-06,  The U19's & U16's combine in 4-1 win over host West Branch.

        The U19/U16's send a "Happy Fathers Day" wish by defeating host West Branch

4-1 on a very hot and steamy day. With the U19 Team's numbers depleted we had to

call up reinforcements from the U16's. They answered the call in helping to avenge an early

season loss to West Branch. The first match against them this season they (W.B.), played a player

up on us the whole game, and that doesn't sit with me very well. I know the rule say's you can,

but the coach has an option not to. For this league it should be in the spirit of the game.

 I'll play level and I wish everyone would as well. Now when it comes to the more competitive

levels, then its a different story!

On with the game,( just needed to vent ) P-O got in the books with an early strike in the first

quarter when Ashlea Cowher slipped a nice pass out to Kaylee Adams who then took it

into the net to put P-O up 1-0.

The heat was getting to the girls rather quickly, but help was on it's way in Andrea Dubensky.

Andrea showed up just in time as the girls were in need of subbing.  West Branch's Jess Gongaware

 kept the host team in it with a good strike of her own to knot the score at 1-1 to end the half.

 With the addition of Dubensky as a defender that gave us more options to add strength to the

attack. And attack we did, with Jess Lugin having the vision to catch Liz Lumadue making

a great run out of the mid-field. Lugin timed her pass just right while Liz took the ball in stride,

 beat a defender and set up her wonderful left foot for a powerful shot on frame for what

 would be the game winner and put P-O up 2-1 to end the third quarter. The P-O side then

 dominated the final quarter with a barrage of shots that just missed and plenty of possession.

Lugin would again send a great ball chipped over the defense for Adams to run onto and take

in for a well placed shot past the keeper to put P-O up by 2 goals, 3-1P-O. Adams wasn't

 finished yet though as she took a good pass from Lauren Murphy, caught the WB keeper off her

line and chipped her beautifully to net the "Hat Trick" setting the final score at P-O 4, WB 1.

Everyone played really well considering the hot conditions. The U16 players did an absolutely fantastic job,

I was a little concerned about them possibly being pushed around but they handled whatever came at them.

We played Debi Hirschbiel in the net the whole game and she did a wonderful job. She was coming

off her line when she needed to and stayed home when she had to as well. Made a couple of good

saves to keep WB out of the net.  Nessa Brown continues to show improvement every game, today she did

really well playing right outside back. She did well to not let them get many balls served in from her side.

 Liz Josephson again did a super job, she's standing up the attacking players and tackling the ball away,

has great speed and a good presence of mind. Ashley Wood really played well today, I was really unsure

on how she would handle playing with the older kids but once she realized she could run with them she

started playing a lot more aggressive. That's when she really started to look good. Her confidence level came up and

her level of play followed. Stephanie Schaffer did a fantastic job the whole game playing left wing.

 Stephanie is another who just gets better every game and practice she is involved in. She did everything right,

by providing support in overlaps or from behind, she made a lot of good passes and had a great shot on goal

that wasn't off but a little wide.

I want to thank the U19 girls for being great mentors and role models for the younger girls. I feel you have

a good deal to offer in just by playing with them, Thanks.

I also want to extend a special thanks to Lyssa Baxter for her contributions to the success of this season.

Her hustle, skills and enthusiasm were very much appreciated by all. I for one are going to miss her being around

and want to wish her a great season at Mo-Valley, but not that great!

Also I want to thank my great support staff of Kylie Wood, Jim Josephson, Avis Ritter and Dan Hirschbiel!

Thanks everyone, had a great season see ya soon!, Coach Mike

6-11-06, ERICA PILGRAM'S HAT TRICK LEADS U19'S TO THIRD STRAIGHT WIN!!

            On the eve of the USA Men's National Team World Cup opener, the U19 Girl's

orchestrated a clinical example of some world class play of their own in a 6-1 rout at the

expense of host Brookville. Demonstrating just how good they are becoming. I'm very proud

of how well these girls are maturing in their skills, knowledge and execution.

            Erica Pilgram got P-O in the books early as she slotted home her first goal off a perfectly

placed corner kick sent in by Liz Lumadue. Erica put in a brilliant performance today, she was really

clicking on all aspects of the game. Her vision was great, she was dribbling well, making good

decisions and finishing with poise and confidence. Katilin Zimmerman then put P-O ahead 2-0

 with what proved to be the game winner with Kathryn Ritter feeding the assist. Katilin really made good

contact with the ball, striking the sweet spot and powering it to the back of the net from about 20 yards out. 

Pilgram picked up her second goal after combining with Lyssa Baxter, then dribbling through a number

of Brookville defender's and calmly sliding one past the keeper. P-O 3-0. Although Brookville did not

test our keeper much in the first quarter, Lauren Stout did everything right to keep them scoreless.

In all fairness to Lauren, she really hasn't had much training at the keeper position at all. We just sort of

stuck her in the net over the winter indoor season and she seemed pretty comfortable there. Hopefully

this fall or sooner we can get her some proper training and insight to the position.

            At the start of the second quarter Brookville put together a good attack and won a corner kick against

us. Brookville's #23 wasted little time in getting her foot on a ball that was allowed to hit the ground from a corner.

(a cardinal sin when defending against corners) Defending corners continues to be a weakness that plagues

us. Until the girls build the courage and confidence in clearing the ball out with their head it will

continue to be a thorn in the side of an otherwise solid defense. 

            With a few of our starters out for various reasons, we drafted up a few of our U16 girls

 to fill the roster and make the trip to Brookville. It paid off with dividends to both the U19's, who had subs

to provide rest as well as for the U16's, who gained valuable playing time with their future teammates. The U16

girls did very well, Liz Josephson, Debi Hirschbiel and Amanda Czar answered the question of their ability to

play against the next level. Hirschbiel  responded with a goal and good vision on passing combinations.

Czar with many passing combinations, good tackling as well as some good experience in the net. Josephson

filled in the void left open by senior defensive back Andrea Dubensky like a veteran starter. Josephson is

playing at a level far above her age. She's a smart player who has great awareness for such a young player.

All three of these girls contributed to the success of the team today. It also was a great opportunity for me

as a coach to find their weaknesses so we can work on getting even better. "The key to improvement

is to recognize your weakness and spend more time working on that so  you don't become stagnant

or complacent in your ability".

            With P-O leading 3-1, Ritter took a pass from Shayna Bertothy, beat a couple of Brookville defenders

and put the ball  in the back of the net. Bertothy really is continuing to shine, she was involved in numerous

combination pass plays which contributed to the dominance of our possession of the ball today.

 Hirschbiel would then add to the lead with a very good volley finish off a Lauren Murphy cross to put P-O up 5-1.

Debi was in good position a lot which created  multiple opportunities for her to score even more goals.

I'm positive that in time and with practice she'll be able to capitalize on those chances in the future.

Pilgram completed the "Hat Trick" while finishing another great ball from Bertothy to set the final score at

P-O-6, Brookville-1 at the end of the half! The second half played scoreless as P-O was creating good chances

 but unable to connect their head on any of the quality crosses sent in by Murphy, Lumadue, Ritter,

Baxter and Cowher.

Our back-line of "Liz Squared" (Lumadue, Josephson), Kristina Williams, Lyssa Baxter,

Erica Pilgram, Lauren Murphy, Amanda Czar, Lauren Stout and Kathryn Ritter did a great job keeping the

 opposition out of our "HOUSE"

A great game played by all, Thanks girls!

  6-4-06, POSA U19 GIRLS DOMINATE UV RAVENS.

          PO's U19 Girls played host to United Valley Ravens in a cold, rain soaked

contest. The home girls did not let the weather "dampen" their spirits or let it affect their play.

In what was a short sided game of 7v7, and the P-O side having 15 girls rostered made it a

bit difficult to get all subbing in, but the girls managed it well. Everyone played extremely

well. It didn't matter where we put anyone they did the job that needed done. The girls

completely dominated every aspect of the game. Their confidence is growing and they are

beginning to believe in themselves and its showing in their level of play.

        Kaylee Adams got the scoring started by finishing a good cross by Ashlea Cowher. Kaylee has

 incredible speed and gives opposing teams fits in trying to contain her. It's hard to believe

she has only played two years, she is only going to get better as her skills and knowledge

 of the game grow. Cowher put on a clinic with her dribbling skills as well as the great

 crosses she served up today. She also showed off her accuracy from her distance shooting

as well, putting P-O up 2-0 with a very nice long range shot. Cowher would then assist the

 next two goals as she slid a well timed through ball to Erica Pilgram who made the UV defense pay

for the split pass and pushed a well placed shot into the far post, 3-0 P-O. Cowher then

dropped a nice ball for Andrea Dubensky to show case her long range accuracy as well. Cowher would

then come close to her second goal by doing something I've never seen her do before, by getting

 her head on a great cross by Baxter. That is the one most crucial aspect of Ashlea's game

that will propel her to a higher level of play. Good effort Ash!

         Adams would then put P-O up 5-0 with an unassisted goal. Kristina Williams

 then added to the lead by putting a nice left footed shot into the far post for her first goal of the season.

Liz Lumadue finished the scoring with yet another long range shot to put the home side up 7-0.

 Kathryn Ritter and Lauren Stout combined with a shut out in each half.

5-21-06, U19 GIRLS FINISH GRUELING 4 GAME WEEKEND WITH  WIN AGAINST KANE.

            The P-O U19 Girls finish a tough weekend with a VERY WELL played 8-2 Win against visiting

Kane. The girls responded great, I thought they might be a bit tired from all the games, but they showed

little signs of fatigue. The scoring started as Lyssa Baxter and Ashlea Cowher combining on some

 great passing got off a beautiful cross that Lauren Murphy cleaned up easily for the first goal to put

 P-O up 1-0. With P-O creating many good chances but having trouble getting another one in, got caught

 in a counter attack that left the ball sitting six yards out with know one willing to clear it. Kane's

Natalie Anderson wasn't about to let the opportunity slip away and slid in an easy goal to tie the game.

Lyssa and Ashlea combined again with Ashlea finishing another great feed from Lyssa to put P-O back

ahead 2-1. Ashlea's shot on that goal showed she as good presence of mind on the field. Kane did not

pressure her when she got the ball and she took her time at set up a perfectly placed shot that the keeper

just couldn't stop. Lyssa played another great game, I'm really impressed with her energy. She creates a lot of

movement on and off the ball. She wants the ball and isn't timid about calling for it, I appreciate the amount

of work she does in the coarse of a game and the enthusiasm she plays with. Lauren Murphy didn't have to

bad  a game today either, knocking in her second goal of the contest from a great ball by Lauren Stout.

It didn't take very long for Stout to make her presence known on the field. Getting to the game

a bit late from that "other sport", she laid off a perfect ball for Murphy to finish. Murphy got off a lot

of great crosses today. That's something I've been on her about a lot lately. I think she's understanding how

frustrating it can be for the team as a whole to go to all that work to get the ball deep into the attack and then

have a poor cross out the end line can really be demoralizing to everyone. She did much better today, thanks Murphy!

The half ended with P-O up 3-1.

Shayna Bertothy got the home team in the books again on a finish from another cross by Baxter.

Shayna is one of those players who always seems to be in the right spot at the right time. She is doing what she's suppose

to and getting better every game.

Defending corner kicks seems to be our weakness as we gave up three goals off corners at the St. Mary's tournament.

The trouble continued as Kane's Michele Lindquest made it look easy off a corner kick against the home team to set

the score at 4-2, P-O. Katilin Zimmerman got in on the scoring as she gathered up a loose ball about 18 yards out

 and made a great far post shot to put P-O up by three, 5-2 P-O. Katilin is another example of hard work and a great

attitude paying off. Keep it up Katilin!

After playing keeper the first half, Kathryn Ritter added to the attack by notching an unassisted goal to move P-O

to 6 goals. Bertothy was again in the right spot to clean up a well taken corner kick by defender Liz Lumadue.

Liz, Andrea Dubensky, Jess Condon and Kristina Williams did another super job of defending against some quality players

with good speed! I'm really happy with the way Liz is developing into a great defensive player, she shows a lot of poise for

such a young player. I'm happy to see Liz taking more of a leadership role, the more vocal she becomes the better.

I think she has a great mentor in Andrea back there for her. I think Liz has and continues to learn a lot from Andrea.

To end the scoring, Erica Pilgram's persistence paid off with a very well struck ball in an unassisted goal into,( or maybe even

through ) the back of the net!, to set the final score at P-O 8, Kane 2. Erica and Jess Lugin really did a lot of the leg

 work in the middle, setting up a lot of the plays that eventually led to scoring opportunities.

P-O holds a 2win, 1loss record with a well deserved week off. No practice or games until May 31st, for a Wednesday night practice!

        Great Job, Girls!

5-20-06,  P-O U19 Girls Travel To St. Mary's For Tournament Play.

    U19's Play three games in frigid temperatures up North, but come away without a win.

But not from the lack of effort. The girls played well and were in all three games. Losing

each by only one goal! We would like to thank Jess Gongaware and Ryen Pedmo

of West Branch for helping us out, they both are quality players who contributed a great deal

in our efforts. Thanks Girls!.

Box Scores:     P-O, 5 vs Elk County, 6.                        P-O, 2 vs St. Mary's, 3

Goals and assists for P-O:   Ritter, Baxter                           Baxter, RitterCowher, Ritter

                                          Murphy, Ritter                           Cowher, Lumadue

                                          Cowher, Un.

                                         Cowher, Murphy

                                         Ritter, Baxter

    P-O, 3 vs ECC, 4                     

                 Cowher, Ritter                      

                 Baxter, Pedmo                   

                 Dubensky, Cowher                   

5-14-06,  P-O U16 GIRLS , " SIZE or NUMBERS DON'T MATTER "

    Despite being outsized & outnumbered P-O's U16 Girls were certainly not outplayed. Playing down a player

and with no subs on the bench, the girls really stepped up & gutted out a well deserved win.

    P-O's speedy little Ashley Wood got the home side fired up when taking a sweet little cross from right winger

 Cherise Diehl and placing the ball well away from the keeper into the side net. Cherise then did well to finish a

goal of her own when Debi Hirschbiel slid her a perfectly placed pass to put P-O up 2-0.  With time winding down

in the first half, Clearfield  made things interesting by getting one in to make the score 2-1 P-O at the end of the half.

The second half was to be a real battle with both teams creating good chances. But it was P-O to strike first again

with Wood gathering the ball outside the 18, beating a couple defenders and finishing her second goal of the contest.

With the P-O side starting to show signs of fatigue, Clearfield's fresh legs kept up the attack and late in the game beat

a tired P-O defense to make the score 3-2, P-O. Clearfield would get a few more chances but it was P-O's Kristen Kojadinovich

that would put the last nail in the coffin. Kristen had a few quality shots that were not far off target but she made

good from a great through ball from Stephanie Schaffer to set the final at 4-2 P-O. This was a great win for the P-O girls.

They battled with Clearfield numerous times throughout the indoor season this past winter, beating them in the

semi-finals but losing to them in the championship finals to finish second in the Bigler League.

Liz Josephson, Nessa Brown and Kaila Belinda all did a super job defensivly in keeping  us in the game.

Clearfield is a quality team , any time you can get a win against them is a tribute to the character of these girls.

  5-7-06,  P-O U19 GIRLS OPEN THE SEASON IN " FASHION "

  P-O U19 Girls start the season "looking good", sporting their new kits, and playing good. Traveling up

to United Valley for a 3:30pm start, the girls wasted little time in getting the attack started. Kathryn Ritter

got the P-O scoring going early in the contest while Erica Pilgram picked up the assist. Ritter would

follow up with the next two goals to get the "Hat Trick". Pilgram threaded another assist as Ashlea

Cowher made a nice feed on the other. United Valley 's speedy Emily Eagleton took advantage of P-O's few defensive

mistakes and made good on a well placed shot passed rookie keeper Lauren Stout to make the score

3-1, P-O. Kaylee Adams then broke the game open for P-O by scoring the next 4 goals, while Cowher, Pilgram,

Stout and Ritter assisted each respectfully. P-O saw its lead  swell to 7-1 to end the third quarter. Cowher

finally kept her head down and  found the back of the net as opposed to the top cross bar ( just kiddin Ashlea ! )and finished

 yet another beautiful pass from Pilgram. Cowher was at the top of her game in controlling the mid-field

and distrbuting the ball, picking up many of the second assists. Her dribbling skills gave United a lot to deal with.

Erica then got her reward for her passes as Lauren Murphy made

a great little pass that Erica  made good to extend P-O's lead to 9-1.  Adams then got her 5th goal of the game

from a very  well placed through ball by Katilin Zimmerman. Shayna Bertothy  finished P-O's scoring frenzy

by finishing yet another well placed cross by none other than Erica  "the Pilge" Pilgram to end the game

for a 11-1 win.

        Jess Lugin, Lyssa Baxter, Jess Condon, Andrea Dubensky, Liz Lumadue and Kristina Williams were

all fantastic out of the back. They were the real work horses. They really hustled and kept United under

a tremendous amount of pressure keeping them from getting much offense generated, rarely did they

allow United to penetrate into the 18 yard box. All the girls really played well, their passing game

was extremely sharp for this early in the season.  We hope that only continues to get even better as the season goes on.