Palmerton girls, Southern Lehigh boys advance
Brianna Moore and the Blue Bombers might sound like a 1980s pop band, but Moore readily admits she’s not much of a singer.
Brianna Moore and the Blue Bombers are quite a successful high school soccer team, however.
Moore, a senior at Palmerton, scored a hat trick (three goals) Tuesday night in the Blue Bombers’ 5-0 win over Saucon Valley in the Colonial League quarterfinals at Northwestern Lehigh’s Tiger Stadium.
No. 3 seed Palmerton improved to 17-2 overall and coach David O’Brien’s squad advanced to Thursday’s league semifinals against second-seeded Southern Lehigh. Game time is 5 p.m. in Catasauqua.
The story of Tuesday’s Blue Bombers’ triumph followed a familiar tune.
Moore scored the first, fourth and fifth Palmerton goals of the game — her 49th, 50th and 51st this season. Her 51 tallies are 28 ahead of the second-highest total in the Colonial League. Saucon Valley freshman Ava Riehl entered the playoffs with 23.
“It feels great,” Moore said of hitting the half-a-hundred milestone. “Scoring isn’t really something I look at or pay attention to, though. I just try to get the win and help the team.”
O’Brien, in his second season at Palmerton, praised Moore as the total package — more than just a scorer.
“She’s an incredible player,” O’Brien said. “It’s not just the goals. It’s her leadership, it’s her putting others in the best position to succeed. She’s kind of the quarterback of the team. She has great instincts and knows when to attack by herself and she knows when to set up someone else.”
The Blue Bombers, thanks to an influx of young talent, are more than a one-player team.
Juniors Sam Perloni and Beth Morgan also scored goals for Palmerton. O’Brien credited both for coming up with “fantastic” all-around performances; Perloni on the defensive end and Morgan in the defensive midfield. Perloni’s goal came on a free kick with 32:42 left in the first half and Morgan tallied hers with 2:40 remaining prior to intermission. Palmerton led 4-0 at halftime. “We felt great from the start,” said Moore, who plans to play collegiately at Duquesne University. “The game plan, obviously, was to come out strong; play our game, find feet and try to find the back of the net.
“We happened to do that in the first half, coming out with four goals so we felt really good.”
“It was a great all-around effort,” O’Brien said. “I loved getting out to such a good start and setting the tone. All of our girls really played fantastic, from the goalie all the way up to our forwards. Bri obviously had a great game scoring a hat trick but it was an all-around effort.”
Saucon Valley coach Trent Seibert appreciated his team’s play in the second half. He also appreciates how far the Panthers have come this year after winning only once a season ago.
They’ll enter next week’s District 11 Class 3A playoffs with an 8-9 overall record.
“Considering we finished last year with one win,” Seibert said, “to win eight in the regular season was great, coming up against a tough team in Palmerton. Our second half was way better. We had a lot of great passes; we talked about feet-to-feet passes and only giving up one goal in the half was a great step for us.”
Spartan boys survive, advance
The sequel sure looked a lot like the original.
Southern Lehigh edged rival Saucon Valley by a 2-1 score for the second time this season in Tuesday’s doubleheader nightcap at Northwestern Lehigh.
Coach Mark Evans’ No. 3 seed Spartans improved to 14-4-1 overall and advanced to Thursday’s 5 p.m. semifinal opposite secondseeded Notre Dame-Green Pond at Northern Lehigh.
Junior Jack Johnson knocked in the game-winner with 8:57 remaining for Southern Lehigh. That clutch goal was Johnson’s team-high 13th this season.
Saucon Valley senior Jaden Kennedy scored the game’s first goal with 26:40 remaining in the first half.
The Spartans equalized with 20:03 left prior to intermission when Michael Cocozza found the
back of the net for his ninth goal of the season.
Southern Lehigh also topped Saucon Valley 2-1 on Sept. 30.
Other quarterfinal contests
GIRLS
Moravian Academy 3, Northern Lehigh 1: Katelynn Barthold scored in the opening minutes for Bulldogs, seeded fifth, before No. 4 Moravian Academy rallied to score the game’s final three goals in a quarterfinal played at Salisbury.
Chloe Oudin, Isabelle Tran and Lauren Reid scored for the Lions, who meet No. 1 Northwestern Lehigh in Thursday night’s semifinals at Catasauqua.
BOYS Northwestern Lehigh 9, Palisades 1:
The Tigers cruised to a win, getting first-half goals from Dylan Moss and Josh Zellner, in the nightcap of a girls-boys quarterfinal doubleheader at Salisbury. Matt Johnson scored three times in the second half.
No. 4 seed Northwestern will play top-seeded Moravian Academy in Thursday’s 7 p.m. semifinal at Northern Lehigh.