BROOKVILLE, Pa. (D9Sports) — For over 50 minutes Monday afternoon, the Brookville girls’ soccer team dominated possession time against visiting Redbank Valley but had nothing to show for it.
(Photo of Madisyn Wolfe of Brookville)
Then Madisyn Wolfe was able to chip a ball just over the outstretched hands of Redbank Valley goalkeeper Alena Keller, and three more goals followed over the next 12:10 seconds to help the Lady Raiders climb back to .500 with a 4-0 win.
Also scoring during the onslaught for Brookville were Jillian Taylor, Alyana Haight and Emily Kramer.
“It took a lot of patience today,” Brookville head coach Kaitlyn Hill said. “The girls didn’t quit. We kept going and pushing the ball up. Madisyn scored the first goal, and that was key.”
It was the Wolfe goal that really got things rolling for the Lady Raiders, and it came late in the 55th minute.
Ashlyn Ross and a Redbank Valley player were both tracking a ball that was rolling in the center of the field just outside of the box, and it appeared that the Redbank Valley player tried to clear the ball towards the sideline with Ross pressuring her from behind.
But the ball ended up right on the foot of Wolfe, who chipped it up towards the near corner of the goal.
Keller, playing deep in her net, tried to leap up to stop it but had it glance off her fingertips and into the net.
“It was awesome,” Hill said. “She put in in the right place. The goalie wasn’t tall enough for it.”
For her part, Wolfe said the team knew that if it kept playing the right way the goal would come.
“We didn’t get frustrated,” Wolfe said.
That goal seemed to energize Brookville on a hot and muggy day that felt more like July than October.
A little over seven minutes after the Wolfe, tally, a Brookville player was hauled down in the box with a penalty kick being awarded to the Lady Raiders.
Jillian Taylor took the penalty and beat Keller on a low liner just inside the left post to make it 2-0 in the 62nd minute.
Less than two minutes later, Haight, a freshman, took a pass from Kramer and beat Heller again to make it 3-0 Brookville.
Redbank Valley got a golden opportunity on a free kick from just outside the box in the 65th minute, but Brookville keeper Avery Gilhousen, who stopped a pair of shots to record the shutout, was able to knock the ball down just in front of her face to keep the Lady Bulldogs off the board.
Two minutes later, Kramer put the game away with her first goal of the contest and the fourth Brookville goal in 12:10 to make it 4-0.
“It was a waiting game,” Hill said. “We were in their end the majority of the game and were knocking on the door. We had a lot of opportunities we didn’t capitalize on when we needed it. But we played really well today and played team ball. We made a lot of good passes, everything we’ve been working on in practice.”
While Keller ended up getting beat on four of the 13 shots she faced, she was part of the reason Redbank Valley still had a chance as late as the 60th minute.
She made six key stops in the first half, including one on a bending corner kick, and was all-around solid in the net most of the game.
The win improves Brookville to 7-7 on the year. The Lady Raiders, who have won three straight, have four games left — at St. Marys on Wednesday, Oct. 10, at Curwensville on Saturday, Oct. 13, at Forest Area on Monday, Oct. 15, and home to Elk County Catholic on Tuesday, Oct. 16.
“We are in a good spot,” Wolfe said. “We are back at .500 and we have some games coming up I know we can be competitive in and have a chance to win.”
Redbank Valley fell to 5-6. The Lady Bulldogs host Keystone Thursday, Oct. 11.
