By HUNTER O. LYLE
WARREN, PA – When looking towards the playoffs, especially for a team with high aspirations, it’s always good to enter the postseason on a high note. For the Bradford girl’s soccer team, they did just that, earning revenge over Warren in a 3-0 road victory that saw Alyssa Mangold notch another offensively explosive game to her resume.
Two and a half weeks ago, the Lady Dragons and Lady Owls met for the first time. Already battling injuries, including to their leading defender Rylie Corbett, Bradford lost that game 2-1 in an overtime defeat that saw Mangold go down early in the first half. Losing both their stars for multiple games, the Lady Owls also lost a sense of stability in the final weeks of the season.
“For the majority of the second half of the season, we’ve been out two or three girls that had been key components to the offense and defense. It’s been a lot of playing around (with the lineups) and finding who can give us something here and there,” said Bradford head coach Jim Warnick. “The girls have all really stepped up, putting in more work and effort to fill those spots.”
However, after returning to the pitch last Tuesday, Mangold and Co. were eager to make up for lost time, winning back-to-back games by a combined score of 11-0. With the rematch against Warren circled on their calendar, their determination persisted.
Both teams came out looking to set the tone and tempo. The clash of intensity produced a rubber banding ebb and flow around midfield, with neither finding significant strikes downfield. As the minutes wore on, however, the shallow attacks began to extend into full length drives into the box.
For Bradford, it was all Mangold. Using her agility and crafty footwork, she routinely took the ball downfield herself or picked up through balls without missing a stride. She would pop off the first shot of the day at the 35-minute mark before narrowly missing a direct kick just moments later.
“It was killing (Mangold) to have to sit out. All those games she had to miss, it was just driving her nuts sitting on the bench,” said Warnick. “She’s been wanting to get in and just pushing and pushing and just getting everyone to that energy level.”
Getting another attempt soon after, Mangold and the Lady Owls found some welcomed luck.
Taking her second direct kick of the day from about 35 yards out, Mangold’s high arching shot bounced over the Lady Dragons’ defensive line, then awkwardly skimming past the goal keeper, notching the first goal of the day in a mix of surprise and elation.
Finding themselves down early, Warren snapped to focus. Using their twin pairing of Meea and Leyna Irwin, as well as more than a sprinkle of classic Lady Dragon physicality, Warren began plotting trips downfield. However, Bradford’s defense stood strong.
Between intercepting passes, blocking shots and clogging lanes with multiple defenders, Bradford refused to give up room for entry into their own backfield. Wrestling the ball away from the Lady Dragons time after time, the Lady Owls dominated time of possession. When Warren was able to make headway, their efforts seldom produced a shot on goal, instead being turned back to restart the process all over again.
“I think a lot of it was having Corbett back. That helped strengthen the majority of the defense,” said Warnick. “We had Mady (Stark) and Cami (Selly) filled in at the six, she really helped and was solid defensively. Again, it’s the girls just stepping up.”
Bradford’s reliance would be put to the test as Warren began swarming the net at the end of the first half before coming out in the second with another burst of life. Reasserting themselves on offense with a renewed attack, the Lady Dragons began setting up shop past midfield. Taking a new approach, Warren also started tirelessly pulling the trigger from both long and point blank range, although scarcely coming away with truly threatening attempts.
Continuously fending off waves of attackers, the Lady Owls struggled to kickstart their offense beside lone drives by Mangold. However, on one of those spearheaded strikes, Mangold absorbed contact and came crashing to the ground, earning a penalty kick. Lining up with confidence, she punched in her second goal of the afternoon, shooting just right of the goalkeeper to put Bradford up 2-0.
With just half of the period remaining, Warren became desperate. Frantically weaving up field and logging shot attempt after shot attempt, the Lady Dragons tried to wear down the defense but to no avail. Bradford continued to steal passes, deflect shots and block crosses as they fought to preserve their unanswered advantage.
The ultimate nail in Warren’s coffin would come in the final minute, when Mangold would tack on one more goal. Despite facing a double-team, she launched a mid-stride shot that curved left and found the top corner of the net. Earning yet another hat trick on the season, Mangold had led Bradford to redemption, their third win in a row and confidence heading into the playoffs.
The lone assist on the night came from Sheely while Stark registered a shutout win while tending the net with 10 saves.
While their regular season has come to a close, Bradford will now have to wait and see how the rest of the league shakes out, with the District 9 Class 4A seedings hopefully arriving by the end of the week. Either way, they know the road ahead will put their end-of-season momentum to the fire.
“Beating Warren was huge for us. Now we’re going to go (into playoffs) playing either Clearfield or DuBois. Both teams are extremely tough and we’ve struggled with DuBois,” said Warnick. “We know either is going to be an extremely tough game and I think going out with these wins and where we’re at playing-wise has been great.”
