Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Cambria Heights’ Brooklyn Galinis celebrates a goal with Morgan Ross (above) and Hannah Hite (right).
Written by John Hartsock
jhartsock@altoonamirror.com
PATTON — Cambria Heights senior Maria Wendeckier earns her salary as a high school soccer goalie.
Wendekier, now a fourth-year starter, said he was roughly indoctrinated into the sport as a freshman at the collegiate level.
“I gave up a lot of goals as a freshman keeper,” Wendeckier said.
But just like his teammates, Wendeckier has grown, developed and evolved as a player since he began his high school career. She stopped all 10 of Juniata High School’s shots to lead Heights to a 3-0 victory Monday night in a District 6 Class 2A semifinal round matchup at the Heights Soccer Field.
With the win, second-seeded Heights (15-2-2) advances to a championship final showdown with fifth-seeded Huntingdon on Thursday night at a location and time to be determined. Huntingdon advanced with a 2-1 win over Penns Valley in Monday’s other District 6 Class 2A girls semifinal playoff game.
The Heights girls soccer program played a solid game against Juniata on both ends of the field Monday night, clinching its first-ever berth in the district championship game.
“I really think starting the game with a good attitude helped us win this game,” Wendekier said. “We really came together and meshed as a team and everyone did their job and that’s what gets the job done.
“It feels really good to work this far with all of my teammates that I’ve played with for a long time, starting as a freshman,” Wendeckier said.
Heights coach Nikki Spanic said the school’s girls soccer program has grown tremendously over the past five years.
“We started out as an underdog team six years ago, but the girls have worked really hard over the years. It’s really nice to see something come out of their hard work. ,” Supanik said.
Junior forward Brooklyn Galinis started the scoring for Heights, converting a free kick from the bottom left of the field just 3:35 into the game, giving the Lady Highlanders the only goal they would ultimately need. Galinis kicked with his left foot and perfectly threaded the kick into the top right corner of the cage behind Juniata keeper Regan Byrd.
Cambria Heights increased its lead to 2-0 at the 16:31 mark of the first half when junior midfielder Morgan Ross took a towering kick from junior center back Harry Hayes and was free on the field. Ta. Ross capitalized on a shot right after that to give Heights the lead at intermission.
Heights got the win early in the second half, with a goal by senior forward Hannah Height at 10:47 to make the game 3-0.
“We were pretty confident as a team going into this game,” Hite said. “The players told each other that if they worked as hard as they could and worked together, they would win, and that’s what they did.”
Sixth-seeded Juniata (10-7-1) held her own throughout the match and had several good chances near the Heights cage, but couldn’t convert any of them.
“I thought we had a good game tonight, back and forth,” Juniata coach Garrick Padden said. The team defeated third-seeded Central in the quarterfinals last week to advance to the semifinals. “We didn’t give up a lot of chances. Things just didn’t go our way tonight.”
Things went the Heights’ way Monday, and as a result, the Lady Highlanders will be venturing into previously unchartered waters Thursday and participating in the district championship game for the first time. They hope to make more history for the program by winning the game.
“We knew we had to play hard tonight, control the ball and keep pressing,” Spanik said. “We’re probably going to go into (Thursday’s championship game) the same way we did tonight. Stay organized, stay true to ourselves and support each other throughout the game.”
Score by half
Juniata 0 0–0
Cambria Heights 2 1–3
First half: 1, CH-Galinis (free kick), 3 minutes 35 seconds. 2, CH-Ross (Hayes), 16:31.
Second half: 3, CH-Hite (no assist), 10:47.
Shots on goal: Juniata 11. Cambria Heights 11.
Saves: R. Bird, J, 8; Wendekier, CH, 11.
Records: Juniata (10-7-1) at Cambria Heights (15-2-2).
