Lancaster Catholic girls blank Central Cambria in PIAA Class 2A 1st round

EBENSBURG, Pa. – The Central Cambria girls soccer team’s Cinderella run officially came to a close Wednesday night.Central Cambria fell victim to Lancaster Catholic’s stellar offensive pressure as the District 3 runner-up Crusaders came away with a 9-0 victory in a PIAA Class 2A first-round matchup.The Crusaders received four goals from star midfielder Harper Bolesky to headline an attack that produced 35 shots on goal.“We knew we were going to have our hands full,” Central Cambria coach Gary Simmons said.“We talked about trying to contain No. 22 (Bolesky), but they just overwhelmed us at times. We were OK early, and then they started finding the cracks.“Our girls gave it their best, but they exposed some things that other teams this year have not, just because they’re so strong. I give all the credit to that team. We haven’t seen a team like that all season.”The Red Devils fought off the Crusaders for the first six minutes until Bolesky opened the scoring at the 33:54 mark, heading in a corner kick from Chloe Pelotte.Clare Bolesky extended the lead to two goals at 25:44 before assisting teammate Isabella O’Reilly’s score at 12:44 to increase the advantage to 3-0.Harper Bolesky, a Division I American University commit, then scored her second goal three minutes later to set the Crusaders’ lead at 4-0 going into halftime.“(Our effort) is one thing we prided ourselves on all year because we had some games where we were equal to another opponent,” Simmons said.“They’d take an early lead on us and our girls would just continue to fight and fight. A lot of those games, we pulled them out, especially late in the season when we went on a nice little run.”Lancaster Catholic (18-2-1) outshot Central Cambria 20-0 in the first half.The Red Devils’ Kaydence Sinclair had an offensive rush at the 13:16 mark, but was unable to get off a shot. Central Cambria also had a corner-kick opportunity with 30 seconds to go, but the Crusaders’ defense knocked it away.“Our back line is an absolute brick wall,” said Lancaster Catholic coach Emily Fix, whose team recorded its 11th shutout of the season. “We have one of the best back lines I’ve seen in a long time. They work so well together.”Central Cambria recorded its only shot on goal of the contest with 29:57 to go in the game.Sinclair stole the ball off a Lancaster Catholic goal kick and put a shot toward the bottom right corner of the net, but Crusaders keeper Sophia Brommer made a diving stop.Lancaster Catholic then put up five more tallies in the second frame, with Harper Bolesky scoring two more goals and Adriana Foreman, Gianna George and Celia Bolesky netting one apiece.“They came out after the district final ready to practice on Monday, and we worked a lot on our touches and just being together,“ Fix said. “For them to come out like that tonight, and just be so precise with it, it was absolutely fantastic.“Red Devils goalkeeper Julia Murphy racked up 24 saves before being pulled with 15 minutes to go.Central Cambria closed a 10-10-2 season.Murphy and the Red Devils’ three other seniors – Hallie Amenti, Marjwok Ojha and Maggie Springer — led Central Cambria to its fourth consecutive District 6 playoff appearance.The Red Devils, as the No. 6 seed, won three consecutive one-goal games, including the program’s first playoff victory, to claim their first District 6 crown.“I’m so proud of these girls,” Simmons said. “It’s about them and what they can do. When they realize what they can do, we see really good things come out of them. They work so hard. The seniors showed so much leadership. What a year it was.”