Published: November 03, 2009 12:34 am      

Township returns to title match

BERLIN — The Conemaugh Township girls soccer team is heading to the District 5 title game yet again. The Indians beat Chestnut Ridge 3-0 on Monday night at Berlin.

The Indians will be looking for their fifth district championship in six years.

With solid midfield play, Conemaugh Township dominated possession for most of the game Monday, keeping the action in Chestnut Ridge’s end of the field and outshooting the Lions 30-8.

“We were really fired up at the beginning, taking a lot of shots,” Conemaugh Township coach Fred Galiote said.

“Their defense did a good job smothering the goal, and we hit some posts, but they hit where they hit, and there’s not a lot you can do about that,” Galiote said of two shots that rang off the posts midway through the first half.

While those chances didn’t yield any points, the sustained pressure did lead to many opportunities for Alyssa Hoffman to unleash her throw-ins for Conemaugh Township. Hoffman’s long-distance throws, often ending up right in front of goal, caused problems for the Chestnut Ridge defenders all night.

In the 25th minute, Hoffman delivered a throw into the Lions’ box that bounced through to Kara Jacobs at the far post. The senior met the ball in stride and her driving shot found the back of the net to put the Indians up 1-0.

Following the Conemaugh Township goal, the Lions pushed forward, looking for the equalizer, but the Indians’ back line was up to the challenge, turning away the rush to protect the lead.

With a little more than eight minutes to play in the first half, Hoffman added another assist, this time off a corner kick. Hoffman’s kick was corralled in by Kelly Vann, who was able to put her shot past Chestnut Ridge goalkeeper Kayla Gates.

Conemaugh Township continued to control the flow of the game into the second half, though Chestnut Ridge did have its chances.

Just five minutes into the second half, Chestnut Ridge’s Sierra Dull broke free from the defense and ripped a shot that was gobbled up by Emily Felton.

Felton stopped all eight shots she faced to post the shutout.

Conemaugh Township will face Windber for the district championship at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Berlin.