2012 SEASON: MY SITE NEWS: COMETS CAGE COUGARS: WEST SCRANTON NEXT

Tradition has it that the number seven is lucky. In yesterday's 3-0 victory over Valley View, it seemed that any Abington player wearing the numeral "7" on the back of her jersey was ordained by the soccer gods to have a good game. Midfielders Katrina Helcoski (#7) and Perrine Wasser (#17) played some dynamic soccer, as they led the Lady Comets' attack. The pair accounted for all of the Abington goals and virtually half of the team's shot production.

Helcoski, the senior captain, opened the scoring at the 18:19 mark when she drove an elevated shot over the head of the Cougars' all-conference goalkeeper Jess Nguyen. Although the Lady Comets would continue to dominate play for much of the remainder of the half--and put several additional shots on frame--they could muster only the one goal lead by halftime. Midway through the second half, Helcoski would push the lead to 2-0  when she finished a shot at the end of a flank run. With less than five minutes remaining in the game, Wasser added the whipped cream to the pudding when she registered her second goal of the season on a well-struck and well-placed shot from the top of the box.

Although the Lady Comets would conclude this game on the high-end of a one-sided score, there was a stretch of time during the early-second-half when it looked like the outcome might be different. It is fair to say that the Cougars came out in the second period and played some strong soccer; indeed, there were spans of action during which they were doing a better job of possessing the ball than were the Lady Comets. In fact, if "time outs" were legal in soccer, Coach Hunter might have utilized one in the first 10 minutes of the second half to try to redirect the momentum. 

However, after Helcoski's second goal, the Cougars appeared deflated, and Abington would control the flow for the rest of the evening. 

Outside of Valley View's early second-half surge, there was one other scary moment for Abington. This would occur on the Cougars' only first-half shot. After a ball leaked through the Abington back line, Valley View ripped a forceful shot at goal. Melanie Coles came charging out of the goal, threw her body into the line of the shot, and deflected the ball out of the way. This was not only a spectacular play but also an important save, since the shot could have tied the game at 1-1 and given Valley View some genunine hope for victory. 

Abbey Burke returned to action after missing several games with concussion symptoms; she played with a forehead protector and provided some stability in the midfield. But the team played without starting full back Lydia Lovecchio, and continued to play without Alex Chapman, who utilized a new brace to test her knee in the junior varsity game, but found the going difficult.

The Lady Comets begin a three-game homestand tomorrow with a 4:30 contest against winless West Scranton. Then, on Thursday, the Knights of Scranton travel to CSE for the Lady Comets' Senior Day game. Pre-game festivities start at 4:00 p.m. We hope fans will come out to honor our seniors. Finally, the team closes out the week against a visiting Williamsport team at 11:00 A. M. on Saturday. This non-conference matchup will be the final home game of the year. The girls will wrap up the regular season next Monday with a 6:00 P.M. game at Western Wayne.

The box score, for the Valley View game, can be accessed, as always, by clicking on the link below.

POST SEASON FEVER: There is already some discussion about the AAA District playoffs. For those interested, the playoffs are designed to be a 7-team affair this year, and will include a couple of Luzerne County schools who have moved over from spring soccer. Although there is always the possibility that one or two teams could actually drop out, the slate of participants should include: AHHS, Wallenpaupack, Wyoming Valley West, Hazleton, Williamsport, Delaware Valley, and Scranton. If this does become the scenario, Wallenpaupack may be in the best position to secure the number one seed right now. The Lady Comets could assure themselves of either the #1 or the #2 seed if they can "win out" over the remainder of the season.

PREP RANKED SEVENTH IN STATE:  In the small schools category, the undefeated Classics of Scranton Prep are currently ranked 7th in the state by the Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association.