Skip to main content

Central York's Nicholas nets two goals, Panthers rally to beat Northeastern


One coach was happy with how her team responded to being down in the second half. The other was not so happy with how her team played with the lead.

Central York rallied back from a one-goal deficit with three unanswered goals in a 3-1 YAIAA Division I girls' soccer win against Northeastern in a match played Tuesday evening at Northeastern High School.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy with our performance," said Central York coach Liz Critchfield. "The girls didn't give up. They played hard and fought back. We made some adjustments in the second half, and they were executed well on the field."

Junior Lynsey Nicholas spearheaded the offense for the Panthers, scoring two goals in the second half. The first evened the score with 21:53 remaining off a corner kick.

"It just fell right to me," Nicholas said. "I got a leg on it and put it in on the lower corner."

Northeastern coach Diana Collier said a defensive miscue aided in the score.

"Nobody marked (Nicholas)," Collier said. "We knew she is a scorer. Getting a goal on a set piece like that when we don't mark somebody was a lapse. We played well at times, but then had lapses in key points where we didn't. At least it is something we know is fixable."

Nicholas scored again with 14:56 left. Her second score came 1:48 after sophomore Bre Sgrignoli's goal gave Central York the lead for good.

"I managed to get around the goalie and just put it in," Nicholas said.

From that point, Northeastern had to get away from its preferred possession-style of offensive attack to an all-in, long-ball style to try and catch up.

"At that point, you're behind," Collier said. "You have to go for it, whether you end up losing by two, three or four. It's not our style, and I don't enjoy playing that way, but what else can you do?"

Northeastern broke a scoreless tie with 33:42 left in the match as sophomore Brittany Arentz scored off an assist by sophomore Amanda Bentz.

"It was nice to see Brit get a goal in a game like this one," Collier said.

Up until then, the Bobcats and Panthers put on a defensive display. The two teams combined for eight first-half shots and three first-half corners, but no goals. Northeastern senior goalie Brenna Schroter made six of her nine saves in the opening half.

"I'm expecting for us to be better than we've been," Collier said. "We have a lot of depth, which is something we never really had here before. It's a nice luxury."

Central York 3, Northeastern 1

Central York03—3Northeastern01—1

Second half — 1. NE, Brittany Arentz (Amanda Bentz), 33:42. 2. CY, Lynsey Nicholas, 21:53. 3. CY, Bre Sgrignoli, 16:44. 4. CY, Lynsey Nicholas, 14:56.

Shots on goal — CY 12, NE 2.

Corners — CY 3, NE 3

Goalies — CY, Olivia Johnson (1 save). NE, Brenna Schroter (9 saves).

JV Score — Central York 5, Northeastern 0.