BY CHRIS MANNINGNorthern Tier Sports Report
While teams may have had more wins than Northeast Bradford girls’ soccer, few teams improved as much during the season as the Panthers.
The Panthers went 2-16 on the season but who they were at the beginning of the season and at the end were two vastly different teams.
“The season didn’t go as anticipated,” said coach Joel Howland. “We started out slow with having a new goalie fill the shoes for Leah for a few weeks, which, I would like to add, she did quite well for being thrown to the wolves. Once we got comfortable in our positions, got everyone where they needed to be on the pitch, we were finally able to start making attacks, and winning a couple games. We also took some good NTL teams to one goal games with OT losses.”
They opened with three tough losses to playoff teams - Williamson (10-1), Wyalusing (9-0), and NP-Mansfield (5-1) - but nabbed a win over Mountain View (4-1).
They would go on to lose 11 straight after that, though they had strong performances against playoff teams Wellsboro (2-0 twice), Athens (3-1), Wyalusing (2-1), and Blue Ridge (1-0).
The Panthers even hung tough with eventual district champions Muncy (4-0).
They sent their seniors off with a 3-1 win over Towanda in their last home game before dropping a pair of tight contests to Meadowbrook (2-0) and NP-Mansfield (2-1).
The Panthers featured one of the top goalies in the NTL in Leah Beebe with senior Izzy Kapr anchoring the defense.
Fellow senior Jocelyn Brown, along with Katrina Russell, and Khloe Green, played key roles on defense.
The Panthers moved plenty of players around in the midfield and forward including Mallorie Maynard, Mackenzie Clark, Aurelia Kolesar, Kara Dughi, Delsie Ramirez, Sara Gray, and Anyeli Reyes.
Going forward NEB hopes to build off this season as they get some quality players moving up from the junior high ranks.
“We are losing four crucial seniors,” Howland said. “We are also gaining four freshmen who know how to play the game well. Maggie got her feet wet with Leah by her side early on this season, and I feel she will really come into her zone as she ages and matures with the game. We will see you in 2026.”
