Saucon Valley’s smallest margin of victory this season is a season-opening 8-2 win over Wilson Area, but the most impressive accomplishment of its young season is the individual accomplishment that senior forward Elliot Policare notched in an 11-0 win over Pen Argyl on Tuesday.
The Lehigh University commit surpassed former teammate and current Arkansas State freshman Ava Reihl with her 87th career goal to set the new Saucon Valley all-time scoring record.
For now.
Senior forward Tesia Mikuta is clipping at Policare’s heels after a five-goal performance against the Green Knights moved her to 85 career goals and just two behind the future Mountain Hawk. Their battle for the school’s most prolific scorer will be one of the closest competitions of their regular season after improving their goal differential to 45-3 in five blowout victories.
Bigger and better games are ahead, but the Panthers are cruising through the early part of their schedule behind one of the most talented duos in the history of Lehigh Valley girls soccer.
Here are some other storylines and star players from the past week:
Northwestern Lehigh ends a pair of unbeaten seasons
After enjoying a perfect 28-0 season last year capped by a walk-off win in the PIAA championship game, Northwestern Lehigh put that exact dream to bed for two of its biggest competitors in the Colonial League this season. First, the Tigers got the first goal of the season past a formidable Palisades defense in a 7-0 win before handing Bangor its first loss 24 hours later in a 7-1 rout.
Sophia Schaffer combined for seven goals across the two games to regain the local lead in goals scored with 16 on the season. A penalty kick goal by Sarah Wallis of the Slaters was a small consolation prize as it became the first goal of the season conceded by the defending state champions.
Defending EPC champions frustrated in rollercoaster week
The Vikettes had their work cut out for them this offseason following a historic season that resulted in their first EPC championship in program history. A new coach and nearly an entirely new lineup didn’t slow them down in a 3-0 start that included a 2-0 win over Northampton last Wednesday, but a 2-1 loss to Emmaus and 1-1 tie against Freedom deflated the energy from a fast start.
Charlotte Patterson’s goal against the Green Hornets wasn’t enough and no one could break the deadlock with the Patriots, dropping the defending league champions to just 3-1-1 in league play. They’ll look to bounce back against two solid opponents in Easton and East Stroudsburg South to close out the week.
Standout players
Isabella Hallal, Parkland
That’s back-to-back weeks now with standout recognition for Parkland’s Bella Hallal. The two-sport star athlete is up to a league-leading nine goals on the season after burying five goals against East Stroudsburg South and Stroudsburg to begin the second week of the season. Although she was kept off the scoresheet in Monday’s win over Pleasant Valley, it was the only of five games this season that she didn’t record a goal or an assist. With a season-defining stretch ahead, the Trojans will be looking to their target forward to extend her lead in the scoring standings.
Northwestern Lehigh’s Sophia Schaffer, left, shown here defending Palmerton’s Ella Baumgardt during a Colonial League basketball game, has 16 goals and 12 assists this season in soccer. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)
Sophia Schaffer, Northwestern Lehigh
Schaffer is the only player in the area who can say she has double-digit goals and assists this early in the season, and the Tigers are 8-0 in large part because of it. Their junior phenom tallied seven goals in the two biggest league games of the season against Palisades and Bangor while adding a handful of assists throughout the week as well. Now, she’s an early leading candidate for the all-area player of the year.
Bella Danise, Nazareth
The Blue Eagles are spreading the wealth as well as anyone in the EPC so far this season, but Danise is emerging as the team’s most consistent threat with at least one goal in four straight games. That includes a goal and an assist in a 2-0 win over their strongest opponent to date in Bethlehem Catholic on Monday.
Player of the Week
Elliot Policare, Saucon Valley
Policare sits near the top of the local scoring leaderboard through nothing other than unbelievable consistency. The senior Lehigh University commit is yet to play a game without scoring a hat trick, leaving her with 15 goals in just five games for the Panthers. She also sits in a tie for second among the assist leaders in her conference.
As mentioned above, her latest hat trick against Pen Argyl also rewrote the record books at Saucon Valley as she surpassed Reihl and held off Mikuta to claim the school’s record for career goals. However, the race is only just getting started, but that doesn’t stop her from earning player of the week honors for week two.
Other notes
Juliet Snyder climbed the point standings with seven goals and five assists in a 5-0 week for NW Lehigh. Kherington Yezik (5 goals, 3 assists) and Kiersten Klein (4 goals, 5 assists) also shined for the Tigers … Sarai Wellington notched her first two goals of the year for Parkland in a 3-0 win over Pleasant Valley … Dakota Wizeman scored four goals for Palisades in a win over Pen Argyl this week and followed it up with the decisive goal in a 1-0 win over Southern Lehigh later in the week … Easton earned one-goal wins against Whitehall and Wilson West Lawn to improve to 4-1 on the season … Palmerton’s Aubrey Frable jumped to seven goals on the season with a hat trick in a 3-1 win over Pen Argyl on Saturday … Freedom enjoyed a far more successful 3-0-1 week by knocking off Southern Lehigh, PM East and Liberty before battling for an impressive 1-1 tie against ACCHS. Vivian Botros led the way with five goals across the four-game stretch.
Standings
As of Sept. 9
Eastern Pennsylvania Conference
(overall and conference record)
Parkland; 5-0; 5-0
Nazareth; 5-0; 5-0
Emmaus; 5-1; 4-0
Becahi; 4-1; 4-1
Northampton; 4-1; 3-1
Easton; 4-1; 3-1
ACCHS; 3-1-1; 3-1-1
Whitehall; 4-2; 3-2
Pleasant Valley; 3-4; 2-3
Stroudsburg; 2-3; 2-3
Freedom; 3-2-1; 1-2-1
ES South; 1-4; 1-3
PM East; 1-4; 1-4
PM West; 1-5; 1-4
Liberty; 1-6; 1-5
Dieruff; 0-6; 0-5
ES North; 0-6; 0-5
Colonial League
(overall and conference record)
NW Lehigh 8-0; 5-0
Saucon Valley; 5-0; 5-0
Moravian Academy; 3-1; 3-0
Palisades; 6-1; 4-1
Bangor; 5-1; 3-1
Southern Lehigh; 3-2; 2-1
NDGP; 4-2; 3-2
Wilson Area; 3-3; 2-2
Lehighton; 3-3; 1-3
Palmerton; 2-3; 1-3
Northern Lehigh; 1-5; 1-3
Catasauqua; 1-5; 1-4
Salisbury; 0-3; 0-3
Jim Thorpe; 0-7; 0-3
Pen Argyl; 1-5; 0-5
Rankings
1. NW Lehigh
2. Parkland
3. Emmaus
4. Nazareth
5. Easton
6. ACCHS
7. Northampton
8. Saucon Valley
9. Moravian Academy
10. Palisades
Point leaders
Goals; assists; points
As of Sept. 9
Sophia Schaffer; NW Lehigh; 16; 12; 44
Elliot Policare; Saucon Valley; 15; 9; 39
Tesia Mikuta; Saucon Valley; 12; 6; 30
Juliet Snyder; NW Lehigh; 11; 6; 28
Dakota Wizeman; Palisades; 9; 3; 21
Isabella Hallal; Parkland; 9; 1; 19
Kherington Yezik; NW Lehigh; 7; 5; 19
Marta Perry; Pleasant Valley; 8; 2; 18
Kiersten Klein; NW Lehigh; 6; 6; 18
Amelia Glassberg; NW Lehigh; 4; 10; 18
Aubrey Frable; Palmerton; 7; 2; 16
Felicity Houghton; Palisades; 6; 4; 16
Piper Policare; Saucon Valley; 4; 8; 16
Lizzy Bender; Emmaus; 2; 12; 16
Julia Sandt; Nazareth; 5; 4; 14
Tallia Hill; Becahi; 6; 1; 13
Hallie Thomas; Southern Lehigh; 5; 3; 13
Peyton Foder; Pleasant Valley; 5; 2; 12
Kamryn Crookham; Saucon Valley; 4; 4; 12
Bella Danise; Nazareth; 5; 1; 11
Ella Scharper; Emmaus; 4; 2; 10
Giuliana Meyer; Emmaus; 4; 2; 10
