Late rally falls short in 2A championship game
Tyrone’s girls soccer team rebounded from a season in 2025 when they finished with four wins to make a serious push for a District 6 championship just a year later.
It was the team’s first venture into the postseason in 13 years.
By almost any measure, the Lady Eagles’ 2026 campaign was a resounding success.
But that knowledge does little to soften the blow of their 2-1 loss to Central Cambria in the 2A championship game Thursday at Mansion Park.
The Lady Eagles suffered a slow start Coach Rita Kendziora said plagued them all season and couldn’t recover after going down by two goals in the second half.
“A challenge for this team all season was the first five minutes and last five minutes of the game,” said Kendziora, who is in her first season as the Lady Eagles coach. “We struggled to come out strong and finish strong all season. We also played much better in the second half of the game compared to the first half of the game. Additionally, I believe we let the excitement and nerves of a championship game get the best of us.”
On the one hand, Tyrone was already playing with house money. After entering the tournament as the No. 5 seed, the Lady Eagles defeated Central in overtime before dethroning No. 1 Cambria Heights on penalty kicks.
On the other, the slow start against the No. 6 Lady Red Devils allowed Central Cambria to nickel and dime the Lady Eagles with a goal in the first half and another in second to spoil a strong performance by netminder Pyper Sparklin.
Tyrone wasn’t able to get a shot on goal against Lady Devils’ goal keeper Julia Murphy in the first half and never truly pressured her until making a few rushes 15 minutes into the second half.
The Lady Eagles trailed 2-0 late and finally got on the board with 1:22 to play on a goal from the left side of the box by junior Mya Plummer. It cut the score in half, but the with time expiring the Lady Devils were able to play defense and keep away to secure the victory.
Central Cambria took a 1-0 by halftime off a goal at the 1:11 mark by Kaydence Sinclair, who went long-side on Sparklin after she came out of the net to cut the angle on a breakaway.
It stayed 1-0 until just over 13 minutes remained in the game when Sinclair got another one past Sparklin to really put the pressure on the Lady Eagles, but they responded with some of their best chances of the game.
“I told them all at the end of the game that they have so much to be proud of,” said Kendziora. “We were able to extend our season into the playoffs, which is not something any of those players have had the opportunity to do before. I am so proud of this team and the overall performance they had all season.”
The Lady Eagles finished the season 9-9-3 and will lose a strong class of seniors that includes Sparklin, Allie Blaska, Olivia Newlin, Olivia McCloskey, Emily Houghton, Abby Lucas, Sarah Chichester, Alice Knarr, and Aubrey Biter.
“The group of seniors were truly a special group,” said Kendziora. ”I told them all that if I could change anything, it would be to be able to coach this exact group of girls for another season.”
