Mt. Pleasant girls soccer flexes muscles in section showdown with Southmoreland

By: Paul S. Brittain
Monday, September 16, 2024 | 11:34 PM

Maddie Barrick may not be among the leading scorers on the Mt. Pleasant girls soccer team, but she does have great timing when she finds the net.

Barrick scored two first-half goals Monday, including the game winner, as the Vikings built a 3-1 halftime lead and went on to win 6-1 over rival Southmoreland to remain unbeaten overall and in Section 4-2A.

“(Maddie) has scored some major goals for us,” Viking coach Rich Garland said. “She had the game winner against South Park and will probably finish with about 13 goals.”

Barrick scored both of her goals from the right side less than five minutes apart. She said she felt certain the first shot would find the net but was not sure on the second.

Of the first goal she said, “I saw the ball drop back to me and thought, why not? As soon as I hit it, I knew it was going in. The second one, I just hoped for the best.”

Mt. Pleasant (4-0, 7-0) scored quickly just over three minutes into the game when Morgan Gesinski intercepted a Southmoreland goal kick and buried a line drive to the upper right corner of the net from about 25 yards away.

Caitlin Fullman assisted on Barrick’s first goal and Gesinski assisted on the second goal by Barrick.

Southmoreland (3-1, 5-3) briefly shocked the Vikings faithful when Megan Mehall chipped a shot into the net with just 15 seconds left in the half for only the second goal against Mt. Pleasant in section matches.

“Our goal was to keep it a one-goal game in the first half, and we felt good at 3-1,” said Southmoreland coach Josh Pajak. “You have to hold a team like that off the scoreboard, and we had a pretty effective effort for the first 60 minutes. But we had a couple defensive breakdowns. Mt. Pleasant is a good team, and we need 80 hard minutes the next time we play them.”

The second half was all Mt. Pleasant as the Vikings had back-to-back corner kicks around the 15 minute mark, and Rylin Bugosh cashed in on the second opportunity.

Gesinski added her second goal of the night about 90 seconds later, and a late goal by Camryn Kapr ended the scoring at 6-1.

Southmoreland had a near breakaway chance in the second half and a corner kick late in the contest but couldn’t beat goalkeeper Laurel Rummel.

Despite the two-goal halftime edge, Garland said, “You’re always concerned when you give up a (late) goal like that. You want to have a blank sheet.

“In the second half, we made some adjustments that opened up some chances. Southmoreland is a good team. They try hard and never stop working.”

Tags: Mt. Pleasant, Southmoreland