By CARL PIETRUSINSKI

Last weekend, Lady ‘Lopes soccer team hosted their annual tournament in hopes of a “three”-peat, having emerged the top team for the previous two years.

First, however, they had to battle a formidable opponent in Highlands, with the players fighting back and forth in heat reaching the mid-90s to a 0-0 deadlock by the end of regulation.

The first overtime went by the same way, with neither team scoring. Then with exhaustion looming , sophomore forward Thanna Oddo found the back of the net on a spectacular shot to end the game in dramatic fashion about halfway into the second overtime period.

The victory put the girls up against a Langley Mustangs team that had no problem handling a diminished Keystone Oaks team, which was missing eight players, in a 4-0 victory the night before.
Game time conditions were drastically different from the scorching day before, with temperatures almost 20 degrees cooler and an overcast sky promising a downpour over Lenzner field for the better part of the game.

However, the soggy conditions did not slow the Lady 'Lopes from scoring three quick goals in the first half. Two came by way of senior captain Ehlana Gray who also assisted on freshman teammate Abbey Grove's first career varsity goal. The stingy Avonworth defense held up their end, allowing only one shot on goal.

With the rain still pouring, Avonworth was able to pad its already comfortable lead with three more goals by the feet of senior Abbey Niklaus, Oddo, and junior Kayla Phelps, putting the final tally at Avonworth 6, Langley 0.