It's hard to believe Lehighton and Tamaqua were tied 1-1 after the first half in girls soccer on Saturday.

Tamaqua dominated the half - especially for the first 15 minutes. In that span, Tamaqua took eight shots before Lehighton got one off.Still, the Indians proved resilient and ended up with a 3-2 win in a game played in hot, humid weather in Tamaqua.Lehighton head coach Rich Emmert said it was a team effort that resulted in the win."Today the team actually came together," he said. Today they actually played as a team. The team is the MVP for us; the whole entire team."He agreed that Jada Whiteman and Rajah Quinones, both senior forwards, had big roles in the win. "Jada and Rajah work very good together," he said. They know how to read each other. It's like theyre mentally connected."Add Morgan Yurasits to the successful formula for the Tribe.Whiteman, Quinones and Yurasits each had a goal and an assist.The biggest problem for the Indians all morning was senior Kayla Sherry, who was forced to play out of her position.Coach Clem McCarroll transferred her to forward from her usual midfield position. He also put freshman midfielder Katelyn Rudy up front. She, too, is a midfielder.That's because freshman Emma Kuczynski and Jamie Zuber, the usual forwards who have been showing great promise, both injured their ankles last Tuesday against Hazleton.Sherry scored both of Tamaqua's goals - one of them unassisted. She had six of the first seven shots on goal against the visitors.McCarroll said he moved Sherry to the forward position "because I knew she would take shots. But it hurt in other ways."He said, "We do possession of the ball very well. Our troubles have been in scoring.""We had the shots," he said. "It's been a struggle. We just don't have the experience yet."Emmert said, "They dominated the first half. It took us that long to wake us up."COPING WITH THE HEAT ... The heat and humidity took a toll on the players. Some key players had to be substituted periodically because of it. The referees provided the teams with hydration breaks in each half.NOT CAPITALIZING ON OPPORTUNITIES ... Tamaqua had opportunities in the first half to add points but inexperience cruelly interjected. Once, a kick seemed inevitable to go in from the side but instead bounced off the support poles. Then, the Lehighton goalie was pulled out of position and a Tamaqua player had a short, clean shot with no defenders close to her. The shot went to the side.SOME STATISTICS ... Tamaqua took a total of 22 shots while Lehighton had 15. About a third of the Blue Raider shots were by Sherry. Five of those shots by the Indians were by Jada Whiteman; four of which were off the sides. Tamaqua had five corners; Lehighton one.NEXT UP? ... The win was the first for Lehighton after two losses. The Indians play at home today against Notre Dame and at home tomorrow against Jim Thorpe. Tamaqua is 1-1-1. They have a tough schedule this week, at home Tuesday against Blue Mountain and then travel to Pottsville on Thursday.