Patience is a virtue.

Both Jim Thorpe and Lehighton had to wait until the second half of Tuesday’s Schuylkill League Division 1 girl’s soccer matchup to get on the scoreboard. But in the end, it was the Olympians’ constant offensive pressure that helped them come away with a 2-1 victory over the Indians.

It was a frustrating half for both teams, but especially for Thorpe (2-0; 2-0 SL D1) as it controlled possession in the Lehighton zone for a majority of the half.

A solid gameplan by the Tribe - packing in their defense against a talented group of Thorpe strikers - made it difficult for the Olympians offense to get in close.

However, at the 26:02 mark of the second half, Thorpe’s constant offensive pressure finally paid off. A nice attack by Olivia Rosenberger resulted in a deflection by the Indians’ goaltender into the path of a charging Lydia Wallace, who put the ball in the back of the net.

“The girls were a little frustrated at the half, but we were just telling them to be patient,” said Thorpe head coach Tom Condly. “Kudos to Lehighton, they had a good game plan packing it in.

“We talked about needing to get the ball out wide and the girls made that adjustment and were able to get some good scoring opportunities and then finished. Olivia Rosenberger was key for us out on the right wing during the second half.”

With Lehighton still hanging around, Wallace’s goal was the key moment in the game that woke up the Olympians’ offense.

“Olivia is a great crosser and as a forward, I’m always looking for her attacks and crosses. She made a great run at the goal and then I was able to be there, see the ball and finish,” said Wallace.

Just a short time later, Thorpe tacked on another goal to go up 2-0.

A beautifully placed corner from Wallace was deflected by Kennedy Rider to Nicole Carroll for the finish (20:52).

With the Olympians in firm control, Lehighton did not give in.

Throughout the game, the Indians were able to come up with a few nice runs with forwards Brittney Bartasavage and Charli McHugh, and with just over 12 minutes remaining, Bartasavage cashed in. Bartasavage got a nice run up the right side and was able to beat the Thorpe goaltender to get the Indians within one.

“Typically, our forward’s speed is a real advantage for us and you could see that today, but Jim Thorpe is a very fast team as well, so they did a nice job defensively,” said Lehighton head coach Brian Meckes.

“The girls fought hard all game, and right now we’re just trying to still figure out the pieces to put the girls in the best positions to be successful.”

Lehighton was able to apply some offensive pressure late, but none of their possessions mounted in serious attacks, with the Thorpe defense shutting the Indians out the rest of the way to close out the win.

IN THEIR ZONE ... The Olympians had an impressive 15 shots on goal, with nine corner kicks, compared to Lehighton’s five shots on goal and zero corners.

IN THE GOAL ... Both goaltenders did a nice job in the contest, with Alyssa Myers coming away with 13 saves for Lehighton and Kate Bos coming up with four saves for Thorpe. Bos was on an island one-on-one for most of Lehighton’s shots on goal and was able to make some impressive stops.