FOUNTAIN SPRINGS - The heartbreak will surely linger for some time for the Jim Thorpe girls soccer team.

It was a golden goal situation, and the Olympians were looking for that first score to top once-beaten Minersville and gain the right to advance to the Schuylkill League championship game.

A win and Thorpe was going to play for all the marbles for the first time in program history.

But with the clock showing 13:55 on Tuesday, Minersville freshman Ava Yob hit a direct kick from the 18-yard line with the coolness of a veteran. Yob’s overtime game-winner from the left side was perfectly placed in the upper half of the right corner, just out of the reach of goalkeeper Kate Bos.

Game, set, match: Minersville 1, Jim Thorpe 0.

“When you get into a golden goal, anything can happen,” said Minersville head coach Jeff Rinaldo. “I’ve been on both sides of this.”

Rinaldo knew his team was in for a battle against the Olympians.

“They’re extremely physical, they handle the ball very good,” he said. “I was concerned with the speed, quickness and they turn on the ball very good.”

Playing on back-to-back nights, Thorpe wasn’t rubber-legged. They outshot Minersville, and put a lot of pressure in the opposition’s end throughout the contest.

Lydia Wallace was the ideal poster child for the Olympians (11-7). She kept blitzing up and down the turf and had her share of shots, but Minersville always seemed to recover at the most opportune time.

“I thought we had the better of things; I thought we had more offensive plays then they did,” Thorpe mentor Tom Condly said. “I thought we played well enough to win … when you got to overtime, it’s one goal.”

Thorpe was also getting a lot of mileage from Ehlauna Penn, Kelli Hogarty and Lauren LeKites. The midfielders were superb all evening.

And there were times when any one of several players could have easily punched in a score. The way the contest wore on, one could sense any score in regulation would be enough to hold up.

With 34:30 on the second half clock, that one goal almost came to pass. Wallace, using her great speed and athleticism, came soaring down the field, but Minersville managed to defend things perfectly.

It was ditto for the Thorpe defense five minutes later, when Yob seemed to have a clear shot at a score, but Jim Thorpe thwarted that attempt.

The Olympian defenders also turned back a freewheeling Shea Hossler, who just missed on her shot with 4:22 to go in regulation.

However, Minersville (17-1) wasn’t going to let things linger when overtime rolled around. It immediately went to work and with less than two minutes off the clock, Yob got her opportunity for a direct kick, and she didn’t let that chance go by the wayside.

With the perfect trajectory, Yob’s game-winner was a perfect shot.

It was also a shot that kept her team alive for a league championship.

QUOTABLE

… “When it comes to overtime, it’s one goal. We’ve been there before, but we’re going to districts,” said Condly, looking for the silver lining after the tough loss.

SHINING STARS

… Thorpe’s Wallace kept her wits about her and dug in trying to make something happen for her team. Ditto for Gabby Cinicola, Nicole Carroll, Lexi Marotto, Niki Ivan and Heidi Washel.

IN THE NET

… Both goalkeepers were standouts for their respective teams. Bos kept her spacing perfect and turned away three shots. For Minersville, Megan Horan had to fend off four Thorpe tries.

KNOWING THE FEELING

... Minersville’s only loss this season was 1-0 to Pine Grove on opening day. There was one second to play in that game when the Cardinals scored the winning goal.