Tamaqua rolled to a 6-0 win over Jim Thorpe in a Schuylkill League girls soccer match on Wednesday.

Despite the lopsided final result, veteran Blue Raider coach Clem McCarroll cited several areas where his team needs to show improvement if it plans to contend for a Division 1 title.

McCarroll, in his 20th season at the Raiders’ helm, said, “We have to have shorter touches and better ball possession. There are a number of things we need to clean up.”

McCarroll also wasn’t happy with his team’s play early in the match.

“We need to start the game better than we did,” he said. ‘Give Jim Thorpe credit. They stayed toe-to-toe with us for the first 20 or 30 minutes.”

The game remained scoreless for the first 30 minutes largely due to the spectacular play of JT goalkeeper Olivia Rosenberger. The senior netminder made three great saves in a period of three minutes as the Raiders pressured the goal mouth.

Tamaqua finally solved Rosenberger with 10:41 remaining in the first half as Kimberly Rudy found the corner of the net.

A minute later, Rudy scored again for a 2-0 Raider lead. Then with 5:25 remaining before the intermission, senior forward Sarah Hope scored after a scramble for the ball in front of the net.

Jim Thorpe coach Chris Keiser saw two different efforts from his young Olympians.

“We held our own for the first 20 minutes,” he said. “But then we just stopped executing our game plan.”

While Tamaqua was exploding late in the half to take control of the match, Jim Thorpe was having trouble finding passing lanes and generating offense in the first half. The Olympians best scoring opportunity came when sophomore Yianna Klados got ahead of the defense, but her shot was saved by Cecilia Ulicny.

Tamaqua began the second half by putting relentless pressure on Thorpe’s defense. Rosenberger continued to be hard to beat until sophomore Katelyn Fredericks scored on a nice feed from Lauren Ligenza to increase the Raiders’ margin to 4-0.

“We have to have more drive,” Keiser told his squad after the game. “The frustration gets inside our heads, and that’s what can happen to a very young team, especially because some of our players are brand new to the sport.”

The Raiders never took their foot off the gas pedal.

With under 30 minutes left to play, senior midfielder Abigail Leinbach found the back of the net for a 5-0 advantage. Four minutes later, Rosenberger made a tremendous save on a penalty kick by Fredericks.

A little later, Fredericks got another chance to score and this time she cashed in. Alone with the ball at the 30 yard line, she raced past the defense and planted her second goal of the game with 11 minutes left to play.

Thorpe (2-3) had just two second-half shots and only three for the game. Tamaqua (3-1) peppered the net with double-digit shots.

SHARED SHUT OUT ... Ulicny combined with teammate

Veronica Scott to record the shutout.

HEAT ZONE

… With a game-time temperature near 90 degrees, the officials called hydration timeouts at the halfway mark of the first and second halves.

AIRIAL SHOW

… During the first half, two parasailors could be seen drifting high over the football practice field behind the scoreboard.

UP NEXT

… Tamaqua hosts Marian on Saturday. Jim Thorpe visits Blue Mountain today.