"People think it's girls soccer so they kind of think it's going to be everyone holding hands and hugging," said relieved Palmerton coach Nate Petrosky, Saturday morning.

It was anything but that when Petrosky's Lady Bombers clashed with Jim Thorpe in a non-league struggle with Palmerton winning, 4-3.The Bombers whisked into a 3-0 first half lead, with two goals scored by whirlwind senior striker Monica Wood.That lead was expanded to 4-0 in the second half, but then the Olympians battled back. At one point, Jim Thorpe scored two goals within a minute in that comeback flurry.The final goal for the Olympians came with 4:17 left in the game."We felt a little deflated," said Jim Thorpe coach Tom Condly. "We felt in the first half we played them solidly, then Monica Wood had a little burst and got a couple of goals on us."He said that during the break, "I told them, 'Take that half out of your head and you can come back.' And we did. They fought to the end. Unfortunately, we were a little short."The game was played with so much precision that there were just two corner shots in the first half, both by Palmerton. The Lady Bombers had five corners the whole game while the Olympians had none.Palmerton had 20 shots on goal, 13 in the first half, while Jim Thorpe had nine.The first score of the game for Palmerton came when Monica blasted a straight shot from about 12 yards out with 15:18 showing on the clock.At 4:12, sophomore Jenna Blynn added a score for Palmerton, popping the ball from just beyond the right post.Then Wood struck again, this time with 1:39 remaining. She guided the ball from the right sideline to just in front of the right side of the goal, then whacked it to the left corner for the score.It became 4-0 midway through the second half when senior Brianna Doherty, who usually plays defender, guided the ball goalward over half the length of the field, approached goalkeeper Rebecca Cressman, faked out Cressman and hit it around her to the left corner with 21:03 left to play.Then the Olympians finally got it into gear.Thirty-seven seconds later, Camille Principe got a deflected shot, took possession and quickly sent it blasting into the net.Sixty-six seconds later, Jackie Condly took a shot from 20 yards out and made it good.Finally, with 4:17 left in the game, junior Maggie Holloway got an assist from Condly and made an impressive goal. Devon Lignore initially set up the play.Of the 20 shots on goal by Palmerton, seven were by Wood.Cressman had 16 saves.Jim Thorpe is now 6-8 and has a league game today with Tamaqua. Condley said his team needs to win today to keep its playoff hopes alive.A PHYSICAL GAME ... Jim Thorpe Coach Tom Condly said he didn't expect such a physical game. "It was very physical. I was a little surpised by Palmerton's physicality." He added, "They were a little more physical than I expected." Palmerton Coach Nete Petrosky said, "We've had a lot of physical games. We're used to that, we're prepared for that."JT GOALIE IS PRAISED ... Both coaches had high praise for Jim Thorpe goalkeeper Rebecca Cressman, who had 16 saves. Petrosky said of Cressman. "We easily could have put away two or more goals but their keeper made some tremendous saves. Condly labeled Cressman, "A phenomenal goalie; in my opinion, the best goalie in our league."KEY PLAYER ABSENT ... Jim Thorpe played without senior Autumn Cope, who last year was the team's MVP. Cope is recovering from a concussion.TWO SCORES WITH WOOD ABSENT ... Two of the points for Jim Thorpe were scored with Wood benched for five minutes in the second half.DOHERTY PROVES VERSATILE ... One of the most unselfish players for Palmerton is proving to be senior Brianna Doherty. Doherty was a striker during her first three varsity years. This year, she moved to defense. Petrosky said, "She made huge sacrifices just to go from leading striker to the back, being a defender." She did come up big for her team on offense by scoring the fourth goal.