If there was any doubt left about the status of the Jim Thorpe-Tamaqua rivalry, it soon dissipated following the girls' soccer match last night between the two schools. The aggression, frustration, physicality and motivation behind each of the players on the field led to a display of desire, ambition and the will to win.

After the Blue Raiders took a 2-0 lead and saw the host Olympians battle back to tie it before the end of regulation, it was Tamaqua's Morgan Boyle who spear-headed a cluster of players that forced in the game-winning goal, and ended the contest with a thrilling 3-2 overtime win over Thorpe."It seemed like a roller coaster," Tamaqua head coach Clem McCarroll admitted. "We were up by two and we were thinking we could close it out. But then you have to give (the Lady Olympians) credit with the way they came back."After a scoreless first half, the proverbial 'fire' was lit underneath both teams' offenses. At the 34:07 mark, Tamaqua's Lynn Kistler scored after a flurry of action in front of the Olympian net to provide the scoreboard a reason to light up.Seven minutes later, the Lady Raiders' persistence paid off, as Boyle tallied her first goal of the night, providing her team with insurance that would later come into play. Boyle dribbled the ball across to the left side of the goal, before darting the sphere into the right corner. Olympian goalie, Alyssa Smith, was forced to commit and cover the left side, only to see Boyle's attempt skid the twine for the 2-0 lead with 27 minutes remaining.However, that's when Jim Thorpe rose to the challenge of coming back, as they incessantly attacked the Raiders' Carly Sassaman in the net.Eventually, it was Meghann Principe that cut the Raider lead in half, as she pounded one home to get her team off the schnide."They definitely picked it up," McCarroll remembered. "They pushed up and got some runs and it definitely became more physical as the game went on."In the final ten minutes of regulation, emotions stirred and the intensity climaxed, as it seemed rare to not see a player on the turf. Efforts were made by both sides, collisions surfaced, and before too long, there were penalty kicks awarded.Sassaman stood tall in the Tamaqua goal, however, as she thwarted the Olympians on numerous attempts. There was none more poignant than with 5:20 left in the game, however, as Autumn Cope took her penalty kick, only to have it stopped by Sassaman to maintain the Raider lead, 2-1.But Cope received a shot at redemption, as she ended up with a break-away that she capitalized on, booting it well out of Sassaman's reach to knot it up at 2-apiece with three minutes left.As time ran out, the Olympians had control of the ball, along with momentum, and seemed to be commanding the pace of the game, heading into the extra session."We told the girls going into overtime to play our game and try not to get caught up in the physicality of the game," McCarroll continued. "But on that last goal, it seemed like every one of our players were up there and you could tell that the girls really wanted it."A melee went down in front of the Olympian goal and there were several breakaways that Thorpe's Smith stalled. However, as the keeper went out to put an end to an attack, the ball popped loose and that's when Boyle led a charge of Raiders into the net."We scored the two goals and we felt we had all the momentum going into overtime," Jim Thorpe head coach Tom Condly related afterwards. "Unfortunately, we didn't get the luck on our 'PKs,' and we had our opportunities, but we really battled. We expected a physical battle and it was a great game to be a part of. But you hate to come out on the losing end."In the game, Jim Thorpe held the edge in shots, 13-11 with Smith totaling seven saves and Sassaman stopping 10.Both teams are now 5-11 on the season.