When I began my Senior year, I knew we had a good team and a great chance to extend our season. There was no way for me to expect all that we would encounter along the way, however. We ended up getting all the way to the 3A Quarterfinals of the PIAA State Championships. We faced the Moon Area Tigers in that match. They came into the game 23-0-0. They hadn’t lost or even drew throughout their season.
Moon scored early in the match as we were just getting our nerves settled. I had a “hockey assist” as my dad calls it on our goal that came on transition from a Moon free kick. We held that 1-1 score all the way through full time. For the first time all season, Moon was forced to OT. Unfortunately, Moon was able to get the Golden Goal pretty early into the first OT. Our season ended there.
I was devastated in the moment and for a while after the game. I had put on my #8 Dragon kit for the last time. It was the end of an era. But I have to be proud of what we overcame. Emotions ran high for much of the season and we continued to perform at a high level despite all of the noise.
Despite Allderdice being deemed ineligible for WPIAL Playoffs, I was named All-WPIAL by the Coaches who voted and I am truly thankful for that. I was also voted Team MVP by my teammates.
I learned so much this season about leadership and about team work. I’m so thankful for the group of young men who I call friends and teammates. The personal accolades are not nearly as important at what our team was able to achieve!
