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<p>CLARKS SUMMIT &#8212; An uncharacteristic slow start spelled the end for Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s season.</p><p>Second-seeded Abington Heights jumped out to an early two-goal lead and kept the pressure on throughout the match to defeat the sixth-seeded Spartans, 5-1, in a District 2 Class 3A girls soccer semifinal Nov. 1 at Clarks Summit Elementary School.</p><p>Abington Heights (14-1) will host fifth-seeded Crestwood (13-2) in the championship match Nov. 3.</p><p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know what happened this game, because normally, the whole season, we&#8217;ve been organized right from kickoff,&#8221; Wyoming Valley West head coach Deb Stevens said. &#8220;Our team looked good the first five or 10 minutes, then it kind of went south from there. We were pretty off during the last 30 minutes of the first half.&#8221;</p><p>Comets striker Kelly Seechock had three shots on goal in the first six minutes of the match, but Spartans goalkeeper Danielle Cook came up with the saves.</p><p>Abington Heights&#8217; early aggression paid off when Abby Brown scored on a free kick from 25 yards out, after a foul was called on Valley West, to give the Comets a 1-0 lead in the 9th minute.</p><p>Just over six minutes later, Emily Clauss scored a sliding goal off an assist from Hannah Kowalski to give Abington Heights a 2-0 advantage.</p><p>The Comets constant offensive pressure left Stevens looking for answers.</p><p>&#8220;Our defense was in a little bit of disarray in the first half,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Too bad there are no timeouts in soccer, we would have gathered them in and instructed them. (Abington Heights) came out with so much fire and it was hard to contain.&#8221;</p><p>Abington Heights head coach Roger Jacobs couldn&#8217;t help but smile while recapping the Comets third goal. Kowalski buried the ball into the top left corner of the net off an assist from Emily Clauss to cap a great passing sequence in the 34th minute.</p><p>&#8220;It was a drill that we did yesterday (in practice),&#8221; Jacobs said. &#8220;Emmers laid it off in the box and (Kowalski) ran up to take the shot. It was incredible.&#8221;</p><p>Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s Emma Grimes, who replaced Cook as goalkeeper to start the second half, made a key save on a shot from Seechock in the 51st minute but was injured on the play and briefly left the match.</p><p>Carina Salerno found Clauss for the Comets fourth goal of the match in the 52nd minute.</p><p>Abington Heights took a 5-0 lead in the 55th minute when Kowalski scored her second goal after dribbling into the middle of the box and firing a shot into the top of the net.</p><p>&#8220;I think we came out of the gate a lot more energized than we usually do,&#8221; Kowalski said. &#8220;Our communication level was definitely higher than normal which I think really helps keep us focused.&#8221;</p><p>Valley West (11-4) started generating more scoring opportunities in the final 25 minutes of the match and cashed in when Sabrina Seitz found the back of the net off a pass from Julia Kobusky in the 67th minute.</p><p>&#8220;We finally just got it together,&#8221; Stevens said. &#8220;The second half was a whole different game, but Abington played terrific and was tremendously organized.&#8221;</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>District 2 Class 3A Semifinal</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Abington Heights 5, Wyoming Valley West 1</strong></p><p><strong>Wyoming Valley West`0`1`&#8212;`1</strong></p><p><strong>Abington Heights`3`2`&#8212;`5</strong></p><p>First half &#8212; 1. AH, Abby Brown, 29:46; 2. AH, Emily Clauss (Hannah Kowalski), 23:29; 3. AH, Kowalski (Clauss), 6:05. Second half &#8212; 4. AH, Clauss (Carina Salerno), 28:34; 5. AH, Kowalski, 25:53; 6. WVW, Sabrina Seitz (Julia Kobusky), 13:20.</p><p>Shots &#8212; WVW 11; AH 25. Saves &#8212; WVW 8 (Emma Grimes 5, Danielle Cook 3); AH 5 (Trish Caucci). Corner kicks &#8212; WVW 2; AH 2.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s Kennadi Josefowicz sends the ball upfield during the Spartans&#8217; 5-1 loss to Abington Heights in a District 2 Class 3A girls soccer semifinal match Nov. 1 in Clarks Summit on Monday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_TTL110216.GSOC-WVW-AH-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s Kennadi Josefowicz sends the ball upfield during the Spartans&#8217; 5-1 loss to Abington Heights in a District 2 Class 3A girls soccer semifinal match Nov. 1 in Clarks Summit on Monday. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_TTL110216.GSOC-WVW-AH-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s Nicole Boutanos, right, fights for possession of the ball. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_TTL110216.GSOC-WVW-AH-2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s Nicole Boutanos, right, fights for possession of the ball. </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Robert Tomkavage</p><p>rtomkavage@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Robert Tomkavage at 570-704-3941 or on Twitter @rtomkavage.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Abington Heights’ offense clicks in girls soccer semifinal win over Wyoming Valley West