BRADFORD — Bradford and Hollidaysburg were inseparable for more than an hour.

The District 9 champions scored the decisive goal in Saturday’s PIAA Class 3A girls soccer sub-regional, however, eliminating Hollidaysburg with a 4-3 victory.

Hollidaysburg bookended halftime with a pair of goals that gave the Lady Tigers a 3-1 lead, but Bradford roared back in the second half before Grace Close scored the game-winner with 4:04 left.

“The last three goals were a little rough on our part,” Hollidaysburg coach Tristan DelGuidice said. “It was a heck of a season, Bradford played well to get back into it and hats off to them. A disappointing playoff loss but we’ll be back next year.”

The District 6 champions had taken a 2-1 lead into halftime after a 6th-minute goal by Lauren Stevenson and 29th-minute goal by Bella Vent.

Stevenson finished a feed from Chloe Stoehr, who had made a nice move to create space for a run up the right wing before curving a ball into Stevenson. The sophomore didn’t get all of it, but she got enough.

Maddi Cowburn answered for Bradford two minutes later, however, after a defensive misplay in front of the net. Cowburn collected the loose ball and sent it into an open goal, responding to Tigers goal in a blink.

A defensive misplay set up the next goal, as well, as Vent took advantage by making a run up the right blank before beating a diving keeper. Around the 25-minute mark, the Lady Tigers began to turn the tide and kept the ball in their attacking half.

Hollidaysburg’s momentum continued into the second stanza, as a long throw-in by Abby Steiner found Clapper in the box. Clapper took it on a hop and buried it, doubling the Lady Tigers’ lead after they had set up in the offensive zone minutes prior.

Bradford got one back in the 53rd minute off of a corner, when Bella Prince sent a cross that found Cowburn in the midst of a scramble. Seconds later, Kelsea Austin dribbled all the way down the right side and sent a shot on net, which Prince was there to clean up on a rebound to tie the game.

“We saw video on (Bradford), and in the first half, they pretty much did what we expected them to do,” DelGuidice said. “In the second half, it was the same early on until they made an adjustment in where they had (Cowburn). They moved her up from midfield to forward, which started causing us problems. We tried to adjust but the adjustments didn’t work out the way we hoped.”

After the back-to-back goals, the sides were back to where they started with 20 minutes to play. In this portion of the game, however, Bradford remained on the offensive.

The Lady Owls earned a penalty kick in the 63rd minute but a dive to H-burg goalkeeper Sophia Blescia’s right kept it out. After the opening minutes of the second half belonged to the Lady Tigers, its late stages were marked by Bradford attacks as they continued to push forward after equalizing.

Bradford finally broke through in the 76th minute when Close got on the receiving end of a ball sent across the goal crease by Prince. Hburg finished its season at 15-6.

“I’m proud of the girls for the season they had and the way they battled all year,” DelGuidice said. “There is only going to be one team in 3A that will be happy this time of year, and that will be determined in a couple weeks, but unfortunately our ending came a little early.”

First half: H–Stevenson (Stoehr); B–Cowburn; H–Vent.

Second half: H–Clapper (Steiner); B–Cowburn (Prince); B–Prince (Austin); B–Close (Prince).

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