CATASAUQUA - The Lehighton girls soccer team continued to make school history Thursday with its debut in a district semifinal, but top-seeded Whitehall ended the Indians’ season by advancing to the District 11 Class 3A final with a 4-0 shutout.

“We’re only the second team in school history to make it to districts, and it’s because these girls never stopped believing,” said Lehighton coach Carl Wolter. “They kept working, and it wasn’t just putting in work. It was working to make a team bond together as one unit, and they did that.

This, what you see with all the tears, is because they’re a family now. It’s special.”

Unlucky in the second minute of play, Whitehall scored on an own goal after an initial attempt to score was made by Zephyr forward Ava Wells and saved by Lehighton goalie Ciara Berhel.

Collene Sommers’ shot to the far post put the Zephyrs ahead 2-0 in the 12th minute, and Emma Potocnie found the back of the net for Whitehall’s third goal of the night.

Immediately after Whitehall failed to score off a corner, Berhel made a huge save, knocking down the ball with two hands to the gasps of fans from both teams.

“It’s really nerve wracking, but at the same time, it’s exciting and there’s a lot of adrenaline,” said Berhel, who finished with 17 saves. “[Our defense] is amazing, like Emma Repsher is awesome and Lili (Caruso). They’re really good at clearing it out, and then when you put our mids back there, they helped out a lot.”

In the last minute of the first half, Lehighton forward Sadie Monk beat two Whitehall defenders and tried to cross the ball before Mylee Lutsko’s shot went wide.

“It was a situation where I knew they wouldn’t quit, and that they were going to continue to fight no matter what,” said Wolter. “When we came out in the second half, we made some adjustments to try and fix what Whitehall was doing. We wanted to come out and be aggressive, and it just didn’t work in our favor.”

A penalty kick by Lehighton midfielder Karissa Moyer came close to ruining Whitehall’s shutout when Zephyr goalie Samantha Kern (five saves) batted the ball backwards and it almost fell into the net.

Then, as Whitehall’s Wells dribbled through the final third, Lehighton midfielder Leah Uyvari won the ball back for the Indians.

“We came out and fought for 40 more minutes and only gave up one goal in that second half,” Wolter said. “I mean, [Whitehall coach Chris Bleam] kept his starters in there for 40 full minutes, and we fought hard.”

Sommers scored her second goal of the night with 27:16 left on the clock.

“Our passing wasn’t the best, but we stepped up to the ball, and Whitehall was just the better team tonight,” said McHugh. “Even with a loss like this, we need to keep our heads up and keep pushing forward. That’s how we got here.

“I’m so proud of my team. We became a family and worked together. That’s why we’re here.”

ONE WORD ... “Heart” is the way Wolter will forever characterize the 2023 Lehighton girls soccer team.

A TRUE CAPTAIN ... Charli McHugh had ACL surgery just seven months ago. “I beat the odds and worked really hard to get back and play for my senior year,” she said, “and I’m glad I did because we made it really far.”

SENIOR SEND-OFF ... Ryleigh Walker, Iris Zheng, McHugh, Berhel Caruso meant everything to the Indians. “They brought this team up,” Wolter said.