Senior Night is often a special night that creates a greater meaning for the upperclassmen and their teammates.

This would prove to be true for Lehighton on Tuesday. The Indians set the tone early by scoring 45 seconds into the game and dominating play, cruising to a 5-1 victory over Jim Thorpe.

The night began with the escorts of seniors Karissa Moyer and Emma Repsher, followed by an emotional moment for Repsher at the beginning of the game as coach Carl Wolter sent her out onto the field for the first time this season after missing the entire year recovering from knee surgery in early August.

“It was just something we did so that she could see the field this year because she wasn’t able to see the field at all this year,” Wolter said about Repsher taking the field. “She had put so much time and effort into this that we thought she deserved to get out on the field and get that moment out in the sun in front of everybody.”

Although Repsher did not play in the game, the impact from just being able to see her out on the field was felt among her teammates.

“I thought it was very special, especially since she’s been here for the whole team throughout the season and last season,” said senior teammate Karissa Moyer. “It was a very special moment for us.”

From the emotions of the pregame festivities, the Indians did not waste any time as the game got underway, with junior Mylee Lutsko opening the goal scoring from long distance just 45 seconds into the contest.

With an early lead, Lehighton settled into a rhythm and controlled the game offensively.

For Jim Thorpe, it was freshman goalkeeper Isabella Roman who stood out and kept the Olympians in the game, as she helped her teammates hold the Indians to only one goal in the first half.

Wolter was looking for his team to have a better second half than most of the squad’s previous games, an area he felt the Tribe could improve.

He got what he was looking for early on, as Lutsko set up Moyer for the Indians’ second goal of the game just 33 seconds into the half. It would spark the Lehighton offense, as it began to pull away from the Olympians on the scoreboard with three more goals within the next 20 minutes.

First, it was sophomore Taylor Moyer on a penalty kick a little over four minutes later. Then it was junior Avery Bauder, set up by Moyer less than five minutes later. The final dagger for the Olympians came about 12 minutes later when Moyer tallied her second goal of the night on a free kick to make it a 5-0 game.

Moyer finished a special night for the Indians scoring two goals and recording an assist.

“I think I overall did really well,” she said. “It was just amazing to play this well on my senior night.”

Wolter was impressed with how his team managed the second half of this game.

“The girls showed how much they’ve grown this season, how much they’ve matured and how they’ve really come together as a team,” he said. “We went out there and we dominated the second half and got a good victory.”

Senior Haylee Fischi got the Olympians on the board to end her career at Jim Thorpe on a high note. Roman would go on to end the night with an impressive 24 saves despite the defeat.

On top of Repsher’s inability to play, the Indians were faced with numerous challenge this season that included fielding a limited number of players, limiting the number of subs, and having a younger team in general with only two total seniors. Despite these obstacles, there is optimism from Wolter about the future of this Indian team.

“The girls just improved so much throughout this year that they never gave up, and I think that’s a big thing that’s going to give us a lot of momentum, not just for next year but for years to come, because they’ve learned so much (and) matured so much,” he said. “We’ve come together as a team, and they’re going to become a force to be reckoned with in the coming years.”

SOUND OF MUSIC ... The Lehighton high school band performed at the game.

AWAY FOR THE NIGHT ... Olympian head coach Chris Geiser was not at Tuesday’s game as he was celebrating his son’s senior night at Jim Thorpe.