Pair Of Second Half Goals Pushes Hughesville Past Wellsboro

By: Ed Weaver  /  August 30, 2026

A pair of second half goals push Hughesville to a 5-3 lead over the Wellsboro Varsity Girls Soccer team in their home-opener Saturday morning.

In the previous six meetings with the Lady Spartans the Lady Hornets were outscored 35-0.

"We're obviously disappointed with the result because I'm not a coach who believes in moral victories, but our girls deserve a tremendous amount of credit for the way they competed this morning," said Michael Reese. "In our previous six meetings with Hughesville, we had been outscored 35-0 and in our last two meetings we didn't register a shot on goal. To come out today and consistently pressure them defensively while also creating a sustained attack and scoring three goals was a tremendous step forward for this group. We also lost a key piece of our defense to injury before the game, and two freshmen center backs stepped into those roles and did an excellent job against a very good Hughesville team."

Hughesville struck early in the game with goals from Katelyn Temple and Jaysa Kiess in under 13 minutes to take a 2-0 lead. Wellsboro struck just over seven minutes after the Lady Spartans' second goal on a penalty kick from sophomore Haylie Smith, however Hughesville quickly countered with a goal from Bella Young to push the lead back to two, 3-1.

Wellsboro found back of the net quickly thereafter as junior Shaina Harrison scored off an assist from junior Lauren Gehman with 18:01 left in the first half to cut the lead down to 3-2.

The Lady Hornets tied the game up early in the second half as Smith struck for the second time in the game, knotting the score at 3-all. Hughesville then scored their final two goals in the span of 10 minutes after Smith's final goal for the win.

Hughesville out shot the Lady Hornets 18-6 and had a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks.

Senior Jadyn Dunlap made 13 saves in goal.

"Haylie continued to lead our attack with two goals, and Shaina scored her first-ever varsity goal, which was a great moment for her and the team," continued Reese. "We still have plenty to improve on, but the confidence, fight and belief our girls showed today are things they should be proud of."

Wellsboro (0-1) will look to bounce back Wednesday afternoon at Wyalusing.