Abington Heights’ Allison Stanton dribbles past a North Pocono defender at Abington Height High School on Monday, Sept. 21, 2026. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
Abington Heights’ Mila Trently (17) dribbles against a North Pocono defender at Abington Height High School on Monday, Sept. 21, 2026. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
Abington Heights scores a goal against North Pocono at Abington Height High School on Monday, Sept. 21, 2026. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
North Pocono’s Mia Rava (23) looks for an open teammate on at Abington /Height High School on Monday, Sept. 21, 2026. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
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Abington Heights’ Allison Stanton dribbles past a North Pocono defender at Abington Height High School on Monday, Sept. 21, 2026. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
S. ABINGTON TWP. — Losing by a goal with about 10 minutes left in the first half, North Pocono looked like it had a breakaway, as Mia Napolitano chased down a nice pass from her teammate.
However, Abington Heights’ Bri Bustos was on a mission to make sure it didn’t result in a goal.
The Lady Comets junior midfielder/defender sprinted down the field, caught up with Napolitano and gained possession.
The hustle play kept the momentum with Abington Heights, as the Lady Comets scored three goals in the last nine minutes of the first half and rolled to a 7-0 victory over North Pocono on Monday in a Lackawanna League Division I girls soccer game at Abington Heights.
“It was amazing,” Bustos said. “This is definitely one of the best games we’ve played. We started off intense. We watched film before and we knew what we were going into this game. We were honestly amazing. I give props to everyone. Everyone played their part, everyone did what they needed to do. We fixed the things we worked on in practice. It was just amazing.”
The Lady Comets (3-0-1) remained tied with Mid Valley (3-0-1), a 3-0 winner over Delaware Valley on Monday, atop the Division I standings and moved one game ahead of the Lady Trojans (2-1-1).
Allison Stanton scored three goals and added an assist, and Mila Trently had two goals and an assist to lead Abington Heights’ relentless attack that produced 23 shots on goal.
“I was really happy with how we did,” said Stanton, a 2025 Times-Tribune All-Region selection. “We’ve been coming off a really hard last couple of games, and it was awesome to just come out and perform how we performed.”
Abington Heights’ roster includes just three seniors, and returned just three starters — Bustos, Stanton and Morgan Davis, who was the starting goalkeeper last season and comes off the bench as a midfielder/forward this season. Last season, the Lady Comets captured a District 2 Class 3A title and advanced to the state quarterfinals. Among the starters lost to graduation were state player of the year Lilia Calvert, who leads Rutgers in points through eight games, and All-Region players Allie Rothenberger, Hawley Lynott and Lauren Bartell.
“It’s hard to completely rebuild like we had to, but I’m really proud,” Stanton said. “Everyone’s really stepped up and everyone is filling in the roles great. All we ask is for effort, and everyone’s really trying their best.”
That showed Monday, as the Lady Comets kept possession, produced crisp passes and created several scoring chances.
Stanton had two of her 13 shots on goal in the first few minutes, and North Pocono goalkeeper Anna Havenstrite made two diving saves.
Then, Madelynn Calvert gained possession, dribbled down the left sideline into North Pocono territory and had a nice touch to Stanton. Stanton turned and led Trently. The freshman’s perfect first touch avoided a diving Havenstrite, and she kicked it in with her left foot to give Abington Heights a 1-0 lead with 26:19 left in the first half.
The Lady Comets kept the pressure on, as they had a 17-1 shot advantage in the first half. However, North Pocono prevented any for about 17 minutes, and looked to have its best opportunity to tie the score on the breakaway with about 10 minutes left in the first half. Bustos ended that threat quickly, and pushed the ball to Emma Watkins, who found Morgan Davis up the left sideline to put the Lady Trojans on their heels again.
North Pocono couldn’t hold off Abington Heights any longer. Erin Bartell found Stanton, who made two nice moves, dribbling past two defenders, and ripped a shot to the short side to give the Lady Comets a 2-0 lead with 9:00 left in the first half.
Some beautiful passing set up the third goal a few minutes later. Bustos kept the ball in the North Pocono zone, and passed in between two defenders to Stanton, who hit Maddie Webster in the right corner. Webster, a freshman, lifted a cross to the left side of the goal, where Watkins collected it and angled the shot off the side of her right foot and into the goal with 4:41 left in the half.
A few minutes later, two nice passes set up Trently, who fired a shot that Havenstrite deflected. However, Brooklyn Yankow charged in for the rebound and poked it past Havenstrite for a 4-0 lead with 1:24 left in the half.
Stanton added two goals in the second half, one off an assist from Calvert, and Trently tacked on a goal.
“I really felt like we were able to click,” said Stanton, who leads Abington Heights in goals (9) and assists (3) this season and is two goals away from 50 in her career. “We were able to find each other, movement off the ball was great and I think everyone just played really calm, composed and it just worked. It clicked.”
Meanwhile, the defense dominated, allowing just two shots on goal. Sara Horsley had two saves for her third clean sheet of the season.
“Our plan was, our defense, especially our outside backs, push up,” Bustos said. “We just needed to pressure this team hard. We were doing great swinging the ball, keeping possession, and the defense did great just calming things down, but also giving the through balls when we needed an extra push. So, our defense was just amazing today. We definitely kept the team supported, and it was just no goals, obviously. I just give props to everyone on my team, especially the defense.”
North Pocono suffered a blow 12 minutes into the game when 2025 All-Region player Aniya Brago-Jackson hit her head on the ground after a collision and did not return.
First: Trently from Stanton, 26:19. Stanton (AH), 9:00. Watkins (AH) from Webster, 4:41. Yankow from Trently, 1:24; Second: Stanton (AH), 37:32. Trently (AH), 33:50. Stanton (AH) from Calvert, 27:45; Shots-corners: AH 23-4, NP 2-1; Saves: Horsley (AH) 2, Havenstrite (NP) 11, Washko (NP) 5; Records: AH (3-3-2, 3-0-1), NP (4-2-1, 2-1-1).
Mid Valley 3, Delaware Valley 0: At Mid Valley, Raegan Galeas scored in the first half and Adyson Zabriski and Greyson Shimkus added goals in the second half as the unbeaten Spartanettes notched a Division I win.
Medina Graham made two saves to post the shutout.
First: Galeas, 39:00; Second: Zabriski, 53:16. Shimkus from Karlavige, 67:00; Shots: DV 0, MV 16; Saves: Westridge (DV) 11, Graham (MV) 2; Records: DV (1-2-1, 5-3-2). MV (3-0-1, 8-0-1).
Scranton Prep 2, Valley View 0: At Scranton Prep, Lola Palazzari scored midway through the first half and Savannah Turloski added an insurance goal in the second half as the Classics blanked Valley View in Division I.
Chloe Mamera made five saves to earn the shutout.
First: Palazzari from Stofko, 19:00; Second: Turloski from Homsher, 70:00; Shots-corners: VV 5-3, SP 11-4; Saves: Bachman (VV) 9, Mamera (SP) 5; Records: VV 0-4, 1-8. SP 1-3, 3-5-1.
Wallenpaupack 1, Western Wayne 1: At Western Wayne, Maci Lazorchak scored with 10 minutes remaining to rally the Lady Wildcats to a tie with visiting Wallenpaupack in Lackawanna Division II.
Libby Brennan scored for the Lady Buckhorns early in the second half.
Second: Brennan (WAL), 46:30. Lazorchak (WW) from Vinton, 70:00; Shots-corners: WAL 12-3, WW 9-2; Saves: Anderson (WAL) 8, Kaub (WW) 11; Records: WAL (1-1-2, 1-4-2), WW (3-0-1, 5-1-1).
Honesdale 4, Mountain View 1: At Honesdale, Alex Eisele scored twice and Arianna Valerio added a goal and an assist as the host Lady Hornets defeated Mountain View in a Lackawanna Division II match.
Eisele notched her first goal in the first half, 15 seconds after Tessa Norton scored for the Lady Eagles to tie the game. She then capped the scoring with 39 seconds left.
First: Valerio (HON), 12:04. Norton (MTV), 21:29. Eisele (HON), 21:44; Second: Reed (HON), 51:52. Eisele (HON) from Valerio, 79:21; Shots-corners: MTV 3-0, HON 13-7; Saves: VanDewark (MTV) 9, Razny (HON) 2; Records: MTV (0-5, 2-5-1). HON (3-0-1, 4-3-1).
Blue Ridge 0, Holy Cross 0: At Holy Cross, Blue Ridge goalkeeper Melodie Bloomer made two saves and Holy Cross goalkeeper Alaina Scassellati had three to highlight a defensive battle between Lackawanna Division III unbeatens.
Shots-corners: BR 3-1, HC 4-2; Saves: Bloomer (BR) 2, Scassellati (HC) 3; Records: BR (4-0-2, 5-1-3), HC (2-0-2, 4-1-2).