Every day we are given opportunities to learn from mistakes, accomplishments, and the highs and lows associated with life.

As a young athlete attempting to make it on the varsity stage, there will be plenty of those chances to become a better player or person. Sometimes it’s clear for everybody to see —a player fumbling a ball, or committing an error and bouncing right back to overcome the mistakes in the game. Other times, the learning process isn’t as clear or quick to resolve itself.

For Williamsport’s Lila Vogelsong one of those moments came early in the season as she let up a goal with less than 15 seconds remaining in the game against Loyalsock.

It was just one of those moments that will live on between teams and players as Loyalsock’s Anna Burdett popped a shot attempt up from near midfield to cash in for a 1-0 win.

The goal came with less than 15 seconds remaining on the clock and was devastating to the young keeper and her team. It could have been a season-defining moment for Vogelsong, but she wasn’t going to let a mistake make the early portions of her season a forgettable one. She turned to her coach for help, and he quickly did just that to give her the confidence needed to adjust.

“What I told her was that Ben Comfort basically put a scouting report out on her for the entire league, so she had to stay closer to her line,” Williamsport coach J. Scott McNeill said. “People are going to try and shoot from distance on her now, and try to put the ball over the top of her.”

That’s exactly what happened when Williamsport welcomed in Shikellamy for a rain-soaked tilt in the middle of the week. The Braves posted eight shots on goal with a good percentage of them coming from outside the 18-yard box.

Vogelsong learned from the mistakes early in the season, stopping all eight attempts and recording her second shutout of the season. She could have easily given up or chalked the experience against Loyalsock up as a fluke, but she didn’t. She continued to work and made the adjustments needed against a league opponent familiar with her team.

“Shikellamy is always notorious for shooting from anywhere on the field,” McNeill said. “They have some girls that can smack the snot out of the ball and they turn around and take a shot from anywhere.”

Six of the eight shot attempts by the Braves came over the most crucial parts of the game and Vogelsong was there to make the stop.

The win elevated Williamsport to a single game above .500, but it showed that Vogelsong will continue to grow in her role as the team’s last line of defense. She has put the time in throughout the offseason and should be able to anchor Williamsport’s defense throughout the next two seasons.

“I learned to keep my positioning and stay back when I need to,” Vogelsong said. “I made sure I wasn’t out of position when they took those shots and made sure I was ready when they took those shots. I take pride in my team. I know it’s not just me. We work together really well.”