John Hartsock
From jhartsock@altoonamirror.com
In any sport, beating an arch rival is always very satisfying.
For Altoona Area High School boys soccer coach Dave McCarter, the 2-1 non-conference win over county rival Hollidaysburg on Monday night at Mansion Park was even sweeter.
McCarter, in his ninth season as Altoona’s head coach, recorded his 100th career coaching win on Monday.
But he was the first to say the players did all the work.
“A lot of credit to the kids,” Coach McCarter said, “I don’t step over the line for a minute. They execute the game plan, they make saves, they make plays. It’s all down to their hard work.”
For Altoona, junior midfielder Jace Black and junior forward Collin Etters scored goals in the first half to keep the Mountain Lions on their feet in a game that was played mostly in the middle of the field.
Etters, assisted by senior Justin Vosler, scored the opening goal with a kick from the front of the Hollidaysburg goal at 21:25 of the first half.
“Justin Bosler gave me a beautiful ball and I shot it with my right foot into the top left center of the goal,” Etters said. “I’m happy to give my coach the win. I didn’t realize it was my coach’s 100th win until after the game.”
Black had a sharp straight-line kick expertly stopped by Hollidaysburg freshman goalkeeper Liam Jankura in the first half, but scored a breakaway try from the middle of the field with 5 minutes, 18 seconds left in the second half to give Altoona a 2-0 lead by halftime.
“I got the ball at our own 30-yard line and drove it down the field myself,” Black said of the goal. “I practice that shot all the time and I just put it out there.”
Hollidaysburg outscored the Mountain Lions in the second half, with Black’s goal proving to be the winning goal despite the Golden Tigers holding a 9-3 shot lead in shots.
Junior midfielder Owen Naugle headed the ball into the Altoona goal with an assist from freshman midfielder Micah Blake 5:16 into the second half to cut Hollidaysburg’s lead to 2-1, but the score remained the same until the end of the game as Jancula and Altoona senior keeper Luke Mitchell made at least two excellent saves in the second half to keep the game close.
There are two halves to this story, according to Hollidaysburg coach Craig Scheer, whose team, like Altoona, currently sits at 4-1.
“It was a great game and a great advertisement for local soccer,” Scheer said. “I thought (Altoona) had the upper hand in the first half, but we dominated in the second half. We put a lot of pressure on them in the second half and I think we deserved to get a draw.”
Both teams have long distance travel tonight, with Hollidaysburg traveling to Bald Eagle Area and Altoona traveling to Chambersburg.
Altoona and Hollidaysburg are scheduled to rematch on Monday night, Sept. 23, at Tiger Stadium.
“This game is always competitive and fun to be a part of,” McCarter said. “There was a lot of hard fought battles after they scored, but I’m happy we got the win tonight.”
Halftime Score
Hollidaysburg 0 1–1
Altoona 2 0–2
first half
1, A–Etters (Bosler), 21:25. 2, A–Black (unassisted), 34:22.
Second Half
3, H–Nagle (Blake), 5:16.
Shots on goal: Hollidaysburg 10, Altoona 8.
Saves: Jancula, H, 6; Mitchell, A, 9.
Records: Hollidaysburg (4-1); Central (4-1).
JV: Altoona, 1-0.
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