Husky booters open with inaugural tournament
Boys Soccer Roundup
Sentinel Photo by MIKE GOSS Trending
LEWISTOWN -- For openers, Mifflin County boys soccer coach Keith Yoder will take it. Especially since it was the First Dawg Bowl Classic Tournament.
Despite some early offsides penalties and an inexperienced lineup, the Huskies came away with a 3-1 win over East Juniata in non-conference action on Saturday in the season and tournament opener for both clubs at Kish Bank Field at Donald M. Chapman III Stadium, in Lewistown.
"We definitely have some things we can clean up and do better. We had some key players out so we were young and inexperienced," Yoder said. "We made a lot of mental mistakes like being offsides but we ironed it out as the game went on. I thought our attack was better I thought we were more focused on the second half then first half."
The Tigers' first shot on goal found its way to the back of the net, coming off the foot of sophomore Cruz Martin. The shot would be one of two that the Tigers mustered during the first half.
Mifflin County didn't hesitate to shoot early as Brody Basom came close early and often, taking five shots on goal.
Despite six early offsides penalties, Mifflin County eased themselves into the game with goals from senior Kayden Hook, Kolt Dixon and Evan Russler.
"I would like us to possess the ball more," East Juniata head coach Tyler Inch said. "We put a lot of balls into open space when our guys were 10 yards away with wide open space around,"
"We also have to get more pressure so the pass can't get through us every single time those are things we can build on," Inch added.
Mifflin County outshot East Juniata 12-5 and led 5-2 in corners. Jack Suydam and Danny Quinn combined for four saves for the Huskies.
Mifflin County 0, Central Mountain 0 (Huskies win 4-2 on penalties): LEWISTOWN -- Mifflin County played Central Mountain in the nightcap and it came down to penalty kicks, which enabled the Huskies to score a 4-2 victory.
Mifflin County was led by strong defense by Quinn.
"This one feels good," Yoder said. "This will go down as a tie in the books but this would make us the tournament champions which is cool being that this is the first ever tournament here.
"I'm really proud of our guys in our locker room," Yoder added. "We talked about the guts is was going to take with guys getting hurt. I'm just really proud of the guys effort with it being the second game of the day and the heat. It's great to finish some balls and come out on top for the PK win."
Mifflin County showed grit late in the game to keep hope alive with good offensive performances across the board to get the job done against Central Mountain.
"Danny Quinn had a huge save in cage in the penalty kick shootout while our players; Callen Harman, Kolt Dixon, Jace Bagrosky and Connor Donovan buried all four of theirs," Huskies assistant Todd Peters added.
The Huskies outshot Central Mountain 6-3 and each team had 2 corners. Quinn made three stops.
Mifflinburg 5, East Juniata 1
LEWISTOWN -- The Tigers' second tournament game ended with a loss to Mifflinburg. Matteo LePape scored the lone goal for East Juniata, with Ian Rickenbaugh earning an assist. Keeper Jonny Hoffman made five saves.
The Huskies host State College on Tuesday, while East Juniata entertains Shamokin Area on Thursday.