Boys soccer: State College nudges Mifflin County, 2-0
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LEWISTOWN - Mifflin County went to halftime Tuesday night with two goals to erase and a few ideas about how to do it.
The weather never gave the Huskies the chance.
Persistent lightning ended Mifflin County's non-league boys soccer game against State College after one half, leaving the Little Lions with a 2-0 victory in a game that felt unfinished because it was.
State College controlled most of the opening 40 minutes, owning a 5-0 advantage in shots and a 2-0 edge in corner kicks. Mifflin County goalkeeper Jack Suydam made three saves while the Huskies tried to survive pressure that rarely let up.
The Little Lions did most of their damage in the middle of the field.
"State College, as we probably guessed they would be, was very organized in their midfield play," Mifflin County coach Keith Yoder said. "They used small drop passes to set up some through balls and then once they broke that line, it just felt like they had runners all over the place."
State College took the lead with 28:48 remaining in the first half when a hard ball across the box deflected off Mifflin County freshman Connor Donovan and into the net for an own goal.
Yoder said the ball came across quickly and Donovan had little time to react.
"Connor Donovan, one of our freshmen, tried to react on it and just didn't get the right angle that I'm sure he wanted," Yoder said.
State College struck again with 23:22 left. Caleb Bassett carried the ball through the middle and slipped a pass to Marcus Auvillain on the left side. Auvillain finished the chance to make it 2-0.
Mifflin County's best work came on the defensive end. Yoder singled out center back Brody Wolfkill for cutting off passing lanes and breaking up State College attacks before they could become something worse.
"I do feel like Brody Wolfkill as a center back did a good job of taking away some lanes and intercepting some things," Yoder said.
Still, Mifflin County spent too much of the half reacting instead of building possession of its own. Yoder warned his players before the game that simply clearing the ball long against State College would bring the pressure right back.
"We have to match that organization," Yoder said. "We have to match being able to find people in the middle of the field and build our attack up from there."
At halftime, Yoder had formation changes in mind. He wanted to see whether a different look could slow State College's runs and help the Huskies find more numbers in midfield.
Then came the lightning.
The delay became an ending, and the first half became the whole game. The result was declared official.
"It definitely was frustrating because we had a couple of ideas of some things we wanted to try differently as far as some formations," Yoder said. "It would have been interesting to see if we could have slowed down some of the runs that we saw they were making."
The loss dropped Mifflin County to 1-1-1, but Yoder saw more reason for correction than concern. The Huskies have several seniors dealing with leg and hamstring problems, leaving younger players to absorb meaningful minutes with fewer substitutions available.
Mifflin County returns Thursday against Bellefonte in another non-league game.
Yoder said the Huskies have shown enough through three games to believe they can respond once healthier and once league play begins.
"It's a long season," he said. "We haven't even started league play. I think they know we have a lot to offer once we get fully healthy again."
State College 2, Mifflin County 0
State College 2 0 – 2
Mifflin County 0 0 – 0
First half
SC – Own goal, 28:48.
SC – Marcus Auvillain (Caleb Bassett), 23:22.
Second half
Game called because of persistent lightning.
Shots: State College 5, Mifflin County 0.
Corners: State College 2, Mifflin County 0.
Saves: Mifflin County – Jack Suydam 3; State College – Erik Sulman 0.