Boys soccer: Huskies top Altoona in district tourney, 2-1
Trending
ALTOONA — It was history in the making Tuesday night as the Mifflin County boys soccer team picked up its first ever playoff win and will be making their first District 6 championship as they gutted out a hard-fought 2-1 victory over a scrappy No. 2 Altoona squad.
Jace Bagrosky posted the game winning shot for the No. 3 Huskies as he smashed a penalty kick to the right side of the net and past Altoona goalie Ryder Krause with just 8:19 left in the District 6 Class 4A game.
"He’s meant a lot to the program, honestly. He’s brought great leadership on the field play, has been outstanding. We moved him around," said Mifflin County head coach Keith Yoder. "When he got that foul, we had actually moved him up to forward. I told him before he came in, ’cause he’s usually a midfielder, and he usually holds down in the midfield. And I said, Let’s just look for five minutes up top and see if we can’t make something happen. And it worked out."
Danny Quinn provided a powerful presence in goal for the Huskies as he saved 10 shots at the goal and was able to kill some strong transition runs by the Mountain Lions.
"Danny (Quinn)what a job. He's only a sophomore. He was a kid that we’ve decided midway through the year that we could use and put Jack Suydam in the field and probably benefit a little more from him in the field. And we knew Danny is very capable, and we put him in there, and he’s been great," said Yoder. "He’s been great. He is a very smart soccer player and knows the game, He knows situational soccer very well. Danny just does things really well for us. We get behind him and I know that the team feels really solid with him in the net."
It was a total team effort as the Mifflin County backline had Quinn's back as well. Helping him by clearing the ball and keeping the Altoona transition game to a minimum and leaving the front of the goal open for a chance for any Mountain Lions to post a goal attempt.
“They kept balls that were in the air. They won them with their head. They made sure to challenge all corner kicks, which has been, you know, we’ve been up and down with this season, and tonight, they were right there on every one of them," said Yoder.
Last Tuesday, the Mifflin County boys soccer team hosted Altoona and was able to shut out the Mountain Lions 2-0.
The Huskies were looking to make it two in a row as the two met in the opening round of the District 6 Class 4A playoffs.
With all the regular season records thrown out and the second season beginning, Mifflin County (3-12-3) had a chance to advance to the next round with a victory.
Early on Altoona (6-10-3) had other ideas as it broke an early scoreless tie when the Huskies were called for a penalty inside their box.
The penalty would allow Bilal Eltayeb to line up for a penalty kick. It would be the only time a ball would hit the back of the net as he scored at 24:08.
Back came the Huskies as they were able to push the ball down into Mountain Lions territory as they started to put pressure on the Altoona backfield.
Less than six minutes later and some strong offensive attempts by the "Purple and White" the Huskies tied the game on a free kick from the 15, sailing it past Krause and knotting things.
From there, the intensity increased every possession seemed more and more important.
After some close calls by both teams, they would go into the intermission tied.
Coming out of the half, the two teams renewed their battle with things starting to get very physical.
As the time ticked off the clock, the intensity began to grow until hitting a fever pitch. Yellow cards began to be issued. The most important one was called when Bagrosky was heading to the goal with the ball and he was taken down inside the box. The result was a penalty kick opportunity for Mifflin County with 8:19 left in the contest.
Bagrosky lined up to take the most important penalty kick in team history. He sized up Krause stepped in and sent it home putting his team in the lead for the first time, 2-1.
From there the defense took over as the Huskies backline and Quinn were able to fend off everything the Mountain Lions could throw at them in the final minutes of play.
With the win, the Huskies will be back in action Thursday.
“It feels great for our program, this is something that we needed. We had been to the playoffs last year, lost 2-1 to Altoona," said Yoder. "This is our 1st ever playoff win as a program. And so that means a ton to be able to play for the District 6 championship. It is just great. We had a tough year, recordwise, but all those games were played against quality competition, and that prepares us for this. So, you know, the record is one thing, but it feels great tonight to get that win."
Mifflin County 2, Altoona 1
MC 1 1 – 2
AL 1 0 – 1
Scoring
First half
AL – Bilal Eltayeb PK, 24:08.
MC – Jace Bagrosky unassisted, 18:12.
Second half
MC – Bagrosky PK, 8:19.
Shots on goal: MC – 14. AL – 14.
Corners: MC – 2. AL – 6.
Saves: MC – Danny Quinn 10. AL – Ryder Krause 3.