Connellsville boys soccer team shut out by Hempfield, 5-0
CONNELLSVILLE – The Connellsville boys soccer team played another strong first half Tuesday night against Hempfield, in a Section 1-AAA matchup, however, the Spartans turned up the intensity and the Falcons failed to respond, dropping a 5-0 decision. The Spartans only led 1-0 at the half.
In the second half, playing a man short because of a penalty, the Spartans put up four goals and outshot the Falcons 18-5.
Johnathon George had a hat trick with three goals for the Spartans, all coming in the second half. Hempfield got a first-half goal from Dario Calamandrei and a late second half goal from Nolan Beresford.
The Falcons got another strong game from freshman goalie Alexander Guie who recorded 16 saves.
“We played great in the first half. Then we had a couple of breakdowns in the second half, which gave them a couple of goals,” Falcons coach Jason Rice said. “We had a man advantage in the second half. We held on the ball too long and didn’t move it around the field. I’d like for us to be intense the entire game. We play well for about 40 minutes, but we’re not getting the complete game out of them yet.”
In the first half the Spartans outshot Connellsville, 9-1. Guie came up with seven saves, however, Calamandrei caught Guie moving up too far away from the goal and dropped a 25-yard shot over his head to give the Spartans the 1-0 lead they would take into halftime.
In the second half the Spartans began to press on the offensive end. George hit the first of his three goals at the 36:14 mark. A foul against the Falcons gave the Spartans a penalty kick at 29:51, but the kick sailed high. About a minute later, the Spartans lost a player due to a penalty, which left them a man short for the remainder of the game.
“The kids played really well in the second half,” Spartans coach Bill Urbanic said. “They started to play our game, slowed things down, and used our possession style to spread their defense, and we were able to break through with some goals.”
George struck again, getting his second goal at 23:59, making the score 3-0. The Spartans had another opportunity at about the 12:00 mark, but Lucas Saylor and Dan Kozel came to the rescue, turning away consecutive shots.
George managed to get free behind the Falcons’ defense for his third goal, slipping past Guie at the 7:21 mark. Nolan Beresford picked up the Spartans’ final score against a tiring Falcons’ defense at the 4:56 mark.