Craig hot as Connellsville shuts out Geibel in soccer
CONNELLSVILE — The Falcons dominated possession and got a hat trick from Jacob Craig on their way to an easy 5-0 win over visiting Geibel on Saturday. Both defenses were stingy early before Connellsville scored two unassisted goals in two minutes.
Colton Cortez found the net first for the Falcons as he scored on a rebound with 7:42 remaining in the first half.
Connellsville once again progressed down the field and Josh Richey scored on a deflection with 5:45 left.
The Falcons outshot the Gators 8-2 in the first half and enjoyed a two-goal lead, entering the game’s second half.
Geibel goalkeeper Jeremy Toth made some tough saves to limit the damage done by the Falcons.
“Jeremy is a rookie keeper. And I thought he did a good job in his first game at the high school level,” said Geibel coach Mike Grant.
The second half was Craig’s time to shine as he recorded all three of his goals.
“Jacob was making good runs off the ball and he was finishing,” said Connellsville coach Jason Rice. “Jason was doing what he was supposed to out there, but those goals weren’t going to come without the rest of the team.”
Craig found the back of the net almost immediately as he scored on an assist from fellow Junior Jacob Dunston and the Falcons gained a comfortable three-goal cushion.
Paul Emanuel was the next to set up Craig as he sent a proficient pass up field and Craig once again capitalized.
With 30 seconds to go Craig received a pass from Lucas Saylor, broke up field, and beat the keeper to cap off his hat trick.
“Keeping possession is something we have been working on as a team,” said Rice. “We were able to apply pressure and wear them down.”
Geibel had an uphill battle working against a good Falcon squad with a limited roster.
“We started three freshman today and were playing with only one sub, that makes things difficult,” said Grant.
The Falcons next contest will come on Tuesday when they travel to Norwin for a Section 1-AAA matchup.
The Gators will also play a section opponent on the road as they look to bounce back against Chartiers-Houston.