Waynesburg edges Mustangs, 1-0, in Section 6-AA opener
Laurel Highlands' Tyler Brown (15) jumps to intercept the pass to Waynesburg Central's Cameron Jacobs (4) at Laurel Highlands High School on Tuesday.
Waynesburg Central goalkeeper Nick Fox dives for a save against Laurel Highlands in the Raiders’ 1-0 win over the Mustangs. (Photo by Joel Brewton)
Waynesburg Central’s A.J. Ricci (12) and Laurel Highlands’ Nick Fiano (11) battle for possession during a recent game at Laurel Highlands. (Photo by Joel Brewton)
Waynesburg Central used a stingy, defensive effort and an early goal to prevail, 1-0, over Laurel Highlands Tuesday in boys soccer action. It was the Raiders’ Section 6-AA opener.
The Raiders (3-1, 1-0) had their original section opener postponed a week ago at home against McGuffey due to inclement weather.
“Both Coach (Jake) Yates and one of our seniors, sweeper Brandon Hogan were out today because of red cards,” Raiders assistant coach Brian Knapp said. “So we were a little behind the eight ball, but it felt good to get our first section game under our belt.”
Coming into the game, Waynesburg had not played a full, 80-minute game until nine days ago at the season-opening Hempfield Tournament.
The Mustangs (2-3-1, 1-2) stayed in the game with its steady defense, but couldn’t figure out the Raiders’ defense and Coach Zach Sipe was disappointed in the early goal.
“Our big issue is that we don’t start the game well,” Sipe said. “If we played the game like we did the final 20 minutes of the game, we would be a consistent team and win more. We have given up five goals within the first 10 minutes of games this year. We are not showing up and showing the intensity you need to start a game. It’s very disappointed and it’s a heart issue.”
Both teams mustered 10 shots apiece during the defensive match.
The Raiders scored the lone goal of the game seven minutes in when Micah Stanko found the back of the net for the visitors.
The goal was assisted by a corner kick from Alex Yenchik and a give-and-go pass from Yenchik to Stanko to the right of the Mustangs’ net.
“Micah is definitely an offensive threat for us,” Knapp said. “He plays both ways and is definitely one of our key attackers. We have five or six guys that can put the ball in the back of the net, but we just have to keep it simple and play fast.”
Waynesburg’s A.J. Ricci had a scoring chance around the 30 minute mark of the first, but Laurel Highlands goalie Jake Mansberry was strong in net with the save.
The Mustangs’ Colby Tarr received a centering pass in front of the Raiders net around the 23-minute mark of the opening half, but his shot sailed wide right.
Five minutes later, Drew DeBerry had a solid scoring opportunity in the offensive zone, but Raiders netminder Nick Fox was up to the task and made the stop to preserve the shutout.
Both defenses clamped down in the second half, as there was a total of eight shots in the final 40 minutes of action with no quality scoring chances by either squad.
“I like our defensive effort tonight,” Knapp said. “Nick has done a great job in net and has been a pleasant surprise as a freshman for us. We have a lot of experienced defenders and they kept their scoring chances down and were attacking the ball.”
For the game, Fox had six saves in net for the victory, while Mansberry suffers the loss despite recording three saves.
Both teams have today off, and resume action on Thursday as Waynesburg hosts section foe Charleroi and Laurel Highlands ventures to Baldwin for a non-section affair.