Second-half surge
Uniontown blanks Albert Gallatin in boys section soccer action
Uniontown had a solid first half that ended with a two-goal lead, but a quick strike to begin the second propelled the Red Raiders’ offense in a 7-0 victory over Albert Gallatin on Thursday in Section 2-3A boys soccer action at Bill Power Stadium on the campus of Uniontown Area High School.
Freshman Jacob Farrell raced down the right side of the field before burying a shot to the left of Colonials keeper Isaiah Garnek for a 3-0 advantage 14 seconds into the second half.
Uniontown had a significant advantage in possession, especially in the first half, as Red Raiders head coach Jamie Holland wanted his team to work the ball around and produce when they had opportunities to put a shot on target.
“I was very happy with how the guys moved the ball and maintained possession in the first half,” Holland said. “We worked on that at practice yesterday to prepare for this match and prepare for Laurel Highlands next week. The movements and runs off the ball were good. Our communication was wonderful tonight. The boys played a hard game.
“We only had two goals in the first half, but I’m not worried about the speed of goals because when you get worried about that, then everyone wants to go to goal, and no one works on the possession and passing.”
Farrell scored the first goal of the match on a header with 31:54 remaining in the opening half.
Holland was pleased with Farrell’s performance in a key section match as a ninth grader.
“Having a freshman step up and make big plays in a section game was huge,” Holland said.
Senior Braylon Woods, who had a brace, increased the home club’s lead to 2-0 with 11:43 remaining in the first half. The sequence to the goal began after Uniontown earned a corner kick.
The Red Raiders decided to pass from the corner flag instead of sending the ball towards the center of the box, which was the strategy used on Woods’ opening tally on the team’s second shot on target.
“The boys and I drew that up at practice,” Holland said. “It is something different for them to do so you are not just running at the ball. They wanted to do something different that looks a little more connected to each other instead of running at the ball and hoping something happens.”
Woods’ second goal came with 32:19 remaining in the match for a 4-0 advantage.
Uniontown brought in multiple substitutes and added three more tallies in the final half-hour.
Senior keeper Noah Holland didn’t face a shot on target in recording the clean sheet. Holland parked himself 85 yards from the Albert Gallatin goal and only needed to play the ball several times.
“We have a good defense this year,” Jamie Holland said. “The goal is to not have your keeper face a ton of shots, so we are pleased all the way around. We know he is a strong keeper and will make the stops when needed.”
The Red Raiders are in fourth place in the Section 2-3A standings with a record of 3-3-0 and nine points. Uniontown is 6-4-0 overall.
The Red Raiders will be a playoff team if the standings don’t change, but Holland’s squad has a tough stretch upcoming that begins at cross-town rival Laurel Highlands (1-5-1, 4 points, 2-7-1) this upcoming Tuesday prior to facing the top three teams in the table: Ringgold (4-0-3, 15 points, 6-2-3), Thomas Jefferson (3-2-1, 10 points, 5-6-2) and Trinity (5-0-1, 16 points, 6-0-4).
“We have some tough games coming up and the fate is in their hands to come out and produce,” Holland said. “They have to want it, and I think most of them do after the performance we saw tonight. Hopefully, the win against McKeesport and tonight’s victory gets us on the right track.”
Garnek was tested early and often, but the junior made 10 saves.