High School Soccer

Lions win at rival Tigers for first time in long time

By John Hartsock

jhartsock@altoonamirror.com

HOLLIDAYSBURG -- Wins over archrival Hollidaysburg have been scarce for the Altoona Area High School boys soccer program in recent seasons, especially at Tiger Stadium.

Thanks to a quick start and all-around good ball skills, the Mountain Lions were able to turn their fate around Tuesday night.

Altoona broke out to a 2-0 lead in the game's first 12-plus minutes, and held serve the rest of the way for a 3-1 non-conference victory over the Golden Tigers on Hollidaysburg's home field.

"This has been a tough place to play,'' Altoona coach Dave McCarter said of Tiger Stadium. "It's probably been since pre-COVID that we've won here, so it's nice to get one tonight.

"We were sloppy at times, and we had our up-and-down moments, but we kept our composure when it counted,'' McCarter added. "We're a team with some young players as well as some senior leaders, and we have players who play with a lot of energy, and who want to come out and play soccer.''

Altoona (3-1) broke out early on goals by sophomore midfielder Justin Bossler 8:12 into the game, and another by senior star midfielder Kade Black at 12:21.

Bossler took an assist from freshman Jace Black and booted a long-range shot into the lower right corner of the cage past Hollidaysburg junior keeper Derek Wright to give Altoona the early lead.

"We've had some pretty rough games with (Hollidaysburg) the past couple years,'' Bossler said. "It feels good to beat them.''

Kade Black kicked a high shot into the upper right corner of the cage just over four minutes after Bossler's goal to give Altoona a 2-0 lead. Jace Black, Kade's younger brother, picked up another assist on this goal.

"I think scoring two goals early in the game helped us a lot,'' Kade Black said. "It gave our team high hopes, and got us ready to play.''

Even so, Hollidaysburg (1-3) answered the Altoona goals with one of its own before intermission, when senior forward Eric Arbogost scored unassisted from the middle of the field at the 27:36 mark of the first half.

Arbogost's shot was the only blemish on the goalkeeping record of Altoona sophomore Luke Mitchell, who had 13 saves in the game -- including three particularly outstanding stops on open, direct shots in the first and second halves and a header near the cage early in the second half.

Veteran Hollidaysburg coach Craig Shale was taking a personal day to see his son Evan play his first collegiate soccer game out of town Tuesday, so assistant coach Don Tantius was filling in as head coach for the Golden Tigers.

"Their speed was too much for us tonight,'' Tantius said of the Mountain Lions. "They got up quick on us, and made it hard for us to come back.

"I thought that we played well and had a couple of chances, but we just couldn't finish,'' Tantius added.

Junior striker Cohen Crawford put a padlock on the win for Altoona by blasting a centering feed from Colin Etters under the crossbar and into the cage with 11:11 remaining in the game, giving the Mountain Lions a 3-1 lead.

"The ball was perfectly placed across the field to me, and I ripped the shot and sealed the game,'' Crawford said.

And in so doing, helped his Altoona teammates leave what has been a tough venue for them recently with a very good feeling.

"This was a great team victory,'' McCarter said. "We have some things that we have to work on, but overall, I'm thrilled with our effort.''

Game notes: Altoona won the junior varsity game, 2-0 behind goals from Roman Dunio and Zach McGary ... Altoona will hostHollidaysburg in a rematch on Oct. 13 at Mansion Park ... Mountain Lions play at Mifflinburg Saturday afternoon, while Hollidaysburg heads to Clearfield for a Mountain League matchup Thursday afternoon.

SCORE BY HALVES

Altoona 2 1 -- 3

Hollidaysburg 1 0 -- 1

FIRST HALF

1, A--Bossler (J. Black), 8:12; 2, A--K. Black (J. Black), 12:21. 3, H--Arbogost (unassisted), 27:36.

SECOND HALF

4, A--Crawford (Etters), 28:49.

Shots on goal: Hollidaysburg 14, Altoona 12. Saves: Mitchell, A, 13; Wright, H, 9.

Records: Altoona (3-1); Hollidaysburg (1-3).