Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Altoona's Jace Black (3) is congratulated on his goal.

By John Hartsock

jhartsock@altoonamirror.com

HOLLIDAYSBURG — It goes without saying, but when a team holds an opponent scoreless in a game, the team almost always wins the game.

The Altoona Area High School boys soccer team posted its second shutout victory this season over archrival Hollidaysburg Monday night, topping the Golden Tigers, 1-0, in a non-conference matchup at Tiger Stadium.

It came on the heels of Altoona’s 2-0 victory over Hollidaysburg a week before at Mansion Park, and boosted the Mountain Lions’ season record to 7-1.

Sophomore midfielder-forward Jace Black accounted for the game’s only goal six minutes into the action, scoring off an assist from junior forward Troy Peterman.

Altoona registered a staunch defensive effort to make the goal stand up.

“We played great defense tonight, and we didn’t give them a lot of clear looks at the goal,” Altoona coach Dave McCarter said. “We played with good instincts and speed, and we stayed on the ball tonight and didn’t panic.

“Our players trust each other, which helps us,” McCarter added. “We like shutouts, especially here, because this is such a tough place to play.”

Black found himself alone in front of the cage on a play that was started by senior midfielder-forward Ian Long, who slipped the ball to Peterman. Peterman then gave Black a room-service type of assist, and Black picked the lower righthand corner of the cage with a shot along the ground past Hollidaysburg senior keeper Derek Wright.

“It was a phenomenal play, I got a great ball from our right wing (Peterman),” Black said. “He knew right what to do. All I had to do was to concentrate, but sometimes, the easiest shot can be the toughest to make.”

In a game where scoring opportunities were at a minimum, it was vital to convert them when they presented themselves.

Wright stopped 10 of Altoona’s 11 shots, while Altoona junior keeper Luke Mitchell logged the shutout by stopping all seven Hollidaysburg chances.

Altoona controlled play through the first half, but Hollidaysburg (5-3) stepped things up in the second half.

“When you think about it, these teams were quite even, and there were not many scoring chances for either team,” Hollidaysburg coach Craig Shale said. “In the first half, Altoona was really strong to the ball.

“But we made some changes at halftime, we played a good second half, and we created some scoring chances for ourselves,” Shale added.

Mitchell made a good save off a Hollidaysburg header attempt in the first half, and another one on a shot along the ground with 9:30 left in the game after the Golden Tigers had found an opening downfield.

Wright was sharp in goal all evening for Hollidaysburg, stopping a pair of tough shots from Black and another from senior midfielder Cohen Crawford — all in the second half.

Altoona is a young team this year, but the Mountain Lions are off to a great start.

“This puts us at 7-1 now,” McCarter said. “We’re a young team, but we’ve grown a lot since the start of this season.

“It means a lot when our defense holds up and we do our job in the back of the field,” McCarter added. “We’re looking solid right now.”

Game notes: Both teams are back in action tonight, with Hollidaysburg hosting Clearfield and Altoona hosting Chambersburg at Mansion Park … Hollidaysburg won the junior varsity matchup, 3-2, on a tie-breaking goal by Nolan Richardson with two minutes left in the game.

SCORE BY HALVES

Altoona 1 0–1

Hollidaysburg 0 0–0

First Half: 1, A–Black (Peterman, Long), 6:00.

Second Half: No scoring.

Shots on goal: Altoona 11, Hollidaysburg 7.

Saves: Mitchell, A, 6; Wright, H, 10.

Records: Altoona (7-1); Hollidaysburg (5-3).