High School Soccer

AAHS coach gets 100th win in victory over Tigers

By John Hartsock

jhartsock@altoonamirror.com

A victory over an archrival in any sport is always very sweet.

For Altoona Area High School boys soccer coach Dave McCarter, his team's 2-1 non-conference win over county rival Hollidaysburg Monday night at Mansion Park was even sweeter.

Now in his ninth season as Altoona's head coach, McCarter racked up his 100th career coaching victory Monday.

But he was the first to say that his players did all the work.

"The kids deserve all the credit,'' McCarter said. "I don't cross the line and play a single minute. They execute the game plan, they make the saves, they make the plays. It's all their effort.''

Junior midfielder Jace Black and junior forward Colin Etters scored first-half goals for Altoona, and the Mountain Lions made them stand up in a game that was played largely in the middle of the field.

Etters took an assist from senior Justin Bossler and opened the game's scoring with a kick from directly in front of the Hollidaysburg goal at the 21:25 mark of the first half.

"Justin Bossler gave me a beautiful ball and I shot it with my right foot into the top left-middle of the cage,'' Etters said. "It feels good to get Coach (his 100th) win, I didn't realize until after the game that this was his 100th.''

Black -- whose sharp straight-on kick was skillfully stopped by Hollidaysburg freshman goalkeeper Liam Jancula in the first half -- made good on a later breakaway try down the middle of the field with 5:18 remaining in the half to stake Altoona to a 2-0 lead at intermission.

"I won the ball at our 30-yard line and took it down the field myself,'' Black said of his goal-scoring effort. "I practice that shot all the time, and I just banged it there.''

Black's goal proved to be the game winner despite the fact that Hollidaysburg generally carried the play to the Mountain Lions in the second half, when the Golden Tigers fashioned a 9-3 shots-on-goal edge.

Junior midfielder Owen Naugle headed the ball into the Altoona cage on an assist from freshman midfielder Micah Blake at the 5:16 mark of the second half to halve Hollidaysburg's deficit to 2-1, but the score remained that way for the duration as Jancula and Altoona senior keeper Luke Mitchell both made at least two very good second-half saves to keep the game close.

It was a tale of two halves, according to Hollidaysburg coach Craig Shale, whose team, like Altoona, now has a 4-1 record.

"It was a great game, and a great advertisement for local soccer,'' Shale said. "I thought (Altoona) had the edge in the first half, but that we dominated the second half. We put a lot of pressure on them in the second half, and I thought that we deserved to get a draw.''

Both teams make long trips tonight. Hollidaysburg travels to Bald Eagle Area, while Altoona treks to Chambersburg.

Altoona and Hollidaysburg will meet again in a rematch on Monday night, Sept. 23 at Tiger Stadium.

"This is always a competitive game that is fun to be a part of,'' McCarter said. "We were in a dogfight after they scored their goal, and I'm glad that we were able to come out with a win tonight.''

SCORE BY HALVES

Hollidaysburg 0 1–1

Altoona 2 0--2

First half

1, A--Etters (Bossler), 21:25. 2, A--Black (unassisted), 34:22.

Second half

3, H--Naugle (Blake), 5:16.

Shots on goal: Hollidaysburg 10, Altoona 8.

Saves: Jancula, H, 6; Mitchell, A, 9.

Records: Hollidaysburg (4-1); Central (4-1).

JV: Altoona, 1-0.