Local Sports

Frosh Perspective: Altoona boys soccer downs rival Hollidaysburg in come-from-behind style

High school boys soccer

HOLLIDAYSBURG -- For a freshman soccer player, Altoona midfielder-forward George DelBaggio III possesses a sense of advanced and outstanding field awareness.

"He's a great kid,'' first-year coach Travis Young said of DelBaggio. "He's very smart, he understands the game, he's very opportunistic out on the field, and he capitalizes on his opportunities.''

DelBaggio did just that on Monday night before a robust crowd at Tiger Stadium, busting down the field and cashing in an assist from sophomore teammate Alexander Hainsey at the 1:13 mark of a second 10-minute overtime session, breaking a 2-2 tie and leading the Mountain Lions to a 3-2, come-from-behind victory over the Golden Tigers.

It was an awesome night for DelBaggio, who assisted on senior Jace Black's header goal at the 11:30 mark of the second half, before scoring the game-tying goal himself just over three minutes later on an assist from Hainsey as Altoona (3-1-1 this season) overcame a 2-0 halftime deficit.

DelBaggio was happy to contribute to the victory, and grateful for Hainsey's assist on the game-winning goal.

"I just ran down the line, he gave me a great cross pass, and I put it in,'' Delbaggio said of the decisive goal. "It feels amazing to win this game -- it's the best feeling ever.''

Altoona pulled off the victory despite the fact that Hollidaysburg dominated the first half territorially and on the scoreboard.

Golden Tigers' sophomore forward Braelyn Ross gave Hollidaysburg a 1-0 lead just 46 seconds into the game by cashing in an assist from freshman speedster Devin Walters.

Walters staked Hollidaysburg to the 2-0 lead at the 12:31 mark of the first half by taking an assist from junior midfielder Caiden Galioto, slipping inside an Altoona defender, and scoring the Tigers' second goal of the night.

Hollidaysburg had an 11-2 shots-on-goal edge in the first half en route to a 19-11 advantage in the game. But the Golden Tigers were unable to put feisty Altoona away.

"Hollidaysburg is a heck of a team, and any time that you come into Tiger Stadium to play them, you know that you will be in for a fight,'' Young said. "We faced a little bit of adversity falling behind two goals in the first half, with their two top (field) players (Walters and Ross) being among the fastest that we'll see all season.

"My message to my players at halftime was that we needed to toughen up, and that we needed to play the type of soccer that we are capable of playing,'' Young added. "Our kids responded well in the second half, and I'm really proud of them.''

Veteran Hollidaysburg coach Craig Shale gave due credit to Altoona, but was also pleased with his team's overall effort.

"This was a game that could have gone either way,'' Shale said. "It was definitely a game of two halves. I thought that we played really well in the first half and had great movement on, and possession of, the ball.

"Sometimes when the halftime break comes it can actually slow a team down, and that might have been the case for us here,'' added Shale, whose team hosts Tyrone tonight. "Credit to Altoona -- they came out ready to play in the second half. Their first goal got them fired up, and then we wound up playing on our back foot a little bit.''

Sophomore keeper Ryder Krause came up big in the cage for Altoona, stopping 17 shots, including a dandy save on a straight-on blast with three minutes left in regulation and a diving stop in the second overtime that kept the game within Altoona's reach.

The two teams meet again in a rematch on Thursday, Oct. 2 at Mansion Park.

"Hollidaysburg is going to have a fantastic season this year,'' said Young, whose team visits Bishop McDevitt Saturday afternoon. "We're really excited about seeing them again at Mansion Park in a couple of weeks.''

SCORE BY HALVES

Altoona 0 2 0 1--3

Hollidaysburg 2 0 0 0--2

First half

1, H--Ross (Walters), :46. 2, H--Walters (Galioto), 12:31.

Second half

3, A--Black (DelBaggio III), 11:30; 4, A--DelBaggio (Hainsey), 14:46.

Second overtime

5, A--DelBaggio III (Hainsey), 1:13.

Shots on goal: Hollidaysburg 19, Altoona 11.

Saves: Krause, A, 17; Jancula, H, 7; Hollidaysburg defense, 1.

JV: Hollidaysburg, 2-1.