High School Boys soccer

‘Micah magic:’ Blake’s goal lifts Hollidaysburg Golden Tigers over Tyrone in boys soccer

HOLLIDAYSBURG -- Hollidaysburg junior midfielder Micah Blake has certainly paid his dues, and according to Golden Tigers' soccer coach Craig Shale, Blake had one coming his way on Wednesday night.

The payoff came with 8:55 left in the Tigers' District 6 Class 3A semifinal matchup with Tyrone at Tiger Stadium, when Blake -- who had missed all of his sophomore soccer season last year with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, astutely turned a steal into the decisive goal as Hollidaysburg earned another berth in next week's District 6 championship game with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Tyrone.

Blake intercepted a Tyrone pass in the Golden Eagles' end of the field, moved upfield and booted a kick into the lower right corner of the cage past Tyrone keeper Jaryn Wilson for the game-winner.

The second-seeded Tigers victory earns them a berth in next Wednesday's 7 p.m. district championship game at Philipsburg against the winner of Monday's semifinal game between top-seeded Bellefonte and fifth-seeded Central Mountain.

"I knew that Micah was going to do something great tonight,'' said Shale, whose Tigers improved to 13-3-3. "He was really hungry, and he wanted it tonight. He tore his ACL and missed the entire season last year.

"He deserved that goal tonight,'' Shale said. "It was magic ... Micah magic.''

Blake used excellent anticipation en route to scoring the decisive goal.

"Their defender and their center played a bad ball to the middle,'' Blake said. "I kind of intercepted it, looked for a shot and placed it just inside the post.''

Third-seeded Tyrone (12-4-2) got on the scoreboard first with less than five minutes elapsed in the first half when senior defenseman Cameron Nelson lofted a free kick from midfield that senior midfielder Tytus Novak, standing in front of the cage, managed to direct behind Hollidaysburg junior keeper Liam Jancula.

Hollidaysburg tied the score, 1-1, just over three minutes later, when sophomore midfielder Caiden Galioto took an assist from senior forward Alex Arbogast, sidestepped a Tyrone defender and threaded a kick inside the near post.

The score remained tied until late in the second half, as Wilson and Jancula, who have both been outstanding in the cage all season, both came up with a big save midway through the half by corralling straight-on shots.

Tyrone coach Alex Bartlett felt that his team deserved a better fate. The Golden Eagles lost 2-1 to Hollidaysburg in last year's district championship game, and the two teams played to a pair of ties during this just concluded regular season.

"We have a great group of seniors and a talented team,'' Bartlett said. "Give a lot of credit to Hollidaysburg -- they're a good team that we have a lot of respect for, but I think that the outcome tonight should have been different.

"It shouldn't have ended the way that it did, but that's soccer,'' Bartlett said. "I'm very proud of our seniors who have fought through a lot of tough moments. We have a solid group returning next year, and we're going to be back. We're hungry.''

Shale has been the Hollidaysburg head boys soccer coach for 23 seasons now, and getting his team to the district championship game each fall has become customary for the program.

"This will be our 10th district championship game since I've been the coach here,'' Shale said. "The district championship still runs through Hollidaysburg.''

SCORE BY HALVES

Tyrone 1 0--1

Hollidaysburg 1 1--2

First half: T--Novak (Nelson), 35:21. H--Galioto (Arbogast), 32:05.

Second half: H--Blake (unassisted), 8:55

Shots on goal: Hollidaysburg 15, Tyrone 7.

Saves: Wilson, T, 12; Jancula, H, 6.

Corner kicks: Tyrone 8, Hollidaysburg 1.

Records: Tyrone (12-4-3); Hollidaysburg (13-3-3).