Photo for the Mirror by Roger Kerekes Carroll-McCort goalie Angus Ryan holds the D6 1A trophy given to him by his dad, coach Chad Ryan.

JOHNSTOWN — Carroll-McCort coach Chad Ryan admitted that Tuesday’s District 6 Class 1A championship game against Westmont Hilltop has been in the back of his players’ minds for the past year.

The Huskies fell to the Hilltoppers in the 2024 title bout 1-0 in double overtime.

This time around, No. 2 seed Carroll-McCort was out for redemption Tuesday night.

A first-half goal from Ben Kirsch provided enough offense for the Huskies, while goalkeeper Gus Ryan pitched a shutout in net, as Carroll-McCort defeated top-seed Westmont, 1-0, at Greater Johnstown High School.

“They’ve been stung with that defeat for the last year,” coach Ryan said of last season’s loss in the title game. “They worked hard all offseason, and they just wanted to get back here. We took small steps.

“Our motto was ‘one goal.’ We’ll take it one goal at a time, and we’ll reach this goal (the championship). I couldn’t be more proud of the guys for getting the job done.”

Carroll-McCort has officially put its campaign back on the upswing after the Huskies lost seven of their final eight games of the regular season, which included a string of four consecutive shutout losses.

The Huskies rebounded to post back-to-back shutout wins in the District 6 playoffs, on their way to winning the program’s first district crown since 2019.

“It means everything to us,” Kirsch said. “None of us here had ever won a medal, and for our assistant coaches, it was their freshman year the last time they won. It just means a lot, especially against Westmont. They have a great team that we have a lot of history with.”

Now, Carroll-McCort (9-11) is set to take on the District 7 runner-up on Nov. 4 in the first round of the PIAA playoffs. The game will be held at a District 6 site.

“It just shows that once you get to the playoffs, it’s a whole new season,” coach Ryan said. “Never give up. In life, in sports, just don’t give up, and these guys didn’t.”

A strong night in net from Gus Ryan helped stop a strong Westmont (13-5-2) offensive attack, which produced 25 total shots in the contest.

Ryan compiled 11 saves, including four full-extension diving stops that thwarted multiple Hilltoppers scoring opportunities.

“It all comes down to practice and preparation before the game,” Gus Ryan said. “That’s what we feed off of. Practice should be harder than the game. That’s how we came through tonight. We worked our butts off, and we were able to get the win.”

The back line of the Huskies defense also knocked away many loose balls inside the box to help take the pressure off of Ryan. Carroll-McCort also turned aside eight corner kicks by Westmont.

“The ‘D’ has been a solid point all year for us,” coach Ryan said. “I know we haven’t scored overly enough, but the defense has kept us in almost every game and given us these opportunities. It was the same thing today.”

Carroll-McCort recorded the game’s lone tally near the midpoint of the first half.

Huskies junior Reed Miller took a corner kick and sent a hard pass towards the box. The ball ricocheted off multiple bodies then fell right at Kirsch’s feet.

Kirsch capitalized by burying his shot into the bottom right corner of the net for what proved to be the game-winning goal. Miller tallied the assist.

“We practice those plays a lot,” Kirsch said. “It was a perfect ball. I got it first off my head, then I looked down and it was right in front of me. If I didn’t get it, Eli (Cunningham) was right behind me. He would’ve gotten it, too.”

Carroll-McCort will have a short celebration following their victory, as the Huskies will be back to practice today to prepare for their next opponent — either Bentworth or Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.

“We’re going to celebrate this one, then it’s back to work,” coach Ryan said. “We’ve got to work hard. We know the state playoffs just get harder. It’s tougher every round you get past. We’ll be back on the field tomorrow getting ready.”

SCORE BY HALVES

Carroll-McCort 1 0 — 1

Westmont Hilltop 0 0 — 0

First half: BC-M — Kirsch (Miller), 28:10.

Goalies: Carroll-McCort — Ryan: 11 saves, 11 shots on goal; Westmont Hilltop — Mondick: 6 saves, 7 shots on goal.

Shots: Carroll-McCort 12, Westmont Hilltop 25.

Corner kicks: Bishop Carroll-McCort 3, Westmont Hilltop 8.

Records: Bishop Carroll-McCort (9-11); Westmont Hilltop (13-5-2).