Bradford’s back line did its best to hold off McDowell, but the Trojans simply had too much offense Tuesday evening.
McDowell pulled away from the Owls in a 7-0 victory at Parkway Field, the first of two meetings this season between the District 10 Region 5 boys soccer foes. It took more than 30 minutes for the Trojans to get on the board, but once an impressive goal by Ahmed Agag broke the tie, McDowell finally began to find holes in the Bradford defense.
“Eventually, they were just able to take control of the middle of the field,” Bradford head coach Wes Lohrman said. “I felt that, for the first 30 or 40 minutes, we were playing relatively well. With each goal, the wind got knocked out of us, and by the end we ended up being flat. Our back line was a little bit too open, and McDowell is a good team — they know how to find openings and they were able to exploit that.”
The Owls were under siege from the opening kick-off, but absorbed the attack unscathed through most of the first half. McDowell dominated possession and repeatedly pushed forward, but Bradford stymied all of its threats, the Owls doing their best to cut down balls played into the box.
McDowell finally broke through with eight minutes to play in the first half when Agag ripped a shot from 40 yards out and placed it just under the crossbar. The Trojans added a second goal before the end of the half on a well-placed shot by Andrew Danch.
The Owls had survived most of the onslaught, but couldn’t keep the ball or generate offense going the other way. After Luis Corrales scored 90 seconds into the second half, McDowell began to open it up.
“We knew the key was in the central midfield,” Lohrman said. “We needed to do a good job of taking away their passing options because they’re extremely skilled at finding them. We need all of our guys, for 80 minutes, to step into those seams and fill those spots. We were doing it well, but as the goal difference started to widen, we lost a little bit of energy and that’s where it started to open up for (McDowell).”
Tristan Dragoone finished with 12 saves in goal for Bradford. The Owls will face another conference test Thursday when they host Cathedral Prep.
Port Allegany 3, St. Marys 1
PORT ALLEGANY — Aidan Emerick scored with 5:52 left in the game, providing the game-winning goal for Port Allegany (10-1) in a triumph over St. Marys.
The game was tied 1-1 at halftime, as a goal by St. Marys’ Dawson Krug and a penalty kick goal by Port’s Henry Kisler canceled out.
Emerick then scored his decisive tally on an assist by Jett Ruding before assisting Jarrod Funk on an insurance goal shortly after. Aidan Clark made five saves in goal for Port, while Casey Young made four saves for St. Marys.
GIRLS SOCCER
Port Allegany 3, St. Marys 2
ST. MARYS — Evin Stauffer turned in her third hat trick in as many games, and this one was necessary to power Port Allegany over St. Marys.
Stauffer’s third tally came with 3:33 left on the game clock, sending her team to a road victory. Brielle Budd came up big with 12 saves in net for Port.
Olivia Eckels made seven saves for St. Marys, while Sophia Radkowski and Roan Lion each scored for St. Marys.
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
Bradford 23, Ridgway 32
Bradford 15, Brockway 50
BROCKWAY — Manny Diaz set a new course record to lead Bradford in victories over Brockway and Ridgway.
Diaz toured the 3.11-mile course in 16:33 for first-place honors. Ridgway’s Eli Schreiber took second place in 17:49, while Bradford’s Leo Paterniti and Brayden Frair grabbed the next two places in 18:06 and 18:21, respectively.
“(Paterniti) and (Frair) are putting together good races back-to-back, and that is a good sign,” Bradford coach Tom Tessena said.
Aaron Myeres of Ridgway was fifth in 18:25, Bradford’s Joe Caruso was sixth in 19:53, Ridgway’s Gina Casilio was seventh in 19:56, Ridgway’s Jude Schreiber was eighth in 20:09 and Bradford’s Marcus Terwilliger was ninth. Danny Marasco placed 12th for Bradford, which recorded its ninth and 10th wins of the season.
“This was an interesting course that proved to be harder than it looked for everyone except (Diaz),” Tessena said. “We made some progress today but we have a long way to go and have to get everyone back and healthy for us to have any chance at Districts.”
The Fretz Middle School team finished its dual meet season with a perfect 12-0 record.
Evan Troisi led the way with his usual first place, rusnning the 2.2-mile course in 13:06, while Kadyn Tessena was second in 13:58. Evan Soto was third in 14:23, Maverick Smith was fourth in 14:35 and Owen Blauser was fifth in 15:09.
Ridgway’s Liam Keister was sixth in 15:19 and Bradford’s Edward Youmans was eighth in 17:19. Bradford heads to the Ridgway Invitational on Saturday.
Coudersport 25, Oswayo Valley 55, Otto-Eldred 80, Smethport 75,
Northern Potter 108
COUDERSPORT — Kevin Sherry topped the field in Coudersport, completing his home course in 17:31 and leading his team to victory while earning first-place individual honors.
Andrew Coriaty of Oswayo Valley was second in 19:10, while Coudy’s Noah Gabreski was third in 20:29. Joseph Lehman (Northern Potter) was fourth in 20:34, Brandon Crosby (Coudersport) was fifth in 20:50, Carson Dunn (Smethport) was sixth in 20:57, Parker Sherry (Coudy) was seventh in 21:03, Abraham Cox (Oswayo Valley) was eighth in 21:08, Carl Bryant (Coudy) was ninth in 21:10 and Zachary Schuessler (Otto-Eldred) was 10th in 21:17.
In the junior high race, Bryce Manns of Coudersport finished first in 12:55 while Travis Coriaty (Oswayo Valley) was second in 12:56. Isaac Baily (Smethport) was third in 13:37, Kameron Martin (Northern Potter) was fourth in 13:45 and Elliott Colton (Oswayo Valley) was fifth in 13:47.
St. Marys 27, Punxsutawney 28
PUNXSUTAWNEY — Jacob Neidemyer finished fourth for St. Marys, helping the Flying Dutchmen edge out a victory at Punxsutawney.
Brandon Henry was sixth, Wyatt Foster was seventh and Nick Hayes was eighth for the Dutch, helping the winning effort. Alex Amador finished 14th, Braydon Mosier was 16th, Ricky Gray was 17th and Clay Soloda was 18th.
GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
Smethport 22, Otto-Eldred 33
BROCKWAY — Just two teams scored, but Tuesday’s field was loaded with North Tier competition, as Oswayo Valley’s Cheyenne Mehl finished first in 21:28 — nearly three minutes better than anyone else.
Rebecca Martin of Northern Potter was second in 24:07, while Otto-Eldred’s Julia Rosenswie was third in 24:40. Karlee Edgar (Smethport) was fourth in 24:48, Emma Chambers (Coudersport) was fifth in 24:58, Isla Lehmier (Smethport) was sixth in 25:05, Olivia Cook (Oswayo Valley) was seventh in 25:20, Tia Howard (Smethport) was eighth in 26:08, Harley Thompson (Northern Potter) was ninth in 26:13 and Savannah Gill (Coudersport) was 10th in 27:29.
Smethport’s Sienna Lathrop won the junior high race in 15:29, beating out teammate Maddy McKean, who finished second in 15:51. Jaylan Jividen (Smethport) was third in 16:08, Evalyn Abdo (Oswayo Valley) was fourth in 16:43 and Ella Bee (Oswayo Valley) was fifth in 16:43.
St. Marys 16, Punxsutawney 45
St. Marys 15, Kane 50
PUNXSUTAWNEY — Gabby Pistner’s first-place finish helped lead St. Marys to victories over Punxsutawney and Kane.
Raechel Braun finished right behind in second for the Lady Dutch, while Christina Frontz was third and Mary Defilippi was fourth. Lucy Hayes finished sixth, Kelsie Bellotti was eighth, Marua Caskey was ninth, Paige Bauer was 10th, Sydney Smith was 16th, Jayssa Snelick was 19th and Nina Thompson finished 23rd.
