PHILIPSBURG — The Bald Eagle Area boys soccer team had the potent offense and stingy defense and goalkeeping going in the last three games.
The Eagles (6-3-3) recorded road shutouts of Philipsburg-Osceola, 6-0, on Oct. 3 and Penn Cambria, 4-0, on Oct. 1 and battled to a 1-1 tie against Bedford on Sept. 29 at Alumni Stadium.
BEA scored five goals in the first half against P-O at Mountaineer Stadium, including a three-goal hat trick by Jacob Kovalev. Parker Dubbs dished out an assist to Kovalev for his first goal. Easton Grimes got the assist on Kovalev’s second goal. Dubbs assisted again on Kovalev’s third goal.
Ty Hoffa notched an unassisted goal to make the score 2-0. Dubbs recorded his third assist on a goal by Logan Parsons in the second half. BEA goalkeeper Tanner Pearce had one save.
“We played well. We continue to get better,” BEA coach Jason Bair said. “I’m proud of everyone and how they played.”
Kovalev scored two goals against Penn Cambria in the first 19:30 of the game. Dubbs assisted on the first goal and Paul Hacker dished out the assist on the second. Parsons scored at the 44-minute mark off of an assist by Dubbs. Hacker scored the final goal at 69:30 off of the third assist by Dubbs. Pearce made two saves in goal.
“The defense played a really good game,” Bair said, “and we were able to come out on top.”
BEA and Bedford were scoreless until Bedford’s Samuel Koontz scored 42 minutes into the game. With less than 3 minutes to go, Dubbs booted in a penalty kick, leading to the game ending in a tie. Pearce made four saves, while Bedford’s Shane Feather had two saves.
“Tanner Pearce had a good save off of the biggest moment of the first half on a one-on-one shot coming from Bedford’s Grant Koontz,” Bair said.
BELLEFONTE
The Bellefonte boys team went 1-1 over three days, beating Johnstown, 6-3, on Sept. 29 at home and losing at Central Cambria, 1-0, on Oct. 1.
Cole Stabinger scored three goals against Johnstown, which jumped out to a 2-0 lead. After Keegan Timblin scored Bellefonte’s first goal at 29:08, Stabinger scored two goals quickly. He tied the game at 31:30 off of assist from Ian Orr and scored again unassisted at 33:13.
Following a second goal from Johnstown’s Julian Dietz in the second half, Stabinger got the hat trick with an unassisted goal at 49:16. Seth Catan scored Bellefonte’s final goal off of an assist from Wesley Cooke at 76:22. The Red Raiders outshot Johnstown, 18-5.
“Johnstown came to play tonight,” Bellefonte coach Scott Martz said. “We had our hands full defensively defending their striker Dietz, who is a solid player. Offensively, we moved the ball really well, getting good quality shots on their goalkeeper.”
The offense couldn’t get going against once-beaten Central Cambria, which got its only goal on a Jonathan Rivera score in the second half. Goalkeeper Jacob Fisher earned the shutout.
“Tonight was an absolute great soccer game,” Martz said. “Both teams in the first half went back and forth. In the second half, we began to dominate play but gave up one long ball on a run that gave them their winning goal. From then on we put shot on shot on their goal only to be denied by their goalkeeper, who played great and the help of every piece of the post.
“We just could not buy a goal. In the end, there was nothing to hang our heads at. We played a great game that just didn’t go our way.”
STATE COLLEGE
The State College boys team won two games and tied another over a five-day stretch.
The Little Lions (9-3-3) won at Cedar Cliff, 1-0, on Sept. 29 and against Cumberland Valley, 2-1, on Oct. 1 at home before a 1-1 tie at Central Mountain on Oct. 3.
No other details were available.
PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA
The Philipsburg-Osceola boys team won its first game of the season, 4-0, at Chestnut Ridge on Oct. 1.
The win was in the middle of home 6-0 losses against Penn Cambria on Sept. 29 and Bald Eagle Area.
Kalen Herring scored two goals for the Mounties against Ridge, while Ian Gray and Porter Ryen also scored. Damian Vaughn assisted on two goals, while Mark Kurbatov assisted on another. P-O goalkeeper Camden Henschel made eight saves in preserving the shutout.
ST. JOSEPH’S BEATS RAMS
The St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy boys team (3-7) went 1-1 in three days, including a 2-0 win over Penns Valley at home on Oct. 3. The WolfPack also lost to East Juniata, 1-0, on Oct. 1 at home.
In addition to the loss to SJCA, the Penns Valley boys team beat Bishop Carroll, 3-1, on Sept. 29 at home and lost at Johnstown, 5-0, on Oct. 1.
No scoring summaries were available.
WEEK OF OCT. 8 SOCCER SCHEDULE
OCT. 8
BOYS
Philipsburg-Osceola at Bald Eagle Area
Tyrone at Bellefonte
St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy at Greenwood
