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Mifflin County boys lose nail biter to Mechanicsburg

By Kenny Varner

LEWISTOWN – Early in their contest against Mechanicsburg, the Mifflin County boys soccer team came out primed and ready to go, dominating everything but the score as the Wildcats hit two late goals in the opening period to take home a hard fought 2-1 victory.

“I’m extremely proud of this group of kids. They are a bunch of fighters. They consistently fight. They play hard for 80 minutes,” said Mifflin County coach Robert Lepley. “The first half we had them beat. We should have been up 4-1 at halftime. I feel that we outplayed Mechanicsburg the entire first half. They finished two ball near the end.”

Mifflin County posted the first goal off a free kick that was due to a hand ball by Wildcats defender Sean Strohl.

Reese Carter took the ball and blasted it past Mechanicsburg goalie Nick Brosky at the 22:49 mark of the first half.

Mechanicsburg rallied back less than eight minutes later when Michael Allen found Jackson Ruiex in the box and he slid it past Mifflin County goalie Conner Zimmerman.

It was a back-and-forth battle for almost the rest of the first half.

But with 4:59 left in the opening period, the Wildcats would take the lead going into the intermission on a blast by Drew Engle at 4:59.

At the half, the Wildcats outshot the Huskies 10-8 while Mifflin County held the edge in corner opportunities by a 3-1 margin.

Zimmerman collected five saves while Brosky had four.

“That’s one I feel we won even though the scoreboard doesn’t indicate it,” said Lepley.

In the second half, the Huskies came out and were tested early and often.

With Zimmerman in the net, the Huskies defense rallied around him and neither allowed another goal the rest of the way.

However, the Wildcats were able to spread the ball on offense and maintain possession for most of the period.

When the Huskies had time to take the ball down, Mechanicsburg was able to cut down the running lanes, keeping Mifflin County from hardly any looks at the net in the second.

As the game grew older, the intensity grew and the game became more intense.

Neither team was able to add anything to the scoreboard as the Wildcats went onto the win.

Mifflin County was outshot in the game by a 23-9 margin.

Both teams finished with four corner opportunities.

Zimmerman has 13 saves while Brosky had five.

Lepley was proud of how his defense played the entire game.

“Our defensive line has played great since the start of the season,” said Lepley. “They have just gotten better and better each game. Their communication has improved. They are moving off each other pretty well. Our attack the last two games has started from the back.

Mifflin is back in action Saturday at West Perry.

Mechanicsburg  2, Mifflin County 1

ME  2 0 – 2

MC 1 0 – 1

Scoring

First half

MC – Reese Carter unassisted, 22:49

ME – Jackson Ruiex from Michael Allen, 14:25.

ME – Drew Engle unassisted, 4:59.

Shots on goal: ME- 23, MC – 9

Corners: ME- 4, MC – 4.

Saves: Conner Zimmerman (MC) 13, Nick Brosky (ME) 5

 

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