Champs again!
CLARION — Standing in the mouth of the goal in a District 9 Class AA championship match was the last place Hannah Knoll expected to be.
But there the Karns City High sophomore was, thrust into the role as Gremlins' goalkeeper because of a strange rash of injuries.
“I was just happy I was able to help the team out the best that I could,” Knoll said.
She did by withstanding an early Clearfield charge with two big saves in the first 10 minutes as Karns City downed the Bison 3-0 Tuesday night at Clarion University in the district final.
It's the Gremlins' fifth straight district crown and the 19th in the last 22 years — but the first in Class AA.
“I think it means a ton to these girls, especially these seniors,” said Karns City coach Tracy Dailey. “They did not want to let down tonight. The expectation has been set high no matter if we're single-A, double-A or what have you.
“At the end of the day, they did what they needed to do,” Dailey added.
And so did Knoll, who received a crash course in Goalkeeping 101 in the last week after injuries sidelined keepers Alison Boltz, Cambree Powers and Olivia Mourer this season.
“Hannah — she's the type of athlete where you show her one thing and she's got it,” Dailey said. “We all believed in her. She had to believe in herself.”
The keeper injuries rapidly multiplied. Mouer tore her ACL during an AAU basketball game. Powers hurt her shoulder in a freak accident at a peer leadership conference. Boltz went down last week with a broken leg.
Dailey asked for volunteers and Knoll raised her hand. She had limited experience in goal for her club team, but hadn't put on the goalie gloves in a high school match until Tuesday.
“A lot,” Knoll said when asked if she had butterflies. “Once I got going, I was OK.”
The same could be said for Karns City (19-1).
The Gremlins got off to an uncharacteristically slow start. Hunter Dittman had a goal waved off early in the fourth minute, but Karns City didn't get its first official shot on goal until 12 minutes into the match.
Once the onslaught started, however, the Gremlins capitalized quickly.
Megan McCartney scored a sliding, left-footed goal to get Karns City on the board with 10:59 left in the first half. The goal came after two golden opportunities by Haley Scherer and Chelsea Dodds clanked off the post.McCartney scored again just a few minutes later to put Karns City ahead 2-0 at the half.Dodds put the finishing touches on the win with a goal with 3:13 remaining in the second half.Dodds and Scherer broke away and exchanged crossing passes before Dodds buried the shot.While Karns City has had its keeper problems this season, Clearfield (10-9) had its own in this match.The Bison lost both of their keepers, Hayley Moore and Madison Jones, to injuries and finished the game with defender Erika Frye in goal.“We only have two keepers and unfortunately, they both got hurt today,” said Clearfield coach Adrianne Sipes. “That certainly changes things and changes what formations we're running. That's your last line of defense. Karns City, though, was the best team we have faced all year. We left everything we had on the field today.”Clearfield had won five straight District 9 Class AA titles.Karns City will play the loser of the WPIAL Class AA championship game between Freedom and Freeport, which will be played Thursday, in the first round of the state playoffs.The Gremlins reached the PIAA Class A semifinals last season.“I'm glad for these seniors,” Dailey said. “They're the heart of this team. We have a lot of heart on this team with this senior class.”BoysKarns City 6, Punxsutawney 0 — The Gremlins wasted little time asserting themselves in the District 9 Class AA title game.Austin Rumbaugh scored two goals and Spenser Myers found the net for the first of his three goals in the first nine minutes as Karns City (19-0) rolled.“I made a comment to them that I wanted to get at least one in the first five minutes,” said Karns City boys soccer coach Jim Grenninger. “I was worried because we hadn't played in two weeks. I was afraid of rust and everything else. They put my worries to bed.”It was Karns City's third straight district title and first in Class AA.And it came relatively easily.Noah Pollock scored to make it 4-0 with 7:20 remaining in the first half and Myers capped the first 40 minutes with a bending shot into the net for a 5-0 Karns City lead at the break.Myers added his third goal in the second half to cap the rout.The Gremlins will play the District 10 runner-up in the first round of the PIAA Class AA playoffs Nov. 8.“I think this year, yes, (it's more special),” Grenninger said. “Our scheduling helped. We played Freeport when they were undefeated and No. 1. We played Hickory, Slippery Rock, Grove City, Mercer and they all ended up being at the top.“When I looked at our schedule ... I told the guys if we could go 15-3, I'd be happy. They said, 'Well, if we go undefeated, will you shave your head?' Well, I'm losing my hair somewhere here in the next week.”
