Myers' goal lifts KC boys to 2-1 triumph
CLARION — Spenser Myers’ right ankle was not perfect, but his shot from 15 yards in the second half was.
After rolling his ankle in pre-game warmups, Myers was still involved in most of the Gremlins’ scoring chances during Tuesday’s PIAA Class AA first-round boys soccer playoff game against Harbor Creek at Clarion University’s Memorial Stadium.
With the game tied at 1-1, Myers booted the decisive tally past Harbor Creek’s Jeff Noonan in the 56th minute. The 2-1 win advances the unbeaten Gremlins (20-0) to the quarterfinals where they will face Quaker Valley on Saturday.
“After he hurt his ankle, we didn’t know how much he would be able to go,” said KC coach Jim Grenninger of Myers, “but adrenaline is a great thing.”
Through the first 55 minutes of the game, the Gremlins had watched numerous scoring chances come and go with no reward. The one exception was Noah Pollock’s score from just in front of the goal box in the 36th minute that tied the game at 1-1.
All of the missed chances did not rattle the Gremlins.
“It’s part of the game,” Myers said. “Sometimes, you miss on opportunities you could normally make in your sleep. You just have to keep your head up and keep working.”
“This game could have been 6-1,” said Grenninger, “but as long as you score one more than the other team, that’s what is important.”
Prior to his goal, Myers tallied three shots that were wide of the net, one that hit the right post, one that grazed the top of the crossbar and another that was saved by Noonan, one of his nine stops on the night.
Harbor Creek coach Joe DiSanto was well aware of the threat Myers posed.
“We knew he generated a lot of, if not most, of their offense and was very strong in the middle,” he said. “We wanted to mark him, but didn’t do a good enough job of it.”
The Huskies (17-4-1) got on the board first with a goal from Tilor Fuller in the 16th minute, but Pollock’s tally late in the first half had the scored knotted at halftime.
KC goalkeeper Jake Weckerly made nine saves, including a clutch stop late in the game. Harbor Creek earned a corner kick in the 79th minute and the Gremlins cleared the ball, but the Huskies gained possession near midfield. Their final rush resulted in a shot stopped by Weckerly.
Tuesday’s win was the first state playoff victory for the Gremlins in five years.
“It’s awesome to be able to win a state game,” said Myers, a senior midfielder. “This is what we’ve been working toward for three years.”
