KC boys and girls earn soccer wins over Brockway
KARNS CITY — R.J. Carson was glad that his Karns City boys soccer team didn’t have much time to stew after Wednesday’s 2-1 loss at Saint Marys.
“We’ve been employing a new formation, a 4-3-3, and even though we had possession for most of the Saint Marys game, with just a single striker, we just couldn’t find enough offense.”
The Gremlins got back to playing their brand of soccer, dominating Brockway 5-0 Thursday at Diehl Stadium.
Afterward, KC’s girls made it a sweep of the Rovers with a 3-0 victory.
“It was beneficial to come out and play right away after the loss,” added Carson. “I thought we brought more energy tonight.”
Leading the way for the Gremlins was senior Lathan Price, who scored three goals, the first two coming in a five-minute span that gave KC a 3-0 lead late in the first half.
“Lathan is a true leader, a playmaker,” Carson said. “He does a lot of things for us.”
Colson Ritzert had given KC (9-4-1) the lead in the 15th minute when Brockway goalie Jacob Maze came off his line to clear the ball, but failed to do so. Ritzert gained possession behind Maze and scored what amounted to an empty-net goal.
Maze allowed two goals in the second half, Price’s third tally in the 54th minute and Adam Smith capped the scoring eight minutes later.
“It felt great to come out after a tough loss and play winning soccer,” said Price. “We’ve been focusing on moving the ball more and did well with it tonight.”
KC goalie Lucas Yasika made three saves in the game. He was aided by a strong defense, led by senior captain Noah Mourer.
Maze made 11 saves before Landon Moyer played the final 18 minutes and stopped four shots.
Girls Soccer
Karns City 3, Brockway 0
Losing eight starters from last year’s team has not tempered the Gremlins’ bid for a 25th District 9 title.
With a roster featuring no seniors and a starting lineup Thursday that included nine sophomores and freshmen, KC improved to 12-1-1 this fall.
“It’s definitely been a pleasant surprise,” said Gremlins coach Tracy Dailey. “But even the younger girls are well-aware of the tradition here and the potential is there for us to win again.
“The defense has been sound. Up front, there are games where two players will be off and the other one is on and then it’s the other way around in the next game.”
But the Gremlins showed the crucial ability to come back Wednesday in Saint Marys. They trailed the Dutchmen 2-0 before scoring four goals to earn victory. The momentum continued against Brockway as sophomore Hanna Dailey’s hat trick sparked the latest win.
Goalie Savanna Prescott is one of the three remaining starters from last year. She made four saves against the Rovers.
“Her punting has come a long way and we’re always playing the ball back to her because she’s really good with the ball at her feet.”
Prescott was part of 2022’s 18-5 team that reached the Class A state quarterfinals.
“I think a lot of people doubted us because we lost so many seniors from last year,” she said. “It took us a while to get going this year, but we’re playing well as a team.”
Contributing assists against Brockway were Sarah Dodd on a corner kick, Bree O'Donnell and Phoebe Brandon.
Both KC teams will play at DuBois Area on Tuesday.
