Karns City boys soccer, battered by injuries, battling for improvement after loss to DuBois
KARNS CITY — The scoreboard doesn’t always illustrate effort. It didn’t during Karns City’s boys soccer loss to DuBois on Wednesday night.
The visiting Beavers tacked up the game’s first goal on a ricochet in the middle of the first half, then netted four more in the second, polishing off a 5-0 win at Karns City High School.
“I know it looks bad on the scoreboard, but that’s a really quality team over there that can possess the ball,” Gremlins senior midfielder/forward Mason Bell said. “I would much rather us have that score line and start to play decent soccer and see how good soccer is played than have a really (bad) 1-0 loss where we played terrible and were just kicking the ball.”
Karns City (4-7, 3-2 Upper Allegheny Valley) coach RJ Carson believes his team, which only rosters 15 healthy players at the moment, is still “trying to find our own.
“We’re battling with a new team, and injuries are piling up,” Carson said. “We’re missing three key players out there. (We’re) just trying to make it work. … We’ve lost a lot of close games, but we’ve seen a lot of improvement as the season goes on.”
Sophomore forward/midfielder Logan Rumbaugh is out for the season with a broken wrist. His brother, junior Trevor Rumbaugh, is recovering from an ailment himself, while reserve forward Kayden Eyth is working back from an ankle injury.
For a young team, seeing how DuBois was able to move the ball was a good thing.
“We can do that, too,” Carson said. “We’ve gotta find our rhythm real soon. … I know it’s really hard to keep morale.”
Carson is hoping the elder Rumbaugh and Eyth are able to return for the postseason. Karns City was able to help its District 9 playoff case with a 3-2 overtime win over Central Clarion. Carson believes his crew can go toe-to-toe with North Clarion and Redbank Valley, as well.
“We’ve gotta keep working on the small things, and our ball movement has just got to keep improving,” Carson said.
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Karn’s City’s Oliver Lambert (5) takes possession of the ball in a boys soccer game on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, at Karns City High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Karns City fell to DuBois 5-0 in a boys soccer game on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, at Karns City High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Karns City fell to DuBois 5-0 in a boys soccer game on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, at Karns City High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Karns City fell to DuBois 5-0 in a boys soccer game on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, at Karns City High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Karns City fell to DuBois 5-0 in a boys soccer game on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, at Karns City High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Karns City fell to DuBois 5-0 in a boys soccer game on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, at Karns City High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Karns City’s Camden Slater (24) kicks the ball to the infield in a boys soccer game on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, at Karns City High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Karns City’s Colton Christie (10) fights to gain possession of the ball from two offensive players from DuBois in a boys soccer game on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, at Karns City High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Karns City fell to DuBois 5-0 in a boys soccer game on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, at Karns City High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Karns City fell to DuBois 5-0 in a boys soccer game on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, at Karns City High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Karns City fell to DuBois 5-0 in a boys soccer game on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, at Karns City High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Karns City fell to DuBois 5-0 in a boys soccer game on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, at Karns City High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Karns City fell to DuBois 5-0 in a boys soccer game on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, at Karns City High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Karns City’s (17) takes possession of the ball in a boys soccer game on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, at Karns City High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
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Karns City’s Brody Zediker (14) attempts to regain control of the ball in a boys soccer game on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, at Karns City High School. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
