Karns City boys soccer hopes loss to Mercer tests team’s creativity with District 9 goals in mind
KARNS CITY — Mercer boys soccer’s philosophy is to play keep-away.
The Mustangs executed that style of play to the tune of a 3-0 victory over Karns City on Tuesday night at Karns City’s Diehl Sadium.
When the Gremlins (4-3-2) did have the ball, they didn’t have much space to go with it.
“I grew up in that (Mercer) program, I played high school soccer there,” Karns City head coach R.J. Carson said. “I know how dedicated those kids are and how tough it is to generate an attack against them.
“That’s why I wanted us to play them. They block shots, disrupt passing lanes. You have to be creative offensively against a team like that, and that’s the sort of thing we need to work on. We want to separate ourselves from the other teams in District 9, and that’s a way to do it.”
Mercer (9-1) won its sixth straight game, allowing Karns City only five shots on goal (one in the first half). The Mustangs have outscored their opponents 34-1 during their current win streak.
“Our goalkeeper (Owen Algoe) is probably the best at his position in District 10,” Mercer head coach Tom Cryea said. ”He gets a lot of support from his defense. Those guys talk and work well together.“
Tyler Rynd scored the Mustangs’ first goal, knocking home a loose ball in the crease, off a corner kick by Joseph Stotsky in the game’s ninth minute.
KC goalkeeper Brock Dittman — honored before the game for breaking the program’s career saves record — stopped 11 of 14 Mercer shots. The Mustangs had five corner kicks on the night to KC’s three.
Jake Cunningham scored twice in the second half. He knocked in a rebound as Dittman made a sliding save on the first shot but was well away from the net as Cunningham knocked it home in the 68th minute.
Dittman tried to cover a loose ball in front of the goal in the 76th minute but could not get to it as Cunningham fired the ball into the empty net.
Senior forward Trevor Rumbaugh had Karns City’s best scoring chance of the contest. He got loose in the box during the 43rd minute for a would-be tying gal, but Algoe came out to meet him and smothered the ball before Rumbaugh could get a clean shot off.
“It was one of those plays where I should have had it, but just couldn’t reach it,” Rumbaugh said. “It was hard getting clean looks tonight. They have four really good center-backs who close things off quickly.
“We just couldn’t generate much against them.”
The Gremlins had another chance to knot the game in the 60th minute as Ethan McElravy feathered a clean pass to Xavier Bartoe streaking toward the goal. But two Mercer defenders converged on Bartoe and knocked the ball away at the top of the box.
“Mercer has soccer players, guys who play the game in the fall, winter, spring and summer,” Carson said. “They possess the ball so well together because they work on it together around the calendar.
“We have athletes from other sports who also play soccer. We depend on their athleticism and their grit. We have a resilient group of guys who go out and play hard in this sport and others. I’m proud of them.”
Karns City will remain at home to host Punxsutawney at 5 p.m. Thursday.
