Youth be served
KARNS CITY — The Karns City boys soccer team is young and inexperienced.
It didn't show on Saturday.
The Gremlins controlled the pace against Redbank Valley, while Tyler Pollock and Spenser Myers scored two goals apiece and the Gremlins cruised to a 4-0 win over the Bulldogs at Diehl Stadium.
“This is probably the best we've played all year,” said Karns City coach Jim Grenninger. “We're young. I think four freshmen started. At halftime, we had seven freshmen on the field.”
Myers, one of those freshmen, gave Karns City a 1-0 lead with 22 minutes, 39 seconds to play in the first half.
Pollock, a junior, set it up with a well-placed pass upfield, before Myers fought off a defender and deposited the ball in the back of the net.
Myers returned the favor at the 13:31 mark of the first half, as Pollock scored to give Karns City a 2-0 advantage at the break.
The Gremlins stretched the lead to 3-0 when Pollock netted his second goal with 32:28 to play. Myers rounded out the scoring at the 24:22 mark.
“Spense has stepped up. He has about five or six goals by now,” said Grenninger. “Today was the first time Tyler got moving. He's been pressing a little bit.
They were distributing the ball well up front,” he added. “They're all working really well moving in and out. We're pleased.”
Karns City outshot Redbank by a 20-5 margin. David Olszak made three saves to preserve the shutout, while his counterpart Khorey Neiswonger stopped nine shots for the Bulldogs.
“We didn't play very well,” said Redbank Valley coach Greg Campbell. “We just weren't aggressive. We weren't moving to balls. We weren't making good passes. Our touches were off. There was very little that was good about today.”
Grenninger thought one of the most improved aspects of Karns City's play was the ability to win possession when the ball was up for grabs.
“We emphasized that all week. They did a great job of doing that,” said Grenninger. “The passing lanes were there and we kept moving the ball really well. They're coming along.”
Zane Watson had a team-high two shots for Redbank, while Andrew Reddinger had the best opportunity to score. He broke through the defense, but his shot slid wide to the left.
Campbell wasn't happy with his team's lack of scoring opportunities.
“(Karns City) spread the field out, which is what they always do, and they made good, sharp passes,” he said. “They made good decisions, good passes and moved the ball quickly. We were trying to play a catch-up game.”
Grenninger was happy to see his Gremlins pick up a convincing win over the rival Gremlins.
“Against Redbank, it's always good,” said the coach. “Kind of like Moniteau-Karns City in football, this is it for us.”
