KC dominant in soccer sweep
KARNS CITY — Playoff time.
Karns City knows it well. So the Gremlins' boys and girls soccer teams rolled up their sleeves and went to work Wednesday night.
The boys scored twice in the first three minutes and throttled Redbank Valley, 7-1, in a first-round District 9 Class A playoff contest. Senior midfielder Justin Ryan scored three goals and junior forward Evan McGarvey contributed two goals and two assists.
“Those two are a lot of fun to watch together,” KC boys coach Roy Parker said.
The Lady Gremlins received a hat trick from sophomore forward Breann Wood and broke loose in the second half, scoring five times in the final 40 minutes to defeat Forest, 6-0.
“It can be hard beating a team three times in one season,” KC girls coach Lisa Castiglione said. “But we got into a comfort zone defensively and controlled the play most of the night.”
The Karns City boys (15-1) will face two-time defending district champion Northern Potter — a 5-4 winner over Port Allegany in overtime — in the next round. The Lady Gremlins (14-0-2) will take on Brockway — a 2-1 winner over Elk County Catholic.
Both games will be played Tuesday at a site and time to be determined.
<B>Karns City 7, Redbank Valley 1 (boys) — </B>The Gremlins enjoyed a 28-2 edge in shots on goal and took 11 corner kicks to one for Redbank Valley (11-9).McGarvey scored the first goal just a minute and 46 seconds in, blistering a shot from 20 yards out. He assisted on a goal by Andrew Johnston 55 seconds later.Ryan hooked in a shot from a tough angle, well to the right of the net with 29:34 left in the half and the rout was on.“Watching J.R. and Evan warm up before the game, I don't think either missed a shot,” Parker said. “They were dead on tonight.“I have no idea how Justin found that corner and I don't know if their goalie ever saw Evan's shot.”Ryan has 31 goals on the year and recorded his sixth hat trick of the season. McGarvey has 24 goals and 23 assists on the campaign.“We wanted to start quick and establish play on their half of the field,” Ryan said. “The visitors come in here after a long bus ride, we wanted to get them on their heels right away.”Anthony Easley also scored for Karns City. Redbank Valley didn't score until 14:10 remained in the game.Brody Toy knocked in a rebound as the Bulldogs registered their only two shots on goal all night during the same sequence.“The pace was everything tonight,” Parker said. “This team has the ability, it's obviously very skilled. This year, we were waiting for this pace of play and tonight, it was there.“If we maintain this pace of play in the next couple of games, nobody is gonna beat us.”
<B>Karns City 6, Forest 0 (girls) — </B>Wood scored her 20th goal of the season — and the first goal of the game — with 11:49 left in the first half.At that point, KC held a 12-0 edge in shots on goal and a 5-0 edge in corner kicks against the outclassed Fires (7-8). Forest has nine freshmen and four sophomores on its 17-player roster.Wood added two more goals in the second half.“We stick together and we have each other's backs at all times out there,” Wood said. “We always want to be on the attack.”They're able to be that way largely because of sophomore goalkeeper Emily Schumacher, who recorded her 14th shutout and has not allowed a goal all season.Karns City had a 7-2 advantage on corner kicks and a 25-1 edge in shots on net. But that one Forest shot severely tested Schumacher.When a Gremlin defender slipped, 19-goal scorer Erica Long broke in alone on goal. She fired a hard shot that Schumacher smothered as she lunged to the ground.“Knowing Emily is back there, our defenders can play up a little bit and we can be more aggressive as a team,” Castiglione said. “And when something does happen like a player slipping, Emily blankets everything. She's been outstanding.”Schumacher has stopped all 128 shots on net this season. She got some help Wednesday when senior defender Erin McCue stood in the box and headed away a Forest corner kick during the second half.Kylie Laughery had a goal and assist for KC while Chelsea McCartney and Lacey Freiters also found the net. Emily Olczak and Emily LoPresti had assists.
