Bald Eagle soccer holds onto nail biting win

By Kenny Varner Jr.
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Updated: September 5, 2023

By Kenny Varner

WINGATE – It was quite a nail biter Tuesday night at Alumni Field at Bald Eagle Area High School.

In the second game of a double header, the Bald Eagle Area boys posted a 2-goal lead going into the second half and held onto a 2-1 thriller over visiting Bishop Carroll.

“They did a great job. They never quit. They kept on fighting through,” said Bald Eagle Area coach Jason Bair. “Things didn’t always go our way. When Bishop Carroll made that long shot that really tightened things up. The most dangerous lead in soccer is 2-0. With one goal scored, it is close. They did that and put the pressure on. But we didn’t buckle.”

Despite playing in the hot and humid conditions, both teams brought a high tempo offense to the field.

Leading the offensive punch for the Eagles was Connor Maney who had his team’s only two goals in the contest.

Goalie Clayton Reigh came up strong when called on as he was fearless aggressively diving and sliding for the ball. He ended up with five goal saves.

Opening the contest, both teams tried to set the tempo and push themselves into others end of the field.

That would fail to happen right away as both defenses were able to allow just short trips inside their end-third.

With the clock dipping below 17-minutes, the Eagles muscled their way into its first goal. Maney made the goal in traffic, giving the Eagles a 1-0 lead.

Ten minutes later, Maney once again would post a goal thanks to an assist by Niziah Noone, upping the lead to a 2-0 advantage at the intermission.

Coming into the second half, the game became more of a defensive effort on both teams part.

The intensity grew even more when the Huskies Zach Novak blasted a long shot that just hit the top of the goal, picking up the unassisted goal at 29:37 and cutting the Eagles’ lead in half at 2-1.

As each second ticked off the clock the Bishop Carroll desperation grew.

But each time the Eagles needed a defensive stand, the group stood tall and sent the Huskies away frustrated.

The Eagles survived a last minute all out ambush of their net en route to the emotional hard fought victory.

Bald Eagle Area travels to Richland Thursday.