Little Lion boys blank Huskies

By rscaife
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Updated: September 17, 2017

By Kenny Varner

LEWISTOWN – Early Saturday, it was the Mifflin County’s boys soccer team’s turn to do battle against State College.
For most of the contest, the Huskies battled the Little Lions going toe-to-toe with the defending District 6 champions.
Two Huskie miscues, one in each period, proved to be the difference as State College came out on top 2-0 at the Mifflin County Campus soccer field.
“We told the kids and even the kids agreed that we felt good about our effort. It’s eventually going to turn around. It’s taken a little bit longer than anticipated but the effort is there,” Mifflin County coach Robert Lepley. “Our opportunities are there but we need to bury one of those opportunities and this game came down to two mistakes; an unmarked man off a corner and a challenge that got away from us. Good teams like State College will capitalize on them.”
State College outshot Mifflin County 18-10 and led in corner opportunities by a 12-2 margin.
Mifflin County goalie Zach Burke collected seven saves while State College’s Jason Keller scooped two.
From the beginning of the contest, State College and Mifflin County went back and forth exchanging momentum, trying to sustain a long time-consuming drive at the other’s back-third.
Neither team were able to get their transition game going as well as both defenses were able to collapse and not allow an easy look at the goal.
The stalemate continued for almost half the game until the clock got under the 25-minute mark.
On a State College corner, the Little Lions struck.
Nkosi Govere was at the right place at the right time as he snuck one passed a over committed Burke, making it 1-0 with 14:16 left in the opening period.
State College continued the pressure at the Mifflin County end.
In the final minutes, the Little Lions would stand for four more corners in the half.
However despite the pressure, Mifflin County defense held its own and kept the Lions off the board as the first half ended.
In the second, Mifflin County opened on a break away attempt by Reese Carter but the veteran State College back line shut things down before he was able to get a shot off.
State College was knocking on the door again early in the second.
But the Huskies back-line also stepped up and denied the Little Lions as the score remained 1-0.
The ball moved back to the midfield as both teams tried to get that one chance to get one past the others goalie.
It would be State College that would find another chink in the Huskies armor with 23:14 left. Sander Schjoelberg picked up a pass from Fernando Del Castillo and sent it blazing past Burke, upping it to a 2-0 lead.
State’s defense clamped down defensively the rest of the way and was able to hold on to the victory.