Central Clarion Wildcats Boys Soccer Shuts Out Redbank Again

The Central Clarion Wildcats Boys Soccer team downed the visiting Redbank Bulldogs, on Tuesday (October 1st), at Clarion-Limestone.

Matt Lerch shares this game recap:

The Clarion Wildcats boys soccer team fresh off its win last night against Elk County Catholic by a score of 8-1, downed the Redbank Valley Bulldogs shutting them out for the second time this season. The 5-0 win in the misty evening proved that the slippery ball last evening and this evening is tameable by the Wildcats offense. The stingy Wildcats defense once again proved their superiority buy shutting down many advances by the Bulldog offense.

Offensive midfielder Wyatt Boyden started the work up front by kicking a corner kick into the middle, with striker Martin Ormeno just missing the goal with a header. The Bulldogs responded with a kick into the Wildcats end with goalie Isaac Lerch rushing up twenty yards to kick the ball out of danger. Soon after, a combination pass from Ormeno to Dany Schweitzer to Nathan Frederick in zig zag format had Frederick’s shot just miss the goal wide. Midfielder Thomas Uckert assisted Boyden on a shot that found the first score of the game at 30:59.

The defense was again being tested as Carter Brown and Jason Megnin stopped several advances. One Bulldog opportunity was thwarted when a corner kick was stolen in the box by Lerch. The Bulldogs then shot at close range on net with Lerch stopping the ball in a basket catch to the chest. Again, the quick maneuvering and crisp passes by the offense made all the difference in the game. Frederick sped down the sideline with the ball making a cross to Boyden, who shot and scored the second goal making the score 2-0 at 7:09. Boyden joined into another combination at 4:40 with an assist to Uckert, who scored the third goal.

Lerch made another slide save to end the half with 8 stops.

The second half began with the Bulldogs creating several arrays of attacks on the Wildcat defense. Mason Gourley and Chris Kim were able to stop several of those combinations on the sidelines. Lerch was called on again with a save and two kick saves.

Boyden softly kicked the ball upfield right to the feet of an onside Schweitzer for a one on one chance against the Bulldog goalie, the ball just missing wide.

A penalty was then called on the Wildcat defense with an ensuing penalty shot on goal stopped by Lerch just inside the left post. With the score 3-0 and fifteen minutes left in the game, the defense took some more chances. Gourley was put into position on a corner kick and was perfectly situated for a header with the ball glancing off his forehead and bouncing just wide left of the goal. Lerch then had a long ball shot in his direction, he then disrupted the Bulldog midfielders catching the ball in traffic.

Uckert proved that following up your shot can pay big dividends. His ball was stopped by the Bulldog goalie initially, but the rebound came right back out with Uckert charging the net shooting his own rebound into the back of the net for a 4-0 lead.

Another two strong attempts by the Bulldog offense were stopped by Lerch, one of which was a penalty shot. Then the rare opportunity came for another defender, Brady Pierce. Ormeno shot a corner kick into the middle of the goalie box and Pierce kicked the ball in for his first goal of the season ending the game with a Wildcat shut out 5-0. Lerch had 11 saves in the second half.

The Wildcats will enjoy a well-earned break resuming play on Monday October 7th at 7PM at Keystone. The 12-2 record of the Wildcats is a testimony to the harmonious relationship between the offense and defense, understanding that they need to both be working to keep the season alive through the eventual playoffs.

(Great Game, Wildcats!!!! Thanks to Matt Lerch for this article and photos!!)