HOLLIDAYSBURG — Hollidaysburg and Bradford scored within the first nine minutes of Saturday afternoon’s PIAA Class 3A subregional game.
From there it was a physical, intense and sometimes sloppy battle as both teams tried to gain the upper hand.
Unfortunately, the Owls were scored on a deflection 17 minutes into the second half, and Hollidaysburg’s season ended in heartbreaking fashion with a 2-1 loss at Tiger Stadium.
“I feel bad because they didn’t deserve to lose that game. We did more than enough to win that game, but at the end of the day, you have to score,” Hollidaysburg said. coach Craig Scheer said. “There was a deflection, it wasn’t even a good goal. So it’s difficult, but we had chances. It was one of those games where we just didn’t score. Some teams are lucky. Yes, they (Bradford) are lucky too.”
Hollidaysburg finished with a 15-6-0 record, while Bradford improved to 12-9-0.
Bradford manager Peter Butler said: “It wasn’t our best game. It was a rough game for sure.” “Especially in the last 15 minutes, when we went to a 4-5-1 (formation), there was a plan that they pretty much stuck to. … The idea was to stop them (Hollidaysburg). We got lucky a few times, but then we just ride our luck.”
The Tigers return only three starting pitchers from a team that went 15-5-0 in 2022 and lost to Bradford by the same 2-1 score in the away subregional.
This year, five seniors and six underclassmen are in the starting lineup, and it would have been easy for them to miss this weekend.
However, the Tigers continued to gel as the season progressed, and new rotation players gained experience, which led to wins.
Hollidaysburg will be without defensemen Travis Wyant and Owen Bender, goaltender Derek Wright, forwards Ben Johnson and Caleb Trininevsky in the starting lineup, and Brody Bilthaus and Paul Giese off the bench. I said goodbye to him.
The underclassman group has a wealth of experience and brings in so much talent that they won’t be playing in the same subregion again in 2024.
“I thought we had the upper hand,” Scheer said. “I feel like I’ve been robbed. It’s hard to finish.”
Bradford quickly got on the scoreboard when Andrew Mangold took a feed from Mitchell Strauss about 30 yards out.
Mangold started on the left side and dribbled past several Hollidaysburg defenders trying to find a breakthrough. As soon as the senior found space, he fired a rifle shot from about 20 yards that hit Wright in the arm and into his left corner, giving the Owls a 1-0 cushion at the 36:38 mark of the first.
Bradford almost added another point in the 32nd minute, but Aiden Willard’s shot went wide.
On the counter-attack, Trininewski passed to sophomore Luka Waibel, who took three touches up the middle before firing a shot from 20 yards out.
Bradford goalie Tristen Dragone took a shot, but it wasn’t in the back of the net, leaving the score tied at 1-1 with 31 minutes, 21 seconds left.
“I thought the first goal was the fault of both goalies,” Butler said. “Their (Hollidaysburg) keeper, it went into his armpit. And our keeper, he should have handled it with two hands instead of one.”
There were no chances in the second half, but the Owls finally got their chance in the 18th minute when Patrick French played a through ball to Mangold in the 18-yard box.
Wright sprinted and Mangold took a shot, but it hit Wright’s sliding foot and bounced wide.
Strauss’ foot hit Mangold’s throw-in, and Strauss took two touches to fire a shot over the goal, but it bounced off a Golden Tiger defender and into the goal, resulting in the winning goal with 17 minutes, 42 seconds remaining. Ta.
“The winning goal, their (Hollidaysburg) keeper couldn’t do anything,” Butler said. “It took a big deflection, but that was it.”
The Golden Tigers outscored the Owls 23-21 and had more shots on goal, winning 16-11.
“I would say those few one-on-ones were the fault of the forwards,” Scheer said. “But you also have to give credit to the keeper. He (Dragone) closed the angles and we were able to stay in the game. They (Bradford) had enough time to create their own fortune. We were in the game. But to be honest, I think we were the better team.”
It wasn’t for a lack of effort or opportunity from Hollidaysburg. As it turned out, things simply didn’t go as planned.
Score by half
bradford 1 1 — 2
Hollidaysburg 1 0 — 1
First half: B-Mangold (assist to Strauss), 36:38. H-Waibel (Tryninewski assist), 31:21.
Second half: B-Strauss (Mangold assist), 17:42.
Keeper: Bradford — Dragon: 15 saves, 16 shots on goal. HOLLIDAYSBURG — Wright: 9 saves, 11 shots on goal.
Shots: Bradford 21, Hollidaysburg 23.
Corner kicks: Bradford 2, Hollidaysburg 6.
Record: Bradford (12 wins, 9 losses, 0 draws). Hollidaysburg (15-6-0).