Muncy allows minimal chances in second half of win
In the first half, Muncy used an offsides trap that South Williamsport struggled with at times. The Indians ran the trap to perfection probably a half dozen times that squashed great South Williamsport opportunities. But when it didn’t work, South offensive players were running free behind the defense, making great runs and getting shots inside the 18. South finished one of those shots to tie the game and could’ve finished a few more solid opportunities.
Muncy made the necessary halftime adjustments as it still ran the offsides trap but stayed on their marks better, allowed minimal chances inside the 18, and scored two second-half scores as it topped South Williamsport, 3-1, on Thursday afternoon.
After struggling on both ends for much of the first half, Muncy tightened up the loose ends and played a much better final 40 minutes after South controlled much of the first half.
“Once we got that change, we were doing a good job of that in the first half, we did the exact same thing, we pushed up, but they were using that through ball and we just said, ‘OK, we want to keep pushing up but we also need to mark up.’ And we weren’t doing both things and once we made that change, we did a pretty good job,” Muncy coach Jason Gresh said.
If not for those adjustments, South may have handed Muncy its second loss of the season. The Mounties played a great first half, offensively and defensively, despite missing captain centerback Brian Yoas, who was injured in South’s last game against Bloomsburg. South made great runs, had nice quick, short passes up the field and after a Jack Pepper shot was deflected off a Mountie defender and found its way under the crossbar, South answered 10 minutes later. Curtis Sauers played a perfect ball over the backline of the defense and found a sprinting Quaid Molino in stride for the equalizer. But that’s as good as it got for South as they ran out of steam in the second and couldn’t keep up with a deep Muncy squad.
“I think it was a combination of things. Definitely the defensive organization of Muncy, they were great. They packed the box and didn’t give us much of an opportunity for good shots,” South coach Chris Vanaskie said. “I think also, we definitely got tired towards the end of the second half. We lost our mental edge and we lost the ability to make the right decisions at crucial times.”
Muncy’s Collin Smith seemed to make all the right decisions all the time, and even in different languages. The junior was all over the field, scored the go-ahead goal early in the second half off a great corner from Connor Sassano, pushed the defense up to force tough shots and even shouted “por favor” when asking teammates to mark up. He was the last line of defense all day, and really helped lock down South in the second half.
“Collin does a great job of leading back there. He’s just always constantly talking and letting them know where to be and when to push up,” Gresh said. “Organizing that defense is extremely difficult.”
Much like South (3-3), Muncy is a team on the rise. The Indians are already 4-1, matching last season’s win total, and have a great group of deep and talented players — three players scored yesterday, capped by Nathan Wetherhold’s game-clinching goal in the 59th minute — that are only going to get better.
“We’re getting better every game. We had a little setback against Sullivan County. Sullivan County is a very good team so I can’t say it’s a setback necessarily but we just keep working hard and as we keep jelling and keep finding out our position and the things I’m asking them to do, it’s a little different than last year,” Gresh said. “As we keep getting better at that, hopefully the best is yet to come.”
Muncy 3,
South Williamsport 1
M– Jack Pepper, 17:42. SW–Quaid Molino (Curtis Sauers), 26:25. M– Collin Smith (Connor Sassano), 44:57. M–Nathan Wetherhold (Todd Modispaw), 60:03.
Shots: M 8, SW 14. Shots on goal: M 6, SW 11. Saves: M 10 (Pavel McMonigle), SW 3 (Brock Weaver).
Records: Muncy (4-1); South (3-3)
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