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Wescott’s block holds Hughesville scoreless in Lancer win

HUGHESVILLE — It wasn’t exactly sheets of rain falling, but a steady stream of it fell as Hughesville welcomed in Loyalsock for a night match under the lights.

Both teams entered with records well above .500 and treated area fans to an outstanding game despite the less than ideal conditions. In a game dictated by muddy conditions and rain throughout, a cross from Ty Whitmoyer to Alex Schluter proved to be the difference as Loyalsock picked up its 10th win of the season with a 1-0 victory over Hughesville.

Ben Wescott blocked an open attempt on goal when Connor Rude was beat near the ten minute mark of the second half. Wescott stopped Nick Trevouledes’ attempt and it ended up saving the game as the defense held for the one-goal win.

“It’s obviously a heart stopper,” Scheller said. “You see your goal keeper out and you see your defender make a really heady play to come in and cover for your keeper in a situation like that. At the end of the day, that’s a potential match-saving challenge. If they put that in the back of the net, who knows where it goes from there.”

The stop was Hughesville’s best chance of the game, but Wescott was there for the stop to save the win for Loyalsock.

“I got beat so I had to work back as hard as I could,” Wescott said. “You just have to stick a leg out sometime and thankfully it hit my leg and didn’t go in. That’s pretty much all there was to it.”

Loyalsock entered the game on an eight-game winning streak. That run included an offensive outburst of 12 goals over the last two contests. Hughesville entered with four consecutive wins. The Spartans didn’t score nearly as many goals as Loyalsock with just two over their last two matches, but they were able to post back-to-back shutouts.

Zach Stopper initiated the attack throughout the opening 40 minutes of the game. He found success pushing the ball down field through the wing and sending balls into the box for attempts on goal.

The Lancers finished with nine shots in the first half with five going directly on target. Stopper had a chance after a shot from distance connected with the crossbar and sent a rebound back in front of the goal. Stopper headed the ball toward the keeper for the attempt, which was stopped and booted to midfield.

“A lot of our players were faster than their back line so it was just a matter of time before we had a good ball we could work with,” Stopper said. “That’s mostly our style when it works. We like to try and beat people with speed and put some nice passes together.”

Stopper almost set up a chance near the 26th minute of the second half. The cross bounced over the intended target, but was quickly sent back to Stopper, who missed the attempt. The ball was collected by the keeper and sent back up field.

Steven Millheim was challenged throughout the game, but came up with four good stops before finally giving way to Loyalsock’s offense in the middle of the first half.

The pressure paid off for the Lancers in the first half when Whitmoyer crossed a ball into the box after moving down the wing. The cross found Schluter, who quickly connected with a shot to the far post. The ball hit the post and bounced back into the goal for the first tally of the game.

“It’s always good, especially on a night like this when the ball is bouncing around,” Scheller said. “They did a heck of a job keeping us out of the net.”

Nick Trevouledes setup two scoring chances late in the first half. He collected a ball from Isaiah Savage near the nine-minute mark and headed the ball over the goal. He received another cross minutes later and headed the attempt over the goal. Hughesville finished with four shots over the opening 40 minutes of the game.

“We made a couple of adjustments to our defense after the first time we played them,” Hughesville coach Jim Dennis said. “The boys are playing defensively so much more sound. We are not giving up the ball easily. We are playing so much better since the beginning of the season.”

Loyalsock 1, Hughesville 0

L–Alex Schluter (Ty Whitmoyer), 21:03

Shots: L 12, H 6. Shots on goal: L 8, H 2. Corners: L 2, H 3. Saves: L 2 (Connor Rude); H 7 (Steven Millheim).

Records: Hughesville (6-4-1); Loyalsock (10-1)

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