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Montoursville scores twice as Warriors beat Loyalsock in boys soccer

By Jon Gerardi 6 min read

With the scoreboard ticking below the 11-minute mark, Montoursville kept pushing and pressing, looking for a chance and opportunity to build on its lead. The Warriors led by a goal but in a rivalry game against a talented Loyalsock team, the Warriors hoped to be able to put in another and gain some separation.

And with 10:48 to play, that chance came.

Solomon Gregory sent a cross to his right to teammate Maksim Martinez, who buried the goal inside the near-right post and put the Warriors ahead 2-0.

Oh, and it was Martinez's first goal in varsity competition. Not a bad performance for the junior. That second goal helped Montoursville defeat Loyalsock in a big rivalry game at Loyalsock on Wednesday evening 2-0.

"It was definitely a great feeling, you know?" Martinez said. "Being able to help the team. It was a team effort. It was a great cross and all glory to God."

With the win, the Warriors move to 6-3-2 as Loyalsock drops to 5-6.

Montoursivlle and Loyalsock play great rivalry games in boys soccer when they meet up, and Tuesday’s edition of the rivalry was absolutely no exception.

"They're a good team. You can look at their record and statistics and such, but hats off. They battled for 80 minutes," Loyalsock coach Steve Ertel said. "Hats off to Montoursville. Great coaching staff, great kids."

“Oh yeah. We knew it was going to be a battle,” Martinez said of the rivalry matchup. “It was going to be a 50/50 game, but we came out on top.”

Both teams battled tough from start to finish in a physical game. In the first half, it took 15 minutes before someone was able to break through and put in a goal. That came with 25:15 to play when CJ Lucas found the foot of Riccardo Montini Bellosio, who was able to score from 15 yards out, sending a great shot to the far-left post just out of the reach of keeper Kason Burrows for an early 1-0 lead.

"It was a great feeling, a great feeling," Martinez said of going up 1-0 in the first half. "But we've got to be on our toes at all time."

Both teams had opportunities and chances, but the goals were hard to come by. Just nine minutes after Bellosio scored, Loyalsock's Wesley Johnson got a shot from 20 yards out that he sent to the left, but Montoursville's Mason Fry came up with a catch to stop it.

With 9:07 to play -- a few minutes after both teams had players receive yellow cards -- Loyalsock's Luke Edmonds received a great cross from Johnson and tried firing a shot from 10 yards out, but his shot went just high over the crossbar.

Montoursville ended the game with a narrow 8-7 edge in shots on goal.

Montoursville held on in the first half to prevent a late goal before halftime and went into the break leading 1-0.

With 26:25 to play in the first half, Montoursville set up an outstanding chance to score and go ahead. A corner kick was sent to the right-side of the 18 and the Warriors' CJ Lucas was in great position on a header. But Loyalsock cleared it out with a defensive header to deflect it on a great sequence of plays.

"Our message honestly in the middle of the season is they have proven that they can play great soccer. They're great kids, they're intelligent. Tactically, they're smart. Technically, they have the skill," Ertel said. "You just have to find a way to do it for 80 minutes. ... That was the message at halftime was 80 minutes, put it together, go out and work. That's it, and the rest will come."

Loyalsock came out in the second half fairly aggressive and tried to get an equalizer early on. Less than 90 seconds into the second half, it was Edmonds who got to the 18 and rifled a nice shot to the near-right post, but again Fry came up with a block to keep it a 1-0 Montoursville lead.

"Stellar keeper. I wouldn't want anyone else there. He's a great keeper, man," Martinez said of Fry. "I know he's going to give 110% effort every single save, every single time."

Martinez came up with seven saves against Loyalsock to preserve the shutout victory.

One of Loyalsock's final chances to put in an equalizer came with 23:16 left in the game when Isaac Stiger was able to get 10 yards out and tried firing a shot, only to see Fry block it.

Martinez's goal came with 10:48 to play to give Montoursville a 2-0 lead and put the Warriors up by two against their rivals in a tight game to get some breathing room.

For the Warriors, they knew they had to limit Loyalsock's standout players up top such as Edmonds, David Bjorkman and Justus Miller.

"Just hard work and staying in our positions, making sure we weren't losing our guys and communication (too)," Martinez said of Montoursville's defense.

In the first half, Montoursville had six shots, five on goal, and all came from within the 18-yard box. in the second half, however, Loyalsock only allowed three shots from inside the 18 as the defense didn't give up many easy looks at the goal by the Warriors.

Loyalsock's Burrows had a solid effort in goal as well, blocking five shots and keeping Montoursville from going ahead by even more and giving Loyalsock a chance.

"He's doing a nice job," Ertel said of his keeper. "Ed Dadzie is our goalie coach, and he has really developed Kason into a nice player."

Loyalsock has lost three consecutive games and will look to snap that losing skid as the Lancers travel to Shamokin on Saturday. Montoursville takes its two-game winning streak to Millville for a Saturday night game at Millville.

Montoursville 2, Loyalsock 0

M--Riccardo Montini Bellosio (CJ Lucas), 25:15. M--Maksim Martinez (Solomon Gregory), 10:48.

Shots: M 8, L 7. Corners: M 5, L 3. Saves: M 7 (Mason Fry), L 5 (Kason Burrows).

Records: Montoursville (6-3-2), Loyalsock (5-6). Next game: Loyalsock at Shamokin, Saturday, 11 a.m.; Montoursville at Millville, Saturday, 7 p.m.

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