CUMBERLAND: At Greenway Avenue Stadium on Tuesday, it was a tale of two halves. Allegany, ranked third, dominated the first half, taking a 3-0 lead and scoring a fourth goal early in the second. Bishop Walsh, nevertheless, dominated the second half.
The Campers (6-5-1, 4-0 City) hung on for a 4-1 triumph despite the Spartans (2-10, 0-3 City League) controlling the last 20 to 25 minutes. Allegany had possession of the ball for the opening twenty-five minutes, but they only made one effort. Less than twenty-one minutes remained in the first half when the second shot was made.
Geatz stated, “It’s a lot of what we were doing.” We were playing quite frantically in the back, and we weren’t connecting with the ball. We weren’t playing the ball to feet; we were just kicking it along. We were working on the things we had rectified in the first half’s second half.
Scoring two goals
Ryan Mitchell received a pass from Noah Simmons and crossed to Chris Manherz from the far left. Manherz put the Campers ahead 1-0 with a header while standing on the right side of the goal in the end zone. Alco tried three more shots in the next fifteen minutes before making its next two. Within two minutes of one another, Simmons and Steven Ness scored two goals together.
The first occurred when Simmons crossed the ball to Ness for a header with roughly six minutes left. Ness connected in the lower left corner of the net for the second, which was likewise off a cross from left to right. “We scored some pretty goals today,” Geatz remarked.
“Scoring the header by getting it wide, across, and in.” Bishop Walsh was within striking distance of Allegany, who had a 3-0 lead at the break. In the first half, the Campers outshot the Spartans 7–4 and 4–1 in shots on goal. Owen Rice set up Sergio Barrera for a goal with precisely thirty minutes remaining, increasing Alco’s lead to four goals. But Jackson Miller took the ball around midfield less than a minute later.
He dribbled roughly 40 yards down the left side, splitting the defense for a breakaway goal to put the Spartans ahead despite two players encircling him. Bishop Walsh outshot Allegany 10–7 in the second half, seemingly turning the tide.
They are unquestionably superior
Even though they dominated the last 20 minutes, they were unable to overcome a three-goal disadvantage. The Campers held a 4-1 advantage in corners and outshot the Spartans 15–12.
Minh Le finished with three saves for Bishop Walsh, while Eoin Mowbray made five for Alco. Bishop Walsh has managed to keep the Spartans competitive with some of the best teams in the region, despite their 2-10 loss.
The Spartans lost 3-2 to Allegany in their last encounter and have held Mountain Ridge and Fort Hill to a three-goal margin. “They are unquestionably superior; 2–10 doesn’t reflect their caliber,” Geatz stated.
They have some talented children and some technically gifted children. The fact that they are 2–10 is absurd. On Thursday, Allegany takes on Northern (3-7-1, 1-6 Western Maryland Athletic Conference) at 6 p.m. in Cumberland, while Bishop Walsh hosts No. 5 Frankfort (10-3-2) at 4 p.m.