CUMBERLAND: On Monday night, Tim Nightingale discovered the true nature of his undefeated Mountain Ridge team. After Allegany’s goal at halftime gave them a 1-0 lead and Mountain Ridge’s first setback of the season, the Miners were dealt a stomach punch.
At Greenway Avenue Stadium, top-ranked Mountain Ridge overcame a deficit to defeat third-ranked Allegany, 2-1, thanks to two goals from Elijah Cooper in the second half.
“Undoubtedly, it wasn’t our best game. Today we were really lethargic. unable to connect the passes. Simply incredibly sluggish,” Nightengale remarked. We began to come alive, put things together, and play the way we are capable of playing during the last 20 minutes.
Battling through adversity
Luckily, we win ugly and can move on from this situation. “We haven’t played down all season,” Nightengale remarked. “We were down 1-0 at halftime, it was an opportunity to find out who we are and battle through adversity.”
The goal by Allegany was just the second that Mountain Ridge (10-0) has given up this season. The Miners have eight shutouts and 39 points scored. Allegany (5-5-1) scored the lone other goal Mountain Ridge has given up, which came on September 17 in a 6-1 Miners victory at Frostburg.
On Monday, however, Allegany broke Mountain Ridge’s record of 403 minutes and 42 seconds without giving up a goal when Jake MacGray delivered a cross into the box in the 22nd minute.
With 18:44 remaining in the first half, Chris Manherz used backspin to clip the ball over his shoulder. It bounced up to Cole Ricker, who headed it over Mountain Ridge keeper Ashton Reuschel and into the goal.
With 6:29 remaining, the Miners eventually succeeded to win the game on the road. After Austin Simpson saved a shot, Cooper broke down the left side and found the back of the net.
Risky free kick opportunity
With Mountain Ridge applying continual pressure and making many replacements, Allegany appeared to be worn out and had one last chance to tie the score in the 78th minute. Manherz had a risky free kick opportunity from 21 yards out due to a foul well outside the area, and he curled a low ball around the right side of the Mountain Ridge goal.
Reuschel was up for the task and made a diving stop; he hasn’t had to save many chances this year because of his defense’s outstanding play. In total, Mountain Ridge had an 18–6 advantage in shots and an 8–5 advantage in shots on goal.
Reuschel had four stops, while Mowbray made seven. In corner kicks, the Miners enjoyed a 3-2 lead.On Thursday at 7 p.m., Mountain Ridge (6-0 Western Maryland Athletic Conference) takes on No. 5 Fort Hill (4-5-1 overall, 1-5 WestMAC).