KARNS CITY, Pa. (EYT/D9) — It’s been awhile since the Karns City girls soccer team has started 0-2.
(Above, Karns City’s McKenna Martin)
It’s also been awhile since the Gremlins lost a match 10-1.
Both of those things happened over a tough opening weekend at the Indiana Tournament with Karns City falling to rival Clearfield — the team it beat for the District 9 Class 2A title a season ago — 10-1, and again to DuBois, 3-2, in overtime after leading 2-0 in the second half.
But the Gremlins are the Gremlins. They can’t be held in check for long.
Karns City showed that on Thursday night, leading 5-0 at the half on the way to a 7-0 win over Brookville.
That win came two nights after a 2-1 victory over Slippery Rock.
“That was the confidence-builder we needed,” said Karns City coach Tracy Dailey. “That Slippery Rock win was a huge one — you would have thought we won District 9 again because we were so elated.
“I think (the Indiana Tournament) was a good eye-opener. A lot of times you learn more from losses than you do from wins. And you know, a rivalry like Clearfield knowing our history, that may be a saving grace for us in a couple of months.”
Karns City wasted little time in grabbing a lead against Brookville as McKenna Martin scored the first of her three goals less than a minute into the match.
Her second goal came in the 11th minute for a 2-0 lead. Emma Dailey and Cece Morrow followed with goals a few minutes apart to run the lead to 4-0 only 19 minutes in.
Lyrik reed closed the first-half scoring with the first of her two goals to make it 5-0 with five minutes left before half.
(Lyrik Reed)
Brookville (0-2) played much better in the second half, giving up goals to Martin and Reed, and had two quality shots on goal that were turned away.
“(Karns City) had a lot of nice touches,” said Brookville coach Kait Hill. “You know, it’s early in the season and we have a long ways to go. I thought we hustled and we tried our best. We didn’t quit and that’s what I want to see out of our team. We didn’t quit and I was very proud of them.”
Hill was also proud of keeper Kerysten Davie, who made several difficult saves.
“This is her first year playing,” Hill said. “She played basketball, so I think that helps. She played with us in the spring and she did a really good job. She picks it up quickly. We look forward for her to keep going.”
Karns City was able to challenge Davie because of the crispness of its passes.
Martin said that was an emphasis coming into the night.
“We all work together well and I feel like our passing in the first 20 minutes of the game was really good,” Martin said. “That’s what ultimately got us the lead early.”
For Martin, it was nice to break out with a hat trick.
Last year, the senior notched her 100th career goal and finished the campaign with 56. She wants to better that number this year.
Martin said the two early losses were a way for her and the team to identify what needed correcting.
“I think playing good competition like Clearfield and DuBois right out of the gate, it kind of set the tone for the season, let us know what we need to work on,” Martin said. “I feel like we did improve a lot from the first two games until now.”
Reed’s two goals came off the bench as the sophomore is still recovering from an ankle injury.
She missed the entire softball season with a thumb injury that required surgery.
“It was very upsetting,” Reed said. “But I was still there for my (softball) team and I supported them. It wasn’t about me. It was about my team.”
She’s taking the same approach to the soccer season.
“We’re limiting her minutes a little bit — I’d say she’s about 95%,” Dailey said. “She’s definitely looking to get into the starting lineup and it was a good showing for her tonight. She’s working hard. She’s a great athlete.”
And Karns City has some great depth.
The Gremlins may start different players during the course of the season depending upon the opponent.
“We’ve had lots of discussions that just because you aren’t starting one game doesn’t mean you’re not working hard and you don’t have the potential,” Dailey said. “There’s certain things that we look to do. If we’re looking more defensive, we’re probably going to go with a two holding center-mids rather than two attacking.”
Brookville is on the other end of that spectrum.
The Raiders had just two subs against Karns City.
But Hill sees that as a potential strength.
“We’re very versatile,” she said. “Everybody knows they have to play different positions and I think it helps us because everybody isn’t just offensive or defensive. They have to be both. I think that really helps us out. We rotate. We sub to try to get everyone a quick break if possible. They all have a good attitude.”
BOYS
KARNS CITY 4, BROOKVILLE 0
Four goals from four different players.
Just the way first-year Karns City head coach Justin Ryan likes it.
“Pretty much anybody on any given day can score and can contribute in multiple roles,” Ryan said. “Right now we’re missing one guy (Myles McCully) who normally plays up front.”
McCully should be back soon. In the meantime, Lathan Price, Adam Smith, Braden Slater and Jacob Callihan each found the back of the net for the Gremlins.
“With this group, no one is selfish,” Ryan said. “They don’t really care who scores on any given night. They know anybody can step up.”
Lucas Yasika got the shutout in goal.
“He started pretty much every game last year,” Ryan said. “We only lost one senior from last year, so there’s a lot of experience here at pretty much every spot on the field. It’s pretty easy to build off of that group that we had last year.”
Karns City won the District 9 championship a year ago.
There is one major change — the head coach.
Ryan served several years as an assistant under longtime coach Jim Grenninger, who stepped down in January.
Ryan was hired this spring.
“I kind of worked with some of the boys over the winter and when I got the job officially, we had a full summer,” Ryan said. “When I started here, I started with the junior high and this is the group of seniors and juniors that I had in junior high. They’re used to me. I’m used to them. I know what their capabilities are. We’re comfortable both ways.”
Ryan played for Karns City until he graduated in 2012.
“It’s an environment I’m familiar with and comfortable with,” Ryan said. “And having support from the administration, I couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity than to step in here.”
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