High school boys soccer
Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski /
Hollidaysburg’s Gannon Zonts (4) and Bryce Hollingshead (9) watch the ball get by Altoona goalkeeper Ryder Krause during the first goal.
When Altoona and Hollidaysburg meet in just about any varsity sport, it’s inevitably a hard-fought, competitive event for the entire duration.
That was the case when the boys soccer teams squared off Monday night at Mansion Park, as the Mountain Lions and Golden Tigers played toe-to-toe for 80 minutes and wound up in a 2-2 tie.
Both teams scored two goals apiece in the first half, then, thanks to outstanding work by both goalkeepers in the second half, the teams held serve.
“It was a good, hard-fought game,” said Hollidaysburg coach Craig Shale, whose team is 6-2-3 this season. “That happens every time these two teams play.
“Altoona plays a tougher regular-season schedule than we do, and we needed a game like this to get us ready for the playoffs down the road.”
After Hollidaysburg opened the scoring when senior midfielder Bryce Hollingshead headed in a corner kick from sophomore midfielder Caiden Galioto less than five minutes into the game, Altoona junior midfielder Leonardo Minatel-Chiminazzo’s first of two unassisted first-half goals tied the score at 1-1.
Hollidaysburg sophomore forward Devin Walters gave the Golden Tigers a 2-1 lead by taking sophomore Nolan Lloyd’s pass and scoring on a breakaway down the field with just over 22 minutes left in the first half.
“Walters is a handful,” said Altoona coach Travis Young whose team is 5-6-2 this year. “It’s very difficult to try to counteract his speed.
“This is everything that you could want in a cross-town rivalry,” Young added. “Craig always has his guys prepared well. They’re the fastest team that we’ll see all season.”
The score remained tied through the final 40 minutes, thanks to outstanding keeping efforts by juniors Liam Jancula of Hollidaysburg and Ryder Krause of Altoona.
Jancula stopped 12 Altoona shots in the game and made stellar saves at the 32, 30, 23 and eight-minute marks in the second half.
“Liam had a great game, his best this season,” Shale said. “He made several outstanding saves that kept us in the game.”
Krause made a diving stop with five minutes left, and stopped a Hollidaysburg header with 2:45 remaining.
“Ryder played well for us,” Young said. “When he was called upon tonight, he did a really nice job.”
The two teams will meet Friday night in a rematch at Hollidaysburg’s Tiger Stadium, where an early-season game was postponed due to a storm.
“It’s always good to play these guys, because we know it’s going to be a good game, whether it’s here or at Hollidaysburg,” Young said.
Shale concurred.
“We’re looking forward to Part 2 on Friday,” Shale said.
Game notes: Hollidaysburg hosts Penns Valley tonight, while Altoona — which closes its regular season with five straight road games — visits Central Mountain Wednesday night … Altoona won the junior varsity game, 1-0.
SCORE BY HALVES
Hollidaysburg 2 0–2
Altoona 2 0–2
First half: 1, H–Hollingshead (Galioto), 35:24. 2, A–Minatel-Chiminazzo (unassisted), 30:06. 3, H–Walters (Lloyd), 22:18. 4, A–Minatel-Chiminazzo (unassisted), 4:45.
Shots on goal: Altoona 14, Hollidaysburg 10.
Saves: Jancula, H, 12; Krause, A, 8.
Records: Hollidaysburg (6-2-3); Altoona (5-6-2).