Bellefonte boys' soccer falls in district championship to Hollidaysburg
In the moments after Bellefonte’s loss in the District 6 Class 3A championship game, with his players gathered around him near the bench, Red Raiders coach Scott Martz expressed his appreciation for his seniors and told his underclassmen to follow their lead.
In the past four seasons, Bellefonte established itself as a perennial Mountain League contender and battled for district championships. Though the Red Raiders fell 5-2 to Hollidaysburg in the title game at Altoona’s Mansion Park on Wednesday night, they still set the standard for the program moving forward.
“This is where we need the program,” Martz said. “This is what we want the program to be.”
The seniors helped Bellefonte (13-6) capture the No. 1 seed in the district playoffs and return to the championship game for a rematch with third-seeded Hollidaysburg. But like last season, the Red Raiders left Mansion Park disappointed after a season-ending loss. The Red Raiders won 13 games in each of the last two seasons and won the Mountain League in 2016, part of the most successful run for a senior class in program history.
Senior defender Ricky Methven enjoyed the ride, setting an example for the younger players and forming a close bond with his best friends on the field. But Wednesday night’s loss was a tough way to finish his career.
“Definitely upsetting,” Methven said. “We’ve been here a few times and lost to these guys in the same scenario, so coming to the end of the season my last year, it’s definitely emotional for all the seniors.”
The Red Raiders battled back from an early 2-0 deficit and went into halftime tied at 2-2 after goals by Daniel Catchmark and Evan Nyquist. Through the first 20 minutes of the second half, the score remained tied, and the Red Raiders remained confident.
But one play changed the momentum and gave Hollidaysburg the lead.
Bellefonte goalie Josh Gaus stepped over the line on a punt to set up a Hollidaysburg direct kick. Hollidaysburg’s Connor Pielmeier found the back of the net on the kick to push his team ahead 3-2 with 19:37 left. A little more than three minutes later, Hollidaysburg’s Lucas Scordo scored on a rebound to extend the lead to 4-2, and the Red Raiders never recovered.
“Coming back 2-0 in the first half, I think we had our heads high and then that third goal kind of put us down a little bit,” Methven said. “On the goal after that, it started going downhill.”
The team came just short of achieving one of the program’s goals, but the Red Raiders enjoyed a successful run with this group of seniors.
“We’ve not finished less than second place in the Mountain League — we’ve either won our league or finished second — and it’s a tribute to our 14 seniors we had,” Martz said. “They laid everything out there tonight.”
And the seniors are looking forward to seeing the program finally capture that district title in the future.
“It’s something we’ve been working for, for a very long time,” senior Jacob Rudloff said. “We’ve been building up and we’re getting closer and closer every year, so I’ll always make sure to come back and help the team out so we can do that.”
This story was originally published November 1, 2017 at 11:15 PM with the headline "Bellefonte boys' soccer falls in district championship to Hollidaysburg."