Second-half surge sends Owen J. Roberts over Pottstown
POTTSTOWN — The Owen J. Roberts boys soccer team has been known to score in bunches this season, according to head coach Eric Wentzel.
That wasn’t the case at halftime after sophomore Jason Long netted the lone goal of the first 40 minutes during Monday’s Pioneer Athletic Conference game with Pottstown.
But Wentzel’s words came true in the second half after the Wildcats scored four goals in a seven-minute period and OJR rolled past Pottstown, 7-0.
Long assisted senior Nate Raban for OJR’s second goal three minutes into the second half. Sophomore Brandon Ott ignited the four-goal ‘ bunch’ by scoring twice, followed by goals from sophomores Devin Murray and Alex Fonder. Austin Koury rounded out the scoring for OJR (4-1 PAC-10). Assists were credited to Fonder, Andrew Siana and Andrew Mancini.
Coming into the game, the Trojans (2-2 PAC-10) were one of the upstarts of the PAC-10 in the early going, boosted by a 5-3 win over Phoenixville last Thursday highlighted by a hat trick from Logan Pennypacker.
But the team present last Thursday felt like a far different one Monday, according to coach Jason Pace.
“It all depends on what team shows up. We put out a lack of effort today,’ Pace said. “(We’ve been successful) when they play as a team and go to balls … it was just a whole different team out there.’
Pottstown was right in it during the first half, getting solid performances from the brother duos of Tamer and Sherif Mohamed and Logan and Mason Pennypacker.
The Trojans’ offside trap paid off before Long made them pay in the 18th minute.
“I was hoping to score quickly and get things going for the team to get us started,’ Long said. “Hopefully it would lead to more goals, even if would be in the second half.’
It certainly did in OJR’s six-goal second half.
The second 40 minutes left Pace befuddled, hoping for a return from that team that has already surpassed its win total from a year ago when they went 1-13 in the PAC-10 (1-14 overall).
“I don’t know how we go from a 5-3 win to a 7-0 loss. I don’t know what it is,’ Pace said.
Conversely, the Wildcats will hope to stay on the course they are on after starting the season 4-1, including three wins against Liberty Division opponents, three more than they had all of 2013.
Considering six of its seven goal scorers Monday are sophomores, things appear bright for OJR for years to come.
“I think we have not just one guy, but a lot of guys that can finish,’ Long said. “I think we have a good, young team and I think we can be in contention for a while.’
