Breaking News
Local sports

Bacon logs ten saves, as BEA boys soccer battles Penns Valley to draw

By KENNY VARNER 3 min read

WINGATE – Defense took center stage on Tuesday evening at Bald Eagle Area’s Alumni Field, as two familiar foes met on the boys soccer field when Bald Eagle Area (5-2-1) hosted Penns Valley (2-3-1). The result was nothing new for these two teams as they always bring out the best in each other.

In their last meeting, the game was decided on a Penns Valley penalty kick for the game's only score. But Tuesday, neither team were going to concede to the other as they finished in a two-OT defensive thriller without a goal on the board en route to a scoreless, 0-0 tie.

Bald Eagle goalie Henry Bacon was lights out in the contest notching ten saves, most of which were in traffic.

The Rams goalie Owen Robb was also up for the challenge, stopping 11 Bald Eagle blasts, as the two strong defensive units battled to the final whistle.

Not only did the goalies play clutch for each team saw their defensive backlines remain stonecold under pressure, as they were able to clear the ball in a plethora of threatening situations. Bald Eagle Area head coach Jason Bair was proud of the effort he saw from his defense on Tuesday night.

"The defense was fantastic tonight. Henry (Bacon) all the way up through the four defenders and the CDM (center defensive midfielder). They were on," said Bair. "We really turned up the pressure in the second half. We just couldn't get one in. We had multiple shots that just missed. Hats off to their keeper. He stopped them. He had a finger tip on each one. It takes one to win. We didn't get it. But that was a really hard fought game between the two teams."

Penns Valley opened the game and took it right to the heart of the Eagles side of the field. After holding it down in Bald Eagle's side, the Eagles were able to switch the field temporarily. Both teams exchanged possessions, as neither was able to establish control.

The Rams went to try to catch the Eagles defense on their heels but were unsuccessful all evening. Bald Eagle’s defensive backline consisted of Jacob Neidrick, Alec Wagner and Blake Wagner. The backline held on against every Ram breakaway attempt, as they were able to recover and limit the open shots at the goal.

Bald Eagle led the game in shots by a 19-18 margin while the Rams held a 5-4 advantage in corner opportunities.

When the buzzer sounded, ending the first half, both teams went to work on a plan for action for the second half.

Coming into the second half, the Eagles struck the ball downfield first, putting the Eagles first touch down in the Rams back-third. The two teams exchanged numerous possessions as both took turns in trying to find a weakness in the other's defense. Neither could, as the game went into the overtime period still scoreless.

In both overtimes, the Eagles held off multiple Ram offensive charges and were successful.

With the tie, Penns Valley goes to 2-3-1 while the Bald Eagles are now 5-2-1.

Penns Valley 0, Bald Eagle Area 0 (2OT)

PV 00 00 – 0

BEA 00 00 – 0

Shots on goals: PV – 18. BEA – 19.

Corners: PV – 5. BEA – 4.

Saves: Owen Robb (PV) 11, Henry Bacon (BEA) 10.

Starting at /week.