DUBOIS — In a rematch between last year’s District 9 Class 3A finalists, Bradford blasted DuBois 6-0 for its second shutout win of the year.
The Owls (2-0), which opened the season with a resounding 15-0 win over Coudersport, jumped out in front early on an Isaiah Pingie goal six minutes into the game. Pingie was assisted by Colton Swanson on the play.
Swanson then took matters into his own hands, reeling off three consecutive goals at the 8-, 18- and 21-minute marks, two of which were on passes from Ian Grady. The Owls led 4-0 at halftime.
“Our pressure that we put on with our front line pressed the ball really well and created turnovers,” Bradford head coach Wes Lohrman said. “We’re finishing, and Ian has been creative for us up front. I’ve had to ask him if some of his passes were on purpose sometimes, but they all are.”
In the second half, Ryan Miller scored within the first minute of play on a pass from Drew Auteri to extend the lead to 5-0, and then Owen Kane scored at the 38-minute mark on an assist from Colton Nichols to round out the Owls’ scoring.
Defensively, Schmidt only faced seven shots on net thanks to a masterful performance by the Owl backline.
“When the ball did make it into our backline, they made great plays and made good distributions to our attack,” Lohrman said. “We’re firing on all cylinders right now, and it’s fun to watch and coach.”
The coach is especially thrilled with how well the young defensive unit has come along so far.
“Everybody back there is stepping up. They’re stopping shots, blocking passing lanes and limiting the numbers of saves Evan has to make, and when he has to, he steps up as well,” Lohrman said.
The win certainly looms large for the Owls, as they and DuBois have met in each of the last two District 9 championships games, with each team taking a game. DuBois won the District in 2017, while Bradford won last year.
Still, Lohrman says Bradord isn’t going to get ahead of itself and look too far down the schedule.
“I’m proud of how the guys played, but while we’re off to a good start, we’re not counting anything yet,” he said. “We’re going to take it one game at a time and still work on what we can work on to keep improving.”
The Owls are back in action Friday at the Elk County Catholic Tournament in St. Marys. Bradford will take on St. Marys at 5:15.
Kane 4, Northern Potter 3
KANE — Aiden Zampogna netted a hat trick, including what proved to be the game-winner in the 63rd minute, to lead Kane to a 4-3 win in a back-and-forth affair with Northern Potter.
John Feikls headed in an early goal for the Wolves, who took leads of 3-1 and 4-2 before holding off the Panthers down the stretch. Ryan Langworthy and A.J. Lehman each had a goal and an assist and Ezra Sprow added the other marker for NoPo (0-2-1).
Patrick Lehman made 15 saves and chipped in a helper for the Panthers.
