Leaning once again on their rapid fire offense, the Bradford soccer team scored early and often to bury Erie in a 6-1 win, the second victory over the Royals in Owls history.

Bradford came out of the gates loaded with energy, finding their rhythm almost instantly. After just over a minute, Mitch Strauss would punch one in, using his blazing speed to weave through the Royals defenders. Just two minutes later, Aiden Willard would score another, assisted by Struass, to give the Owls an early 2-0 lead.

“Andy (Mangold) and Mitch work so well together, and they were just clicking,” said head coach Peter Butler. “We were solid in the back and everyone was playing their part.”

While the Royals responded with their own burst of life and energy, Bradford’s midfielders were there to intercept passes and cut their drives short. Eventually breaking through and towards the net, Erie then missed several chances close, either by missed shots or by the Owls defense, including goalkeeper Tristan Dragoone’s athletic saves.

The Owls would add another point to their lead with a shot from Andrew Mangold, again assisted by Strauss, with 23:30 left in the first half, before their offense began to stall out. Struggling to string together clean passes to move the ball up field, the Owls were backed into their own territory. The Royals began to unleash a barrage of shots, but continued to narrowly miss their mark.

As the half wound down, the Owls would go on a final streak of scores, led by a corner kick from Strauss that was finished off by Gabe Tate to put the Owls up 4-0 with a little over eight minutes remaining. From there, Mangold tallied his second score of the game with a long range rocket shot before Strauss would add to the lead with another swift dash through traffic that gave him a clean look. Walking off the field entering halftime, the Owls found themselves up 6-0.

“In the first half, we just played out of our minds. It was the best 40 minutes that they’ve played under me,” said Butler.

Entering the second half, the game became a back-and-forth battle of offensive waves. Early on, the Owls continued their attack, with Mangold and Strauss showing off their dazzling footwork to navigate through traffic. Despite several very close chances, often consecutively, they were unable to connect on a seventh goal.

The Royals, who were facing a running clock for the remainder of the second half, would eventually avoid a shutout, scoring 11 minutes after the break. After missing an initial shot, Erie’s attackers clustered in front of the goal, where Dragoone dove for a save before the ball slipped away from him. After a few seconds of scrambling, the Royals punched in a shot, cutting the deficit to five. That gap on the scoreboard would hold for the remainder of the game, with the Owls pulling out their sixth win, the second against Erie ever

Strauss would command the Owls offense, finishing with two goals and five assists in the win while Mangold finished with two goals and a single assist.

The schedule does not get easier for Bradford going forward, as they continue their string of Erie-based opponents on Wednesday, traveling to McDowell.

“We’ve still got some really big games ahead of us. We play a return game against (Erie) plus another game against Cathedral and still have two games against McDowell,” said Butler. “It’s going to be a tough few games.”