“Our team did very well. We controlled a lot of the game,” says a proud Coach Wiley. It was an outstanding soccer game between the Pine Grove Cardinals and the Pottsville Crimson Tide. The starting lineup for the Cardinals included: Elijah Hoover, Canter Zimmerman, Logan Barr, Aaron Balmer, Ayden Zerbe, Dennis Kull, Cam Raudabaugh, Mitchell Lesh, Cody Griffiths, Gary Townsend, and Bryce Weber.

Pine Grove started with the ball in the beginning of the game. The game started off a little slow until Bryce Weber, junior, made a  shot in the middle of the first half of the game. The score was now Pine Grove-1 and Crimson Tide-0. By halftime, Cardinals have taken the lead. Pottsville starts off with the ball in the second half. However, our defense did their job and didn’t let Pottsville score. Then, shortly after the second half started,  Mitchell Lesh comes through with a goal making the score 2-0, Cardinals in the lead. Mitchell celebrates his goal with a victory dance that makes the crowd cheer. Shortly after that, Mitchell scores another goal that leads his team to a Cardinal win. The final score was 3-0.

The Cardinal goalkeeper, Elijah Hoover, only had two saves due to the job of the defense. Mitchell Lesh said, “We all came out to play hard. We put the ball in the back of the net, and our defenders played great. Our mid-fielders did exactly what the coaches taught them. That’s all you can really ask for.”

The Cardinal win prompted Coach Wiley to say, “There’s always need for improvement. We have to get better at defending free kicks, but our team kept them from doing what they wanted to do which, hopefully, is what Pine Grove will keep going for the rest of the season.”