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Elkins boys get past Applemen for first victory

INWOOD – After being shut out by Preston 5-0 Friday, Musselman scored its first goal of the season on a rebounded shot into the upper left corner of the net by Eric Sencindiver in the 60th minute.

As the Applemen attempted to find an equalizer late in the game, the final whistle blew and Musselman suffered its second straight defeat with a 2-1 loss to Elkins Saturday.

“We had to fight for momentum, and we claimed it when we scored,” said Applemen assistant coach Randy Brock, who was filling in for coach Gino Marchese. “Once we got it, we ran out of time to put a second one in.”

Lady Luck was not in Musselman’s corner early in the match as the Tigers took the majority of their 18 shots at the goal, with 11 on target in the first 45 minutes of the match. That resulted in two scores for Elkins.

“The ball bounced the wrong way for us early,” Brock said. “We took physical play and did very well learning from our mistakes as a young team.”

“Each game is based off of how the ball bounces,” Elkins coach Andy Montgomery said. “There were a couple instances where the game could have completely turned the other way.”

In the sixth minute, Linkoln Barger fired a shot at the net that was stopped by Martin, who went to his left to make the save. The ball ricocheted off of Martin’s hands back to Barger’s foot. The second shot went the opposite way for the opening goal.

Offensive jitters affected both sides as opportunities to score were missed, including an attempt by Musselman to tie the game. Elkins keeper Tyler Grant had a ball get past him, but the Applemen failed to scored and trailed 1-0 at halftime.

“We know our defense can be counted on, but they just can’t do it all,” Montgomery said. “We asked our defense to help carry the ball up the field for us as a team, because we knew that the keeper was good, and he proved that from the first half.”

As Elkins started to attack around the 45th minute, a foul was called, resulting in a direct free kick for Elkins.

Mason Schoonover placed a shot into the back of the net past a diving Martin in the upper-left corner to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.

Fifteen minutes later, Musselman scored on the rebounded shot by Sencindiver, but as time ran down, the Applemen struggled to finish and put a second goal in.

Elkins will host Liberty at 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

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