MANSFIELD – The loneliest man on the Mansfield Christian (MCS) soccer pitch on Tuesday evening was senior Caleb Young.
That’s because the Flames’ senior goalkeeper saw zero first half shots on goal from Mansfield St. Peter’s in the first 40 minutes as MCS built a 6-0 halftime edge enroute to a 9-1 boys’ soccer victory.
It was the season opener for the Flames, coming off last year’s 19-2 record that included a trip to the OHSAA regional finals. MCS graduated 13 players from that club, but head coach Jesse Rider knows he has a solid nucleus returning and fresh legs coming off last year’s unbeaten JV team.
It was simply too much for a St. Peter’s team (1-2) playing its third game after a loss to Norwalk and a win against East Knox.
“We have been waiting awhile for this one,” Rider said. “Our biggest fear is we would come in overanxious, but we got off to a good start and played very well.
“We knew we had some good players coming off that JV team. It was just going to be a question of how fast they could adjust to the varsity level. It’s a a very good group of guys,” Rider said.
Leading the charge for the Flames was junior Brendan Ernsberger, who scored three goals and assisted on two others. He is one of 4 starters back from last year’s team.
“Brendan is a phenomonal player with a knack for getting the ball on goal … either scoring himself or setting up someone else,” Rider said.
Ernsberger was supported by senior Josh Cochran, who scored two goals and added one assist.
Also scoring for MCS were sophomore Brandon Mount (two goals, one on a penalty kick), senior Mason Noe and sophomore David Cochran.
The Flames fired 18 shots on goal in the first half as St. Peter’s senior goalkeeper Josh Adamescu recorded 10 saves in the first half and 12 overall. St. Peter’s first shot on goal came almost eight minutes into the second half.
“Josh did a great job tonight. He kept us in the game,” St. Peter’s coach Art Varga said. “He gave up some goals, but he did a great job. It’s a team effort back there.”
Senior Danny Rice scored St. Peter’s only goal with 17:10 left in the game as the Spartans avoided the shutout. The Flames finished with 31 shots on goal, compared to just eight for St. Peter’s. Freshman goalkeeper Jacob Gurski came off the bench in the second to notch six saves for the Spartans.
“We wanted this experience tonight,” said Varga, whose 14-player roster includes two sophomores and three freshmen. “We have a very young team in terms of varsity experience and we knew this would be a very good team we were playing.
“I thought we played much better in the second half and that is what we were looking for. The kids responded and did well.
“Mansfield Christian is very well coached and they have a lot of very talented players. They were moving the ball around so well in the first half that it had our kids’ head spinning,” Varga said.
Both teams encounter Clear Fork from the Ohio Cardinal Conference in their next games. Mansfield Christian hosts Clear Fork on Thursday evening. St. Peter’s plays at Clear Fork on Saturday.
“We knew we had some good players coming off that JV team. It was just going to be a question of how fast they could adjust to the varsity level. It’s a a very good group of guys,” MCS coach Rider said.
