Fueled by an early goal and unfazed by a torrential downpour that began halfway through the first half, the Golden Eagles stayed undefeated with a 3-1 win over the Forest Hills Rangers on Thursday.
The Rangers initially did not appear to be ready for the Eagles’ team speed. Tyrone controlled the ball early, and within the first two minutes, Tyrone junior Tytus Novak scored up the middle on an outstanding through ball by Noah Gulvas, beating the Rangers goalkeeper in the bottom right of the net.
“Despite the challenges that could have held us back, we stood strong, pushed through, and delivered a win,” Novak said after the game.
Soon after Novak’s goal, the rain began, turning the game into a defensive battle for the remainder of the first half. Both teams made runs, but neither was able to find the back of the net.
Coming into the second half, the rain slowed, and the Eagles knew they needed to find another goal to keep the momentum in their favor.
Twenty-five minutes into the second half, Tyrone added its second goal.
Gavin Tuskovich received the ball on the left side, driving at the Ranger defender. As he was driving, Tuskovich got fouled inside the box, giving the Golden Eagles their first penalty kick of the season.
Junior captain Grant Miller took the penalty kick. Miller’s kick deflected in off the right post and into the net to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead.
“Forest Hills was definitely our hardest game of the season so far. The weather slowed down our momentum a lot once it started, but we were able to pick it back up in the second half and play our game. It felt especially good for me to be able to put one in the back of the net, not just for my team, but for the other people that I’m playing for that may not be on the field,” said Miller.
Ten minutes later, Novak gave the Eagles an insurance goal with a powerful finish into the bottom right corner to make the score 3-0 Eagles.
Forrest Hills briefly regained the momentum with 12 minutes remaining by scoring on a header off a corner kick to make the game 3-1.
After that, all the Eagles needed to do was focus defensively for 12 minutes to win. They were able to do so as time ran out on the 3-1 victory.
Tyrone’s record now stands at 4-0. On Tuesday, September 9th, the Eagles play Hollidaysburg (4-1-0) away at 6 p.m.
