Sometimes timing is everything. For the Golden Eagles boys soccer team, peaking at just the right time made the 2018 season one of the most memorable in team history.

“While our [7-7 regular season] record may not show it, the 2018 team was one of the best that Tyrone has ever had,” said head coach Nick Miller.

Prior to that playoff win, the Golden Eagle’s had an overall successful regular season, but not without encountering a several bumps along the way.

The team opened with a win, but soon realized that the 2018 season wasn’t going to be as easy. They then had four consecutive losses, not scoring a goal in any of those games.

The Golden Eagles ended their scoring drought in their fifth game, but they still continued to struggle. Tyrone lost to Central for the first time in six years, which made them realize that they were not playing up to their true potential.

It was then that the Golden Eagles began to play like a team the deserved to be in the playoffs.  They were able to pull off wins in the final three games of the that they needed.  They were able to show Central who is the better team by beating them 6-0.  They also beat rival Huntington 1-0 in an exciting game and a 1-0 win against tough Philipsburg team to end the season.

These last games pushed the Eagles to a 7-7 record in the Mountain League.

But legends are made in the post season and following the up and down regular season the Eagles faced top seeded Hollidaysburg on the road in the first round of the PIAA playoffs.

The Eagles came into the game as an big underdog, having lost to the Golden Tigers 3-0 earlier in the season.

However, Tyrone wanted to show the Golden Tigers that they deserved to be in the playoffs, and they ended up playing one of the best games of Tyrone’s history.

Tyrone went down 1-0 early in the game, but they had an amazing comeback to win 2-1. Late in the second half with about five minutes remaining, midfielder Alex Taylor sent a through-ball to the left corner for forward Owen Shaulis.

Saulis outran one Hollidaysburg defender and passed another inside the box to take a shot. The low shot beat the Hollidaysburg goaltender to the short side of the net for a late 2-1 lead.

Despite some late pressure from Hollidaysburg, Tyrone finished the game out with strong defense.

“We came together as a team and played as brothers,” said sophomore midfielder Mason Thomas.

Going into the championship against Bellefonte, Tyrone knew that they had to match or exceed their performance against Hollidaysburg.  Tyrone had lost to Bellefonte 4-0 and 4-1 earlier in the season, so they knew that it wasn’t going to be an easy game.

Tyrone scored first early in the match, but Bellefonte came back and won 2-1 on two impractical goals.

Even though the boys lost the championship, they still had an amazing season.

“I think we attacked with real enthusiasm.  We played hard every single game and I saw real improvement from each player.  We had a desire to get better every single practice and when the time came (during playoffs), we stepped up and played some of our best soccer.  I have nothing but respect for our team and how we played this season.” said assistant coach Alex Bartlett.