After coming off back to back District 6 Championship games, the Tyrone/Bellwood boys soccer team is hoping to keep the streak alive as they open the season at home tonight against Philipsburg.

This will be a rebuilding year for the Golden Eagles. The team lost seven senior starters from the 2019 season, including the starting goalkeeper Alex Roberts and leading scorer and Mountain League all-star Corey Johnston.

The seniors this year are Aiden Taylor, Kelton Raabe, Alex Taylor, Brendan Andrews, Abe Black, Andrew Tornatore, and Mason Thomas.

There are three returning sophomores, Brayden Daniels, Eric Sims, and Kevin Carper. The team also added two starting freshmen, Elija Knar and Rocky Romani. 

The biggest challenge this season is probably going to be the lack of depth.  With only two players on the bench, the team will have to be well-conditioned and avoid injuries in order to be successful.

But there is enough talent on the team to have a good season.

“We are an interesting mix of experience, talent, and grit,” said assistant coach Dustin Elder.

The team’s main goal is to be Mountain League Champions and return to the District 6 championship for the third year in a row.

They would also like to improve on last year’s record of 6-11-1. Last year the Golden Eagles finished 4th in the Mountain League with a record of 6-7 and second in the district after losing a close district championship game to Hollidaysburg.

This preseason, the team dropped their first scrimmage to Blair Christian 3-6.

Head Coach Alex Bartlett believes that it solely came down to numbers with Tyrone only having one substitution that game.