SECTION IV BOYS SOCCER: FIRST-HALF FLURRY OF GOALS PROPELS OWEGO PAST JOHNSON CITY; INTO CLASS A TITLE GAME (24 PHOTOS) (2024-10-23)

Tioga County Sports Report
OWEGO — Unbeaten Owego scored four goals in about 6 1/2 minutes on its way to a 7-0 win over Johnson City here Tuesday night in the semifinals of the Section IV, Class A boys soccer playoffs.

The River Hawks (16-0), the newly-minted No. 1 in the state, are the second seed, and advance to play top-seeded Maine-Endwell (9-4) Nov. 2 at 4 p.m. at Union-Endicott.

"It took us a little bit of time to get going, but we knew we had to be at our best again after expending so much energy Monday night," said Owego coach Alessio De Michele, referencing Owego's 4-1 win over Ithaca in the STAC Championship game.

"Once we got the first goal, we were able to settle down, move the ball through defensive lines quicker and create more chances for our attacking talent.

"It was a great way to close out our home season with a few first-goals for JV call-ups Owen Hallenbeck and Fin Duffy, who fit in with the varsity squad seamlessly as all of our young players have done," added De Michele.

JC kept the ball in the Owego defensive end for the first few minutes of the match, but the River Hawks quickly took control.

Five minutes into the game, Matt Samuelson rifled a shot off the far post, and Owen Hallenback collected the rebound about 15 yards out and his shot also hit the same post.

Owego kept the pressure on, and with 27:45 remaining in the first half, Vasil Brich chased down a through-ball, and beat the JC keeper with a hard shot from close range to make it 1-0.

Four minutes later, Zyir VanScoy slid a pass deep in the box to Hallenback, who punched a hard shot past the keeper to make it 2-0.

It took just 22 seconds for the River Hawks to add to their lead when Matt Higgins chased down a long ball, and rifled a bouncing ball past the keeper from about 20 yards out to make it 3-0.

Brich finished off the first-half scoring, off another assist from VanScoy, with 21:06 remaining to extend the lead to 4-0.

Bryce Oliver, Chris Ward, and Fin Duffy added goals in the second half.

VanScoy doled out three assists in the win, while Higgins, Hallenbeck, and Danny Tavelli each had one assist.

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IN PHOTO 1: Owego's Vasil Brich. IN TOP PHOTO: Owego's Ryan Barnes. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.

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