When Blue Mountain graduated its entire midfield from last season’s Division I championship team, many in the Schuylkill League thought the Eagles would endure some growing pains this year.
Not Mitch Yeakley and Scott Cox.
The two midfielders helped Blue Mountain dominate second-half possession Monday night and stay unbeaten in Division I with a 3-1 victory over Pottsville at Alumni Field.
Yeakley created scoring chance after scoring chance down the left side in the second half to hem the Crimson Tide into their own defensive third. He also delivered a corner that ended up going in for an own goal in the 35th minute and set up Jon Benner’s goal from a free kick in the 63rd minute.
Cox controlled the right side and bodied in the final goal of the night for Blue Mountain (6-2, 4-0 D-I).
“After losing all those midfielders, they were like, ‘They’re probably not going to do so good.’ But we stepped up and are playing really well,” Yeakley said. “The long balls are just great for me and Scott, we’re getting such a great connection just switching the ball.”
But it was Pottsville (4-4, 2-3) that started Monday’s game with the most promise, controlling the ball through much of the first half.
Tide forwards Ryan Reyes and Maldeen Thomas got two good looks at the goal in the first 15 minutes, but neither chance resulted in a shot on goal. Reyes collided with Blue Mountain keeper Aaron Albertini and Thomas’ shot narrowly missed wide left.
Pottsville finally broke through on Eli Wood’s header from a Fernando Rivera corner in the 34th minute to give the Crimson Tide a
1-0 lead. Wood headed the ball to the ground where Albertini could only get a finger to it and not stop it.
The lead lasted 1 minute, 26 seconds before Yeakley’s 35th-minute corner deflected in off a Tide player to level the game 1-1 before half.
“I think the own goal really took the wind out of our sails,” Pottsville coach Dave Newton said. “That was just one of those things. It’s hard enough just scoring goals in this league, let alone giving them up.”
Otherwise, Pottsville sophomore keeper Tobias Serrian impressed Monday. He made quality saves throughout the first half in a keepers’ duel with Albertini.
The execution on Blue Mountain’s 63rd-minute free kick was simply too good to stop. Benner ran over the ball and received a perfectly-weighted pass from Yeakley down the right side, took a couple touches and fired cross-keeper into the side netting to give the Eagles a 2-1 lead.
“We’ve practiced that a lot,” Yeakley said. “We have a bunch of little set pieces that we like to do. That one we were waiting for a good moment to do and that was just perfect. Jon executed that so well.”
Cox’s goal went in off his knee on a rebound from a thunderous Cameron Greenawalt strike in the 70th minute.
“Cameron Greenawalt took a good shot and their keeper made a great save,” Cox said. “I just made the run to crash and pick up the trash.”
It was a suiting conclusion to the game for Yeakley and Cox, who more resembled their predecessors in the midfield than they did a squad in rebuilding mode.
The duo are a microcosm for Blue Mountain’s season so far. The Eagles returned only three players to their same positions from last year. The fourth returning starter is Angus Fortune, who has adapted well as a holding midfielder after playing defense throughout his career.
“I talked to the kids Friday at practice and said, ‘Fellas, we’re playing much better than I expected,’ ” Blue Mountain coach Rob Burcik said. “The coaches, we talked about it and we don’t know why. I said, ‘Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it.’ ”
Game Summary
Blue Mtn. (6-2, 4-0) 1 2 — 3
Pottsville (4-4, 2-3) 1 0 — 1
Pot — Wood (Rivera), 34th minute
BM — Pottsville OG, 35th minute
BM — Benner (Yeakley), 63rd minute
BM — Cox (unassisted)
Shots on goal: Blue Mountain 9, Pottsville 5. Corner kicks: Blue Mountain 10, Pottsville 2. Saves: Blue Mountain (Albertini) 4, Pottsville (Serrian) 7.
JV: Pottsville 2-1