ORWIGSBURG — There’s never any doubt on the Blue Mountain bench that if Jon Benner and Cam Greenawalt keep getting scoring chances, they’ll find the back of the net eventually.
The Eagles had to work a little harder for those goals to come Thursday night against Jim Thorpe, but, after a halftime adjustment, come they did.
Benner scored two goals and set up Greenawalt for the other as Blue Mountain shut out the Olympians for a 3-0 Schuylkill League Division I victory at the Eagles’ Nest.
“In the second half, we started making better passes. We started finding people’s feet instead of just kicking it,” Benner said. “We started putting goals away and it went forward for us.”
Despite the victory, the Eagles finish the season as the Division I wild card, with Lehighton beating Tamaqua to claim the division title.
Blue Mountain (13-3-1, 10-1-1 D-I) will play Nativity in the Schuylkill League semifinals Wednesday at Pine Grove, while Lehighton plays Schuylkill Haven.
Jim Thorpe goalkeeper Carter Rodriguez kept Blue Mountain off the scoreboard
in the first half Thursday with four saves, three from close range.
The remedy was simple: Get the ball to Benner and Greenawalt sooner.
“We’ve been having trouble where we’re holding the ball too long and trying to dribble too much to beat teams,” Blue Mountain coach Rob Burcik said.
“We actually practiced that the last couple days. The first half, we were still doing the same thing — trying to dribble through instead of ... put the ball through, let the ball do it.”
It didn’t take long for the results to show. Five minutes into the second half, Greenawalt delivered a ball to the top of the box to Ian Leiby, who one-touched it through to Benner, who put it into the left side netting.
Benner then sprung Greenawalt in the 53rd minute, finding his fellow forward 25 yards out. Greenawalt then dipped inside a Jim Thorpe defender and similarly nestled his shot into the left side netting for a 2-0 lead.
The combination of Benner and Greenawalt at the top of Blue Mountain’s formation has not only provided chemistry, but a confidence that when the Eagles need goals, they’ll answer the call.
Benner’s two goals Thursday bring his season total to 31, tied with Lehighton’s Joe Marks for the area’s best. Greenawalt now has 19 goals, tied for sixth in the area.
“That’s one position (forward) that we have everybody back,” Burcik said. “We’re definitely solid there.”
The Eagles’ final goal came in the 75th minute on a rocket by Benner that deflected off Rodriguez’s hands and into the goal.
Jim Thorpe (7-8-1, 5-6) also had its chances in the first half, most of which stemmed from Luke Morris. The senior midfielder set up Todd Stelling for two shots on goal in the 15th and 23rd minutes, then fired a free kick from 45 yards in the 26th that had to be tapped over the bar by Blue Mountain keeper Aaron Albertini.
“I thought he had good control in the first half,” Jim Thorpe coach Tony Dixon said of Morris. “We hung with them all the way through to when they scored the first goal.”
Burcik knew all about Morris’ abilities in the midfield coming into Thursday’s contest, but had to remind his squad again at halftime. In the second half, Morris was denied the space he saw so frequently before the intermission.
Stepping into that extra space was freshman Coyote Acevedo, who was moved up from his right back position to the right side of the midfield.
Acevedo took full advantage of the space given him and had two good looks at goal inside the 6-yard box in the 57th minute, but the first was blocked and the second missed wide right.
The Olympians took their only shot on goal in the second half in the 64th minute — and it was a strike from long distance that never troubled Albertini.
“We always talk at halftime, make adjustments in the second half,” Benner said. “I always talk to Angus (Fortune), Scott (Cox), Leiby and Cam about what we need to do better. And it’s always better.”
With its season complete, Blue Mountain turns its attention to Nativity for the Schuylkill League semifinals. The Eagles and Hilltoppers met in the second game of the season for both, but Nativity is far from the same team it was Sept. 5 — as some of the school’s exchange students had yet to arrive.
“They’re a totally different team than when we saw them,” Burcik said.
Game Summary
JT (7-8-1, 5-6) 0 0 — 0
BM (13-3-1, 10-1-1) 0 3 — 3
BM — Benner (Leiby), 44:08
BM — Greenawalt (Benner), 52:56
BM — Benner (Moszcienski), 74:50
Shots on goal: Jim Thorpe 4, Blue Mountain 8. Corner kicks: Jim Thorpe 1, Blue Mountain 6. Saves: Jim Thorpe (Rodriguez) 5, Blue Mountain (Albertini) 4.
JV: Blue Mountain 3-1