Moose strike in second half

PALMER — Late in the first half, Skyview head coach David Carpenter sent a not-so subtle reminder toward his team on the field.

“I’m no genius, but we’ve got to account for No. 10 and No. 29,” Carpenter quipped.

Carpenter was right, No. 10 (Daniel Burton) and No. 29 (Zach Zegzdryn) had provided Palmer with a handful of opportunities. But Carpenter forgot about No. 35.

No. 35 — better known as Palmer senior Steven Williams — scored three goals to lead the Moose to a 6-1 win over the Skyview Panthers at Machetanz Field at Palmer High School on Thursday.

Sparked by Williams, Palmer scored all six of its goals during the final 40 minutes of play, after the Moose found themselves trailing 1-0 at the intermission.

“We had to calm down and get back to what the game plan was,” Palmer head coach Kevin Dearborn said. “We just got of our game.”

Williams knocked a shot past Skyview goalkeeper Bryce Wilson during the first minute of the second half to tie the score at 1-1, and from that moment on it was all Palmer.

“Someone we were able to get some focus back in the second half and stock to what our game plan was,” Dearborn said. “When we did that we started scoring. Chances were coming left and right.”

Daniel Burton, J.D. Brooks and Aube Strickland also scored for the Moose, who improved to 2-0 overall with the win.

Mike Moerlein scored for the Panthers, who made their season debut in the match.

Despite the loss, Carpenter said he was pleased with the play of his team, and ultimately the depth of Palmer proved to be a deciding factor.

Dearborn also praised the Panthers.

“For those guys being out on the grass for the first time, they did really well,” Dearborn said.

Palmer held possession for chunks of the clock at a time during the first half, but the Panthers were the ones who capitalized on an opportunity.

Late in the first, Skyview moved the ball down the field and put consecutive shots on goal. The second shot of the series, Moerlein’s attempt from the left side of the Palmer box, found its way into the far side of the net.

“If you got a ball hanging around there inside the 18, someone could poke it home,” Dearborn said. “And that’s what they did.”

Burton gave the Moose a 2-1 lead when he knocked a Brennan Bohman cross into the back of the net. Bohman used a header to get the ball over to Burton.

Just minutes after junior Zach Zegzdryn pushed a penalty kick high and to the right, Williams used his speed to post his second goal of the game and give the Moose the 3-1 lead. Williams beat a pair of Panthers to a loose ball, split the defense and popped a short shot over the head of the Skyview keeper.

Later in the half, Zegzdryn centered the ball to Burton, who chipped it forward to Williams at the 10-yard line. Williams knocked the shot in to complete the hat trick.

Strickland and Brooks iced the game with late goals in the second half.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.