Mooney boys wins sectional by shutting out scrappy Hubbard

By Jim Flick

STRUTHERS — Ryan Yavorsky scored a hat trick to key the Cardinal Mooney High boys soccer team to a 5-0 win over Hubbard Saturday in a sectional final at Valley Sports.

The Cardinals (8-7-2) will play a district semifinal Tuesday against Lakeview.

“We did what we had to do against a scrappy Hubbard team,” said Mooney coach Larry Lencyk.

Yavorsky scored the first of his three goals 141‚Ñ2 minutes into the first period, the first of three quick goals scored by Mooney midway through the first half of the game.

Less than two minutes later, a long, hard shot by leading scorer and team co-captain Thomas Beck boosted the lead to 2-0.

Less than four minutes later, Clay Hicks slammed home a goal.

Yavorsky scored his second goal early in the second period and his third goal with 26:54 remaining.

Beck added two assists and Hicks one. Co-captain Chris Felker and Matt Ramsey were each credited with one assist.

Despite Yavorsky’s hat trick, Hubbard coach Rodney Lehman said the key was the play of Beck and Felker.

“They’re two of the top players in the area,” he said. “Everything goes through them.

“[They] see the field very well, see the ball, hold passes well, distribute the ball very well. Those two control the tempo of the game.”

Lencyk agreed. Beck and Felker, he said, “are the heart of the team. They control the middle of the field and that’s what you need.”

Lencyk also praised Yavorsky’s efforts and added, “Our bench played well. We have 20 players on the team and everyone has a role on this team.”

Despite a .500 regular season record, Mooney came into the matchup with Hubbard (4-12-1) ranked by coaches as the No. 2 seed in the district tournament.

“We play a strong regular season schedule to prepare for the playoffs,” Lencyk said.

Lencyk said preparation during the regular season was necessary because Mooney graduated seven starters from last year’s team, which was ranked second in the state.

“During the regular season, we developed as a team,” he said.

Lehman said his Hubbard squad also developed by playing against Beck, Felker and their Mooney teammates.

“Our kids played well, just to contend with Beck and Felker,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of young players and they learned something today.”