Boys Soccer

Waynesboro takes control of MPC Colonial in boys soccer

soccer ball

GREENCASTLE — It’s not official yet, but Waynesboro put itself in excellent position to end a streak of four consecutive Mid Penn Colonial Division titles in boys soccer by Greencastle-Antrim.

The Indians’ dynamic midfield choked the life out of G-A’s offense and scored three goals at the other end to carry Boro to a 4-0 victory over the Blue Devils on Tuesday night at Kaley Field.

Waynesboro (10-5-1) is now 7-2-1 in the Colonial, with games left against James Buchanan and Big Spring. If the Indians win out — and they are heavily favored to do just that —  they are the division champions.

Greencastle (11-6, 8-4 MPC) would have wrapped up the crown with a win.

The midfield trio of Derek Buhrman, Connor Jacobs and Trenton Shetler was simply too much for the Blue Devils to overcome. They repeatedly broke up potential G-A attacks early, and then turned the ball around and got Boro’s offense ignited.

“That’s a pretty formidable midfield when they’re playing well,” Waynesboro coach Brian Stum said. “And Paul Skehan came of the bench to help out a lot tonight, too.”

The Blue Devils had a good chance in the game’s first five minutes, but Indian goalkeeper Bryson Shaul came out quickly to reach the ball before a shot was taken by Jared Rohrbaugh.

Twelve minutes in, Kaleb Robinson sent a corner kick to the far side around the six, and Shelton was unmarked, placing a precise header into the net for a 1-0 advantage.

Just three minutes later, it was 2-0. Buhrman used some excellent ball skills to maneuver through several G-A defenders, then laid off a sweet pass to the foot of Hayden Oldham, who buried his shot for a 2-0 score.

Stum said, “We knew if we could take the wind out of their sails early, that would be a huge advantage. Of course, it could have gone the other way if they’d scored first.”

With 1:05 left in the half, the Indians knocked in the dagger. Oldham took the ball to the end line on the right side and dropped a pass back inside to Buhrman, who hammered in a shot that likely sealed G-A’s fate.

Eleven minutes into the second half, Waynesboro added one more tally. Bruce Neterer sent in a high direct kick to just inside the penalty area. Right before Blue Devil keeper Gavin Davidson could catch the ball, Buhrman swooped in from the side and nodded it over his head and into the goal.

NOTES: Oldham leads Boro with 16 goals, while Buhrman has six goals and five assists … Blue Devil keeper Davidson came up with seven saves … Of Waynesboro’s 15 shots, only four were not on target … The Indians had one goal all season on a header, but did it twice Tuesday.