MORGANTOWN — Three goals in the first half helped the Trinity Christian Warriors down the visiting Steubenville Catholic Central Crusaders 3-0 high on the hill in Sabraton Monday evening.
Junior Parker Hopkins scored two goals and a solid collective defensive effort led the Warriors (2-0) to their second win in as many games to open the 2024 campaign.
TCS head coach Dan Lohmann praised his team’s effort to come together so tightly early in the season to produce a great outing on defense.
“Anytime you can get an early goal, that’s a huge advantage,” Lohmann said. “But then being able to add on with another quick one helps even more. We got several chances early, we were able to finish with some well-executed play, and we could’ve added some more with chances we missed. Our passes into space were also excellent tonight.”
The early advantage Lohmann alluded to came less than three minutes into the contest as Hopkins scored his first goal with a one-timer that caught the Steubenville Catholic keeper off his line, floating over his head and into the net from 35 yards away.
One goal made the Warriors hungrier for a second, and two minutes later, it came from junior striker Austin Porta. Junior defender Brayden Clampffer played a perfect cross into the box that Porta redirected between the legs of the keeper to double the Trinity Christian lead, 2-0.
The goals subsided after the second, and the Crusaders seemed to settle into the game as the first half went on. However, the Warriors were solid defensively and didn’t allow the visitors to find many opportunities in the attacking third of the pitch.
“If we can get the ball into space and use our speed, it will allow us to create a lot of shots,” Lohmann said. “If we are in the right spots, we can get a rebound if there’s a chance. Defensively, it’s so important to have a strong back line, and not allowing a goal tonight is huge for the defensive confidence of the team as a whole.”
The TCS clean sheet was almost taken away with 14 minutes until halftime as the Crusaders found space down the right wing and cut inside. But TCS senior defender Lucas Kniska sprinted 30 yards, chasing down the attacker, and executed a perfectly timed slide tackle to block the attempt for his team.
The Warriors fed off Kniska’s efforts on defense, ramping up the pressure on the offensive side of the ball. The attacking duo of Porta and Nathan Adams gave Steubenville fits all game from all sides of the pitch.
With 90 seconds left in the first half, TCS added its third goal as Porta played a perfectly weighted pass into the path of Hopkins, who had made a run in behind the back line of Steubenville Catholic. Hopkins took one touch and calmly tucked the ball into the opposite corner with a textbook finish for his second goal of the night.
“We are experimenting with those two up top and, going forward, may go back to it,” Lohmann said. “They are both unselfish but also know when to take their chances to make a play or make something positive happen. We’ve tested a few things, and tonight flowed pretty well.”
A scoreless second half saw the Warriors through to a 3-0 victory under the sunset.
TCS hosts Fairmont Senior tonight at 6:30 p.m.
“We will have to be disciplined tomorrow on defense. Fairmont will always come at you with a lot of strength and pace,” Lohmann said.
