Prep Soccer: Pitching The Shutout

The hot start continues for the Harrisburg soccer team as they improved to 10-2 on the season with a 6-0 shutout win over Centralia Thursday night at Michael Herrin Soccer Field.

One of the main concerns for Bulldog head coach Mike Stewart was how his squad would respond after Tuesday's upset win over Marion. A halftime chat after putting up one goal against the Orphans seemed to change to the tide for the Bulldogs.

"The first half we came out flat and laid back on our heels," Stewart said. "This is something we just cannot do because other teams will take advantage.

"It always concerns me that a team will have that attitude coming off a big win like we did against Marion Tuesday. We had a little chat halftime and our guys entered the second half a little more hungry."

Cody Morris netted a first half goal to give Harrisburg a 1-0 lead. In the second half, it was all Harrisburg.

Sam Rodgers got the scoring going with an early goal and that followed a barrage of goals from Carver Gregg, who finished with three in the second half and another from Morris.

Harrisburg put up 17 shots on goals against Centralia, where Morris fired seven, while Gregg put up four. Sam Rodgers had three, while Anfernee Houston, Garrett Proctor and Chandler Bowling all had one.

Ryan Cowsert had the win in goal for the Bulldogs, splitting time with Britten Riden. Cowsert netted 69 minutes of action, coming up with two saves, while Riden logged 11 minutes.

"The one touches connected to the runs and things began to click in the second half," Stewart added. "We shot the ball more and hit the target. We possessed the ball better as well. Our defense utilized the width of the field more the second half to get the ball up field for the attack. We definitely need to work on our consistency and focus.

"I thought Centralia played a very good game. They were all over the field and they were fast, but fortunately we were able to possess the ball more."