STAC BOYS SOCCER: JOHNSON CITY EDGES WAVERLY, 2-0 (24 PHOTOS) (September 8, 2026)

Valley Sports Report
WAVERLY — Johnson City scored about two minutes into the game, and added an insurance late in the second half in a 2-0 win over Waverly here Tuesday night in STAC Central Division boys soccer action at Memorial Stadium.

"This is tough loss, but it's very promising going forward," said Waverly coach Jon Rankin.

"We made some changes within the starting line up and some positions that gave us some more flow in the midfield and more offensive movement. 

"Lucian Krause was doing very well in the middle. Despite being outsized, he moved the ball well and created some opportunities that we were just shy of," noted Rankin. "Ian Johnston and Cohen Kraft were real offensive opportunities. The ball movement between those two was infectious for the team and eventually we started moving the ball like ourselves again. 

"Unfortunately, we had some unforced errors in the midfield that led to some scary situations that (keeper) James (Cole) was able to get us out of," he said. "He was able to stop three 1-v-1 situations and a point-blank header. He was a big factor in today’s match.

"We have some homework to do for sure. We will bounce back and recover from this," added Rankin. "Tonight was a big step in the right direction, though, despite the final score.

Mahadev Gadde put JC on the board just 1:50 into the game, but the Wolverines kept the game at 1-0 at the intermission.

With 15 minutes remaining in the contest, Dayber Gonzalez gave the Wildcats an insurance goal to make it 2-0.

Johnson City had a 17-2 advantage in shots-on-goal, and a 6-4 edge in corner kicks.

Sophomore James Cole recorded 13 saves in net for the Wolverines.

Waverly, now 0-2, returns to action Friday at Seton Catholic.

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IN PHOTO 1: Waverly's Ian Johnston. IN TOP PHOTO: Waverly's Aiden Malorzo.

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