Valley Sports ReportWATKINS GLEN - Watkins Glen rode early momentum to a 4-2 win over Tioga here Thursday evening in IAC boys soccer action.
"It was a hard-fought game by both teams," said Tioga coach Adam Layman. "Tonight, we went in hard and fast, wanting the win.
We changed our line up to include a sweeper in order to help our defensive line some," he noted. "With the addition of the sweep it left us a little weaker on our offensive drive than we normally were.
"We knew Watkins (Glen) was going to come out fast and hard, and we wanted to shut them down.
"We connected passes well and communicated," added Layman. "Overall, it was a great game from the boys, Watkins Glen just capitalized on our small mishaps."
The Lake Hawks scored two goals in the first 15 minutes of the contest to take a 2-0 lead.
Senior Tyler Roe put Tioga on the board midway through the first half to close the gap to 2-1.
The Lake Hawks added an insurance goal with 9 minutes remaining in the contest, and made it 4-1 with 3 minutes left in the contest.
Roe scored again to provide the final margin with 1:30 left to play on a perfectly-placed through ball off Brady Landmesser’s foot.
The Tigers, who started the season at 5-0-2, have lost five in a row, and are now 5-5-2.
"Having four of our hardest games the last four, and little practice time has had the boys spirits down and connection on the field down," said Layman.
"We focused hard in practice yesterday on fundamentals, roles, and playing our game," he noted.
"It’s a hard loss for the boys," added Layman. "We will refocus for Newfield and Odessa next week."
Tioga returns to action Monday when it hosts Newfield.
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IN PHOTO: Tioga’s Tyler Roe. … VSR STOCK PHOTO.
