Pisgah soccer beats Tuscola 3-0
Sep. 30—Pisgah boys soccer team brought a solid game plan and high energy into C.E. Weatherby Stadium Monday, Sept. 26, and walked out with a 3-0 win over crosstown rival Tuscola.
The shutout is the first win over Tuscola for Pisgah head coach Rodney Alt in his three years leading the Bears.
After the game, two Pisgah players graced Alt with a Gatorade bucket shower. It was nearly 50 degrees out, but Alt did not complain.
"I'll take it," he said after the bath. "For the first one over Tuscola."
Alt agreed that the win over Tuscola was a big step for a Pisgah program that hasn't had a lot of success against the Mountaineers in recent years. The Bears soccer team hadn't beat Tuscola since a 4-1 win Aug. 15, 2018, coincidentally — at Weatherby.
"It has been one-sided a lot," Alt said. "Our theme for the day was, 'This is the game where we make it a rivalry because it has been one-sided.'"
Sophomore Andrew Hardin scored on a penalty kick for the Bears first goal of the night, and junior Carlos Hinojosa scored again to put Pisgah up 2-0 at halftime. Hardin scored his second goal of the game in the second half.
"I think our passing game [worked well]. We kept possession of the ball and moved the ball fast. We made them chase us," Alt said. "All the respect for [Tuscola]. They played a good game, and played really solidly."
The match was technically a "home" game for Pisgah, and Bears fans flooded the home side of the stadium and put up banners of their senior players along the fence.
"[The players] were pumped [coming into the game]," Alt said. "They knew that we could take this game. They had the energy and wanted to finish. I'm so proud of our guys. They put the work in and you see the commitment [in them]."
Two days later, Pisgah shutout East Henderson 2-0 Sept. 28, for its fourth conference win of the season.
Pisgah is now 9-1-1 (4-1 in Mountain 7) and is sitting in first place in the conference.
That's a big change for a team that finished in last place for the past three years.
"It's a great feeling," Alt said. "The years before, we had good players, but they were really young. They were outsized and outmatched, but now they're growing up, and it's great to see, and to see them believe in it and see the result of it."
The Bears have seven games left in the season, all conference games. Tuscola gets another chance at the Bears Wednesday, Oct. 19.
