YOUTH MOVEMENT: Young Gremlins Come Out Firing in 5-1 Victory Over Visiting Slippery Rock

KARNS CITY, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Tracy Dailey is sometimes in awe of how radically things can change from one year to the next.

Last year the Karns City girls soccer coach had 11 seniors on the roster — seven of them starters. And they were a boisterous and vocal group.

“I sometimes had to tell them, ‘Would you please stop talking and listen,’” Dailey said, laughing. “They were all buzzing around and chattering.”

This year, there are no seniors on the team and the young players are much more introspect.

“Sometimes with this group I have to say, ‘Would you please talk a little bit,’” Dailey said, chuckling again. “This group is very quiet.”

(Pictured above, Karns City freshman forward Phoebe Brandon)

It may be a vastly different dynamic, but so far in the young season, the results have been the same.

Karns City used four second-half goals to break open a 1-0 match after the first 40 minutes to cruise to a 5-1 win over Slippery Rock at Diehl Stadium on an unseasonably cool Wednesday night in late August.

There was nothing cold about the Gremlins’ offense, sparked by a group of very young players.

Freshman forward Phoebe Brandon scored a pair of goals and also had an assist and fellow freshman forward Bree O’Donnell also found the back of the net in the win.

Brandon had three goals over the weekend in a 4-2 win over Clearfield.

Blazing speed is Brandon’s weapon of choice and she displayed it all night on the pitch against the shellshocked Rockets.

“She’ll come out of nowhere,” Dailey said. “She will be four or five steps behind and then find herself on the ball. We knew she could score. We’ve seen her score in junior high all the time. And the last few games she’s proven that.”

Brandon began playing soccer when she was five. Not long after — perhaps one of her earliest memories — she knew soccer was the sport for her.

She always had the knack for scoring thanks to her long strides and superior speed.

“As soon as I started, I fell in love with it,” Brandon said, smiling. “I always wanted to beat the boys because we had boys and played against boys in elementary at East Brady. I always wanted to win. I always wanted to beat everyone.”

Brandon is physical, too.

Something she learned playing against all those boys growing up.

“It makes you more aggressive, for sure,” Brandon said. “Boys like to push and shove and they’re stronger. And they are fast. So I think that’s where I got my tenacity, too. I had to get them off of me.”

Brandon’s first goal of the match was the only one before halftime.

But Karns City (2-1) was peppering Slippery Rock keeper Libby Campbell, outshooting the Rockets 14-1.

“The halftime speech was like, ‘Girls … we have to put them away,’” Dailey said. “Let’s focus on getting one and then let’s go from there.”

(Photo by Amy Price)

That happened fairly quickly as O’Donnell scored a nifty goal thanks to a perfectly placed feed from Brandon less than eight minutes into the half.

Brandon scored her second off an equally impressive pass and assist from sophomore Hanna Dailey seven minutes later and then Dailey scored herself shortly after to make it 4-0.

Brooke Arblaster broke up the shutout with a goal for Slippery Rock. Sophomore Aubrey Price capped the scoring with a goal for Karns City late.

“We have a lot of work to do, don’t get me wrong and we’re young, but we’ve been able to move the ball fairly well and the last two games we’ve been able to finish, which is huge,” Dailey said. “I start three freshmen forwards and they are definitely a work in progress, but they come focused, ready to work each practice, and they give us a ton of speed up top. And as you can see, they don’t ever give up on a play. It’s definitely a bright future for us.”

Rebuild isn’t a work in Karns City’s dictionary.

The goal always remains the same.

Win the District 9 championship. That’s something the Gremlins have done with astounding frequency with 24 of the last 28 titles.

They young players want to add their names to the legacy. They want to make that 25.

“Coming in as a freshman, I want to get another D9,” Brandon said. “I also want to make it farther for them. For me, it’s always been about the team and not myself. I just want to help the team win and make it as far as we can.”