BRADFORD, PA – Opening their 2026 campaign on their own turf, the Bradford boy’s soccer team was unable to protect its early lead, ultimately falling to Elk County Catholic 3-1.
Playing without a scrimmage through their opening weeks of training camp, the Crusaders came in as Bradford’s first glimpse of non-simulated action, and as such, the Owls were quickly put on their heels. Although they were able to stave off shots on goal, Bradford frequently saw ECC punch holes through the midfield and close in towards the net.
However, on one of their own drips down the field, the Owls caught a break. Weaving through defenders and entering the box, Cole Blatchley earned a penalty kick on a called hand-ball. Taking the shot in the eighth minute of the game, Blatchley fired one into the back of the net to give Bradford an early lead.
Then, once again, they were pushed back onto defense, fighting off a reenergized Crusaders crew that began peppering the net. Although goalkeeper Lucas Sokoly had defended the net valiantly so far, coming up with big diving saves on multiple occasions, ECC broke through mid-way through the first half. Collecting a ricochet off of Sokoly’s mitts, the Crusaders knotted the game before taking the lead five minutes later with a high-arching lob from 15-yards out. In the final moments before the half, Bradford was able to string together successive runs down the field, but were unable to muster a significant shot, going into the break down 2-1.
Returning to the pitch, the Owls’ lack of game-time conditioning began to show. Playing on tired legs and against a more physical ECC squad, Bradford struggled to maintain possession, instead being pushed off the ball and thrown back on defense.
“Some things you can’t do anything about. I think all of (ECC’s) players were bigger than some of ours in height,” said Bradford head coach Peter Butler. “And we were getting tired. We relied on our defense too much and they played fairly well.”
As the Owls’ woes began to build, they culminated in one last ECC goal. Halfway through the second period, the Crusaders punched in the nail in the coffin, pulling ahead 3-1. Ultimately, the two-goal lead held strong, handing Bradford their first loss of the season.
Looking ahead, Bradford will get back to the lab for a three-day rest before taking to the road for Wednesday’s meeting with St. Marys. Then, they will head North for the two-day Gators’ Cup held at Allegany-Limestone on Friday and Saturday.
“I’m still quite pleased with the team. I believe we’ll get better as the games go by,” said Butler. “(ECC) wasn’t the toughest team that we’ll face, but they were a decent team.”
Volleyball
Bradford 3, North Clarion 0
CLARION, PA – In the first match under new head coach Danielle Gressley, the Lady Owls picked up the inaugural win of the season via sweep, beating the Lady Wolves 25-15, 25-20 and 25-20.
Haley Keane finished with eight kills, four aces and four blocks while Emma Pilon came away with six kills, two aces and one block.
Bradford will stay on the road early in the week, traveling to see DuBois on Tuesday before their home opener on Thursday against Brockway. Both games are slated for 7:30 p.m. starts.
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