Knieriem's goal gives Mtn. Ridge 2-1 win over Alco

Sep. 29—FROSTBURG — Mountain Ridge's quality is unquestioned, but its mental game was put to the test on Wednesday night.

The Miners struggled to build possessions for stretches against Allegany, and the Campers stole an equalizer after a defensive breakdown led to an Avery Miller goal just a minute into the second half.

Yet, Allie Knieriem scored a physical goal with 11:49 left to retake the Mountain Ridge lead, and the top-ranked Miners dominated the final 10 minutes to hold off No. 3 Allegany, 2-1.

"We were up and down tonight," Mountain Ridge head coach Todd Snyder said. "We misplayed a lot of balls. We allowed them to dictate some tempo at different times.

"We're still not where I'd like us to be. .... But wins are wins. I knew Allegany was going to come and play hard, they get after it. I know Adam (Sterne) does a really good job with the girls. I knew they were going to fight."

The win was Mountain Ridge's seventh in a row, upping its record to 8-1 overall and 4-0 in the Western Maryland Athletic Conference. Allegany's loss, its first of the season, dropped the squad to 4-1-3 overall and 1-1-2 in the WestMAC.

"I thought we played hard, we played well," Sterne said. "We were able to control the ball at some points.

"I think it's a great game for both of us. We fought from behind, we tied it up and we fought until the end. They showed they can get to a 1-1 tie, come back in the second half and drill the net. That's what they offer. They have six and seven girls that can put it in the back of the net in a hurry."

On Knieriem's winner, Allegany appeared to be in a good position to keep the game level.

Mountain Ridge got out on the counterattack following a long Camper throw-in by bringing the ball up the center of the pitch, and the Miners' through ball didn't connect.

However, an Allegany back was unable to get to the ball, and Knieriem seized possession, ran through a tumbling Camper defender and around another to get one-on-one with goalie Shylah Taylor.

Taylor came off her line to cut down the angle, and Knieriem chipped the go-ahead score up and over the Allegany keeper to give Mountain Ridge the lead for good.

"We've been trying to tell those outside mids, 'It's coming, it's going to be there,'" Todd Snyder said. "She got her chance. We got the ball to the middle and swung it back across, and she was in the right spot. She put it home and did what she needed to do."

The goal gave Mountain Ridge all the momentum. Meredith Munday almost garnered the Miners an insurance goal with three minutes left when she ripped a point-blank shot on goal, but Taylor kept the hard chance out.

With a minute left, Munday and Sydney Snyder executed the Mountain Ridge offense to perfection, with Munday feeding the ball inside to Snyder, the ball went back outside to Munday and back inside to Snyder for an open shot in the left side of the box.

Snyder didn't get a clean shot off and missed wide, but the sequence was emblematic of what Mountain Ridge is capable of at its best.

"They were thinking about where they wanted their passes to be, but they just needed to slow themselves down," Todd Snyder said. "Everything was too hard.

"Then they finally came through with a couple passes at the end. We made some nice connections. We got the ball wide, then to the middle and back out wide again."

Allegany took advantage of a Mountain Ridge defensive miscue of its own to notch its lone score.

The Miners were loose with the ball in their half 1:15 after intermission, and Allegany's Maddie Poland chipped a long through ball up and over the Mountain Ridge backline to Avery Miller.

Mountain Ridge keeper Bayleigh Lamberson made an aggressive move to come out and grab the ball, but Miller matched her in the air and got a head on the ball. Miller's shot trickled into the net to level the score at 1-all.

However, the equalizer came at a cost, as Miller hyperextended her knee and needed to be helped off. When she was cleared to return to the pitch 10 minutes later, she was visibly slowed.

"I told her, 'There is no game worth tearing something, injuring it to where it's season-ending or worse that could jeopardize multiple sports," Sterne said. "I was proud of her to sacrifice her body to head for that. ... Bayleigh did her job. Most people would back down, but Avery went up knowing there would be contact."

With the exception of that one sequence, Mountain Ridge did well to limit Miller's effectiveness in transition. The Miners' backs stayed in front and forced the talented sophomore striker away from the middle of the field.

"We just wanted to keep her in front of us," Todd Snyder said. "We wanted to force her to the outside, keep her outside and go from there. That was key."

Mountain Ridge had the better of the possession during the first half, but neither side could manufacture a quality look on goal. That changed with one Sydney Snyder strike late in the period.

With 2:09 left, the Mountain Ridge junior unleashed a laser from the left side of the 18-yard box into the top left corner.

Allegany nearly capitalized on a Miners' defensive breakdown seconds later, as Elexa Mazuran broke free for a one-on-one with Lamberson. However, the Mountain Ridge keeper stood tall and kept the Campers' best opportunity of the half out.

Snyder was close to scoring 14 minutes earlier, when a similar rip from 25 yards out clipped the top of the crossbar.

While Allegany would level the game early in the second half and test Mountain Ridge's toughness, the Miners found a way through and showed why they're the No. 1 team in the area.

Allegany will look to bounce back at Southern on Saturday at noon, and the Miners host the Rams on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Alex Rychwalski is a sports reporter at the Cumberland Times-News. Follow him on Twitter @arychwal.