Defense, Pritts’ hat trick lead Yough past Elizabeth Forward

By Dean Dellamalva Jr.

MVI Sports

It has been an up-and-down start to the 2020 season for the reigning WPIAL Class 2A runners-up from Yough. 

Finding the right mix of players to replace a slew of graduated talent has been a difficult task; however, if the second half of their nonsection matchup against Elizabeth Forward Tuesday is any indication, the Cougars could very well be on the verge of bouncing back.

A smothering defense and a hat trick from sophomore McKenzie Pritts helped propel Yough to a 5-2 victory over the neighboring Warriors on Cougar Mountain. 

Junior Hannah Biros also had a strong game for the Cougars (5-3) with two assists.

“I think the second half of tonight’s game was probably one of our better halves all season,” Yough head coach Dann Appolonia said. “We’re putting together the passes and we’re on target. We were finding open players, making nice runs and finishing, which has been a struggle for us all year.”

EF (3-3) had trouble penetrating the Cougars’ midfield and defense most of the night. 

The two times they got through, Natalie Beinlich was able to get goals. There were not many other scoring chances for the Warriors.

“We were not getting as many looks as I would like but there were many times we had players wide open and we just could not get the ball to them,” Elizabeth Forward head coach Brandon Gerba said. “Kudos to Yough, they look a lot better than what they’ve shown. They look like they are starting to click a little bit.” 

Pritts and Biros connected on three occasions. Biros set up two of Pritts’ markers before Pritts returned the favor on another goal.

“(Pritts and Biros) definitely were a good combination tonight, we have been waiting for that to happen all year,” Appolonia said. “It has taken us three to four games to figure out what kind of formation we were going to use and where people were going to fit best. In the past two or three games, we have figured out what seems to be working for us.”

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