51ºÚÁÏ

COLUMBIA, Ill. — Althoff junior Tyler Pollock made his coach look good Monday night.

Playing in a somewhat different position, Pollock struck for two late goals and helped the Crusaders to a 3-1 nonconference boys soccer win at Columbia.

With the non-league victory, Althoff improved to 9-2-1 while Columbia slipped to 7-3-1. Both teams made state trips last year. Althoff won the Class 2A title after finishing as state runner-up in 2021 and 2022.

Columbia took third in Class 1A in 2023 and was fourth in Class 1A a year ago. But the Eagles suffered heavy graduation losses and are a different squad this time around.

"They always play us tough,'' Althoff coach Skip Birdsong said, noting that he and Columbia coach Jamey Bridges both played at Granite City High. "That always adds to the game, makes it a little more fun. I thought the boys on both sides competed hard. They're well-coached and they obviously do a good job on set pieces, which caused us some problems. I didn't like giving up the goal right before half obviously, but overall I thought we played a pretty solid game against a good team.

"We came out strong after halftime and we kept after it. Eventually, that led to those two late goals."

Pollock, who's listed as a midfielder, moved into the attack Monday and notched two key goals to break open a 1-1 game.

"Tyler made me look like I knew what I was doing tonight,'' Birdsong kidded. "We moved him around a little tonight and he came through for us. He scored one from the right side and one from the left."

Pollock is among Althoff's top scorers this season with 5 goals and 4 assists.

Midway through the second half of a 1-1 game, Pollock headed in a well-played cross from the opposite side of the field from wingback Hayden Tell to put the Crusaders on top to stay.

"It's a play we thought of in the playoffs last year. I told him that if he played me the ball, I would find a way to get a head to it. Hayden played me the perfect ball,'' Pollock said

Then with about 7 1/2 minutes left, Pollock was again the man in the right spot. After freshman Micah Pitre made a strong run to keep the ball in play in the left corner, he delivered a low pass to the goal mouth, where Pollock finished it off.

"Micah made a great hustle play, getting to the ball in the corner and feeding it across,'' Pollock said. "I got to it in front of the net and finished it off. They have a lot of new players, but we know Columbia's always going to play us tough.

"A big thing for us, I think, is working to get a little more consistent, a little more composed throughout the entire game."

Althoff carried the action through much of the opening half but didn't grab the lead until just four remained before halftime. Following a corner kick, the Crusaders' Nate Pitre gained control near the right side of the penalty area. His shot was blocked but Althoff teammate Michael Roche was there to knock home the loose ball.

It was the third goal of the season for Roche, a senior.

But Columbia responded in the final minute of the half to pull even. A long throw from Elliot Nelson, who was a dangerous factor throughout the match, made its way to teammate Owen Worcester, who knocked it home for his eighth goal of the season.

"We felt good getting half at 1-1, but we're still figuring some things out,'' said Bridges, the Columbia coach. "We graduated 12 seniors from last year, so we're still figuring some things out. I felt like we responded well in the first half but that some injuries and illness caught up to us a little as the game went on. No excuses, though. I thought we played hard and maybe got outhustled a little bit on a couple of key plays in that second half.

"But we'll learn from it and hopefully we'll be better next time."

Bridges added: "I'm glad Althoff is Class 2A."

Both teams need to bounce back quickly. Althoff plays host to Alton Marquette on Tuesday and Maryville Christian on Thursday in Gateway Metro Conference games. Columbia will host Gibault in a nonconference game Tuesday and Freeburg on Thursday in a Cahokia Conference Mississippi Division game.

"We just want to keep working and building as we move forward,'' said Birdsong, who coached the Althoff girls to their third state championship in 2024.