River Hill coach Matt Shagogue said he expected Tommy Krug to have a breakout season last fall. Krug has definitely made his presence felt in the early stages of the new season.

Krug tallied both the Hawks’ goal Tuesday in a 2-1 victory over Fallston in a non-league contest in Clarksville. River Hill, ranked 10th in the latest VSN Top 20, improved to 3-0 in the young campaign.

Krug got his foot on a loose ball in the front of the net after a throw-in by Tomi Williams in the 69th minute for the game-winner. The senior midfielder scored in the 26th minute off a through pass from senior midfielder Jake Turney.

“I expected this from him last year. Now, he’s a senior and the kids voted him captain,” said Shagogue. “He seems to be in the right place.”

“We came out a little flat in the second half, Fallston was definitely working harder and got that goal,” said Krug. “We just had to keep working. Everyone around me was working hard and we ended up putting one in.”

Fallston (1-2) pulled even in the 45th minute on a tally by senior forward Keefer West with the assist from junior midfielder Chris Lievendag. The Cougars, who lost to Marriotts Ridge in last season’s Class 2A state title game, began dictating tempo.

The Hawks stymied Fallston’s momentum as Krug ended up in the right spot.

“Tomi has been killing himself for the team getting those throw-ins,” said Krug. “Ryan Noonan had the flick into the box, I knew I had to get something on goal, so I turned and hit the ball. I got pretty lucky.”

“The long throw is a weapon,” said Fallston coach Chris Hoover, whose team open UCBAC play against Elkton Wednesday. “He’s [Krug] a really fast kid. I thought we did well trying to bottle him. They’re a very skilled team.”

Shagogue said this season’s River Hill edition is short on skill and long on effort.

“We’re a blue collar team, we got workers,” said Shagogue, whose squad begin Howard County play next week against Mount Hebron. “You may have had one or two on the 2007 title team, but we had a lot of skilled playes. We got a few skilled players and the rest are workers.”

River Hill 2, Fallston 1
Goals: Fallston-West; River Hill-Krug 2.
Assists: Fallston-Lievendag; River Hill-Turney.
Saves: Fallston-Webster 6; River Hill-Voyton 3.
Half: River Hill, 1-0.