The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Stellar defense carries Avon boys to success
Goalkeeper Dylan Morris and defenders Noah Lindon, Adam Kalvits and Shane Maggioli give Avon a stingy defense. Plus, boys and girls Top of the Crop and soccer statistics.
Here’s a memo to all fu- ture Avon soccer opponents: Prepare to get frus- trated offensively.
Just ask their previous competition.
In 10 games, the Eagles have given up a mere goal — and that was to Southwestern Conference leader Olmsted Falls in a tight 1-0 loss. Other than that, se- nior goalkeeper Dylan Morris and his defense ahead of him have it etched in their minds that anything less than a shutout would be a disappointment.
“I can’t give myself all the credit ... you have to look at the players in front of me,” Morris said. “This is one of the best defenses I’ve played with in my four years.”
Junior defender Noah Lindon, sophomore Adam Kalvitz and senior Shane Maggioli may be the stingiest trio of defenders in the area.
Morris called Lindon “an animal on the field” and coach Chris Dore believes he should earn every top honor in the area.
“He will get less glory than a goalkeeper will,” Dore said about Lindon. “Just because defenders typically don’t accumulate stats. They stop easy chances from getting to the goalkeeper. What makes him so good is that he reads the game so well and he’s athletic. He’s got good skills and he’s such a wellrounded player.
“I probably could play him anywhere on the field.”
Avon is 6-1-3, and that’s with a tough schedule right out of the gate that has included Strongsville, Olmsted Falls, Avon Lake, St. Edward, Westlake and Lakewood.
“This is the hardest schedule we’ve played to start in my four years here,” Morris said. “But everything
is coming together now towards the end of the season with the playoffs coming soon.”
Morris is committed to Tiffin and will major in business management, and graduates high school this upcoming January. He holds the most career shutouts in school history with 31— and counting.
He has nine shutouts this season and is aiming for the school record in a season of 14.
“I’m good in the air,” Morris said. “You’re not going to score on me in the crossing zone. If you score a good goal on me, I’m going to give you all the credit in the world. I just love the position and I don’t want to let you score.
“I want to be remembered as the best goalkeeper Avon’s ever had.”
The Eagles lost in a sectional final last year after a 12-2-3 (8-1-0) record, so they know better than others that a regular season record only means so much.
Lindon is ready to taste postseason success.
“We have the potential to be the best team,” he said. “But we have to put the ball in the net more and once that starts happening, we can be the best team in the playoffs. We obviously want to win states but we have to focus on winning conference first and going from there.”
Dore, in his 11th season, is always weary of looking too far ahead. He has been around the block before — both as a player with Lorain Catholic and as a coach, to understand that if Avon doesn’t focus on what’s in front of them — then they’re asking for trouble, especially in a tough Southwestern Conference.
“I would say Olmsted Falls is the most wellrounded team,” Dore said. “Westlake is a very good team this year and they’ve got a lot of guys back. We’re doing all right, Lakewood is a very good team. BereaMidpark is always competitive and Avon Lake, too. Our conference is strong with a lot of big schools.
“But I don’t know if it’s a healthy thing to look too far ahead of ourselves. My job is to make sure today we do the right thing. We want to win every game and that’s the ultimate goal. If we can accomplish that, then we’ll ultimately accomplish our goal without having to state it.”
Milestones
Vermilion senior forward Zack Kelly continued his scoring onslaught against Tiffin Columbian on Sept. 25, scoring a hat trick, surpassing the school’s alltime scoring record with 98 goals. The previous record was 95 held by Jeff Baker. Kelly also broke the school’s all-time assist record in the process, picking up his 35th career assist. Kelly has 30 goals and 13 assists and the Sailors are 12-0-0.
Olmsted Falls senior Kevin Lemin scored three goals each in wins over Amherst and Berea-Midpark to become the Bulldogs’ alltime scoring leader with 46. The previous record was 46. The Bulldogs are 9-1-0.
Around the pitch
• North Ridgeville junior goalkeeper Joe Grau had clean sheets vs. SWC foe North Olmsted and Brush. He has 64 saves and has stopped 84 percent of shots. The Rangers are 6-2-2 and off to the best start since 2003.
• Brookside senior Devin Houdeshell had four total goals in wins over Lutheran West, Keystone and Columbia. Brookside is 8-3-0.
• Avon Lake senior center-mid Jack Lawniczak
had three assists against Amherst and is leading the Shoremen with 12 on the year. They are 6-2-3.
• Avon senior defender Ashley Svec totaled two assists in a 5-0 win over Shaker Heights. The Eagles are 9-2-0.
• Rocky River senior midfielder Dylan Keeling had three assists in a win over Gilmour, added two goals and two assists in a win over Elyria Catholic, and had two more assists in a win over Lexington. The Pirates are 11-1-0 and ranked No. 3 in the state in D-II.
• Bay senior midfielder Autumn Meisenburg scored three goals in a 4-1 win over Niles McKinley and had two assists in a win over Revere. She has helped the Rockets to a 7-2-2-(3-0-0) start.