The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
PIONEERS RETAIN THE ELYRIA CUP
Elyria hands Elyria Catholic its first loss
In any rivalry game, chippiness and physical play is a given.
That was the case Sept. 15 at Knights of Columbus Field in Elyria Catholic, when Elyria came away with a 3-1 win, retaining the Elyria Cup for the second year in a row.
Both teams exchanged clutching, grabbing and pushing.
In a contest of this magnitude, all of that is expected.
“It’s always like that,” Elyria Catholic coach Jason Kempton said. “This is my third year with it. I was an assistant coach back in 2014. It’s definitely a chippy game, but it means a lot. It’s about the community, and they all came out with a big crowd. You don’t ELYRIA 3, ELYRIA CATHOLIC 1
normally see big crowds like this at a soccer match. And I thought Elyria wanted it more than us.”
Elyria improved to 6-2, and the Panthers suffered their first loss at 5-1.
The Pioneers struck first in the 10th minute when Charles Locklear dished a seamless pass to Colton Hyde and ripped goal from center.
That was just a dose of Elyria’s attacking third as Elyria put forth seven shots on goal and had strong possession.
In the 36th minute, the Panthers were penalized for a foul and the Pioneers converted on a penalty kick goal from Hyde for a 2-0 lead.
The Panthers had an opportunity in the opening minutes of the second half when Stephen Gabel had a breakaway shot that was stopped by goalkeeper Logan Boddy.
Four minutes later, Elyria Catholic was handed a red card, perhaps a sign of frustration building up. But the Panthers responded in the 50th minute with a goal from Aiden Woodyard, assisted by senior Alex Steindl.
The Pioneers were fortunate in the 72nd minute when Isaac Dicken flicked in a corner kick and the Panthers wound up scoring on their own net, giving Elyria a 3-1 lead.
“It feels amazing bringing the cup back to Elyria,” Hyde said. “I don’t like it at EC, I like it at Elyria. The game was kind of chippy. Sometimes it gets a little too chippy. But I was just in a good position tonight.”
Panthers goalkeeper Bryce Hileman had nine saves.
The Pioneers’ game plan was to move the ball quickly and wanted to take advantage of their speed on the outside wings. Defensively, they didn’t allow Steindl much opportunity to score, who entered with 13 goals.
“He’s a great player and we had to make sure we knew where he was at all times and played goal side on him,” Elyria coach Brett Heighberger said. “If they were faster than us, we gave them a couple steps and pressured them and made sure we had guys support behind in case the ball squirted threw. It was pressure cover defense.”
To capture the Elyria Cup a second straight year means a lot for Heighberger. The Panthers won the prior 17 matches.
“I love the support that we had,” he added. “We had a lot of alumni come out today and youth players. It’s great to see the support for the soccer program.”
Coming soon
There will more coverage on Elyria’s program in the coming days. Check back with The Morning Journal both online and in print.