Eagles advance to district final with win THE SCORE

When Avon and Avon Lake square off, no matter what sport, it’s worth the price of admission.

On Oct. 24 at Avon’s Joe Firment Stadium in a Division I Elyria District semifinal, the No. 2-seeded Eagles topped the No. 3 Shoremen, 3-1, in a physical battle.

Avon (13-2-1) advanced to the district final Oct. 27 against No. 1 Strongsville at North Ridgeville High School for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

“Avon Lake had a great season and anytime you AVON 3, AVON LAKE 1 play well against a team like that, you’re happy,” Avon coach Chris Dore said.

After a stalemate most of the first half, the Eagles drew first blood with four minutes remaining after a ball cleared off a corner kick was played back in the box and Shoremen goalkeeper Dino Pietromica grabbed the ball, but collided with a defender allowing the ball to squeeze in.

That goal allowed the Eagles to set up defensively the rest of the way.

“We were timid for the first 10 to 15 minutes,” Avon Lake coach Pete Klepek said. “I don’t know what happened on the goal. The keeper said he had it, but they called it a goal, so we just had to move on.”

Avon struck again in the first four minutes of the second half when Nicholas Soulas beat the Shoremen centerbacks and got a clean shot off from the right side for a 2-0 lead.

Thirty-three seconds later, Avon Lake got back in the game after Drew Del Giudice was taken down in the box and Andrew Jacobson converted a PK goal past Eagles goalkeeper Ryan Poling.

“That PK goal was huge,” Klepek added. “The boys believed after that they can be in this game.”

But Avon’s defense, which has allowed only 12 total goals this season, didn’t allow another great Shoremen opportunity.

The Eagles added a empty net goal from Nick Minotti with 22 seconds remaining.

“We knew we had to come out hard and they were looking forward to playing us,” Minotti said. “We knew what this game meant, it was win or go home. We put everything on the field.”

Avon outshot Avon Lake, 9-4, on target.

Avon Lake (14-3-1) concluded the best season ever, and graduates 10 seniors.

“I’m glad to be part of it,” Klepek said. “I love those kids. Extremely proud of my 10 seniors.”

Avon beat Avon Lake back on Aug. 25, 1-0, which was the Shoremen’s last loss during a 14-game unbeaten streak. Both teams were even better this time around.

Soulas said they counted on their bread and butter to win a second time.

“We found ourselves the whole game just defending,” Soulas said. “We were too defensive. Our coach always tells us if we go up, we play like it’s 0-0 or down by one. We keep attacking and play our game.”

Avon turns its focus to Strongsville, who they played in a 1-0 loss on Sept. 17. That game was a conclusion from an Aug. 17 date which was called after the first half due to lightening.

“I hope we relish the challenge,” Dore said. “They beat us before and it was a strange game. But Strongsville beat us and there’s something on the line here regardless of what happened in the past. You have an opportunity to keep your season going.”