The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Eagles dodge defeat with late goal
Avon boys soccer undefeated in regular season play
Avon boys soccer finished off an undefeated regular season with a win Oct. 9 against Amherst.
It wasn’t without resistance from the host Comets, as the Eagles needed a goal in the final two minutes of play to finish off their 2-1 victory.
Both teams traded chances in the first half with Avon goaltender Ryan Poling facing three shots from the Comets side in the first 10 minutes.
But it was the Eagles that would strike first in the 19th minute with sophomore Nathanial Vakos scoring a free kick from just outside the Amherst box.
The two sides once again were quiet for the following 60-plus minutes until Amherst struck with a game tying goal from Caleb Stempkowski. The senior forward finished off a free kick from a teammate in front of the net to tie the game with just over three minutes remaining.
It took the Avon offense less than two minutes to respond as senior Aidan Lacko crashed the Amherst net and finished off his own rebound with a minute and a half remaining on the clock to put the Eagles back on top.
“In this sport there are critical moments in which in those critical moments after a goal is scored there’s another shortly after,” Avon coach Chris Doré said. “We could’ve gotten down and the result could have gone the other way, but we responded and Aidan scored just a hard working goal.”
Despite the final result, the Comets were pleased with the effort they showed following a week in which they dropped three matches. Constant pressure from the Amherst attackers forced Poling into several tough saves that Amherst coach Brett Thompson hopes will find their way into the net in the playoffs.
THE SCORE
AVON 2, AMHERST 1
“We’re going to learn from this, and while there’s no such thing as a great loss it’s a great opportunity for us to learn going into the playoffs,” Thompson said. “If we continue to play like this I think we can be very dangerous in the playoffs.”
Despite finishing the season without a loss the Eagles will not walk away as the SWC champions after Avon Lake defeated Olmsted Falls to secure the title.
The Eagles have a consolation prize in getting nine days off before their first playoff game thanks to a first round bye as they look to repeat as district champions
“It’s another situation where you can either build off of it and have it motivate you or sulk a little bit,” Doré said.
“But I think that we’re going to have a little chip on our shoulder going into the tournament because we couldn’t finish first in the conference.”
Up next for the Comets is the final game of their regular season against Vermilion on Oct. 12, before a first round playoff game against Lorain. The Eagles now await the winner of Olmsted Falls and Elyria Oct. 19.