Lakeland Christian boys fought hard but it wasn't enough in loss to Circle Christian
LAKELAND — Lakeland Christian put on tremendous pressure especially late in the second half but its two-goal deficit was too much to overcome.
The Vikings managed a penalty kick by Avery Cassell but just couldn’t get the bounces and fell to Circle Christian 2-1 on Friday in the Class 2A, Region 2 semifinals.
Lakeland Christian (16-4-2) went into the game seeded first in the region with a team loaded with underclassmen. There are just three seniors on the team. However, instead of using Friday’s game as a stepping stone to next week’s region finals and eventually the state tournament, the Vikings will have to use the game as motivation next season.
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“I think the whole game, they (Circle Christian) came with a lot of passion and intensity. and we didn't match it. I mean, we got through the first half and then we made a couple of big mistakes that they capitalized on,” LCS coach Grandy Streets said. “At the end. I don't even know what (formation) we were playing at the end. I was sending everybody for it in the kitchen sink. So we did get a goal. I
felt like we probably could have gotten another couple of them. But I'm really proud of Circle. I'm really proud of what they did. I hope they do well in the next round.”
After a scoreless first half in which LCS Gray Ottman made a couple of impressive saves to keep the match scoreless, Circle Christian struck quickly in the second half. Knox Blevins scored in the opening minute of the half then Carson McManus later scored to give Circle the 2-0 lead.
“The first one, it was right off the bat,” Streets said. “It looked like a floater and a missed clear. And then all of a sudden the kid got in and all the sudden, the kid got wide open. The second one, I shifted and pushed more people to go forward. So we had fewer people in the back and when he headed, it hit right to their forward.”
The game got extremely physical as Lakeland Christian aggressively attacked after falling behind. There were several violent collisions that left two or three bodies littered on the field, stopping play while they recuperated.
Adrian Villanueva’s play was tenacious as the Vikings tried to send balls through or over the top to spring him, Avery Cassell or Brayden Gathwright on charges to the goal. They were often successful, especially on one run by Cassell down the left side who centered to Cassell and Gathwright in front but the ensuing shot got deflected.
The Vikings had several good looks and several corner kicks or free kicks in close, but they could never get the bounce.
“I thought that their goalie had a fantastic game,” Streets said. “I mean, he neutralized everything that we did on set pieces and corner kicks and all those kind of things. So it's frustrating.”
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Lakeland Christian fall to Circle in boys soccer regional semifinals
