DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
A leg up on possession and some clinical finishing were enough for the Leo Lions to eliminate Bellmont Monday night in the opening game of the local 2A soccer sectional.
Winning by a 4-0 margin, the Lions had the added advantage of playing within the bounds of their home school district on a very familiar playing surface, as all East Allen schools use the same artificial turf.
“They are a talented team,” said Bellmont head coach Derek Trobeck after his season came to a close. “It’s hard to say goodbye to seniors and see them play their last game.”
The Braves were also short one of their seniors in Greg Shively and his absence was felt on the back line throughout the night as Leo tried to slice through the Bellmont center backs for close-range shots against keeper Xavior Palacios.
“Xavior could not have played better,” said Trobeck about his sophomore keeper. “He was outstanding. There was nothing he could have done on any of their four goals. Their (Leo) finishing was laser-sharp.”
Palacios made an incredible ten saves as the Lions outshot the Braves 14-3 in the 80-minute contest.
The disappointing end to the season came after the two teams played a competitive 2-1 match on the natural grass at the Bellmont soccer stadium.
The pace of the game was not to Bellmont’s liking and the Lions were better in transition, seizing on the Braves’ missed attempts to settle and trap the ball off the bounce of the turf.
Bellmont’s best chance for an early goal came on a corner kick from Alex Schirack. His in-swinger was headed for senior Andrew James at the back post but was deflected away at the last moment.
“Leo made a concerted effort to deny Andrew the ball,” said Trobeck. “They had two, sometimes three guys on him as soon as he touched the ball.”
The next set piece belonged to Leo just outside the box, but it was blasted over the wall and out of Palacios’ reach.
After 18 minutes of play, Palacios was called upon to make his first save and he handled Elijah Lorenc’s low drive with ease to keep the match scoreless. That chance seemed to tilt the field in Palacios’ direction for the next 30 minutes of play.
Five minutes later, Palacios made a diving save to his right and the near post to stop a breakaway opportunity by the Lions. Leo attempted to put the ball back in the box on the rebound, but Bellmont’s Drew Kolter made a stinging tackle to stop Lorenc in his tracks right outside the top of the box.
With scoring chances coming every 30-45 seconds at that point, Palacios made a goal-line save after a corner kick took a slight deflection off the near post and his body and trickled towards the goal line. He got a hand on the ball to prevent the goal but the Lions won the next aerial battle and put another shot in and beat the Bellmont keeper, who was saved by the post.
Bellmont’s luck ran out after 30 minutes, however, as Lorenc cut past a defender, then beat Palacios from close range on the near post for a 1-0 Leo lead.
Lorenc nearly scored a brace in the span of 90 seconds, but Evan Sovine’s goal-line clearance kept Bellmont in the game at halftime with just a one-goal deficit.
After the two teams traded sides and the head coaches traded team talks, Leo came out the aggressor in the second half and put the game away.
Three goals by three different players in a span of six minutes gave the game its final scoreline.
Lorenc scored in the 42′ after cutting to the middle of the field and rifling the ball home across his body with his right foot.
Two minutes later it was Hudson Douglas with a long-range shot from 30 yards out that beat the Bellmont keeper high and at 48′ it was forward Cooper Harris with a cheeky finish using the outside of his right foot from the penalty spot that finished off the game.
The Braves attempted in vain to score a consolation goal with senior Andrew James just one goal or assist away from a couple of career milestones, but they fell into the trap of attempting to play long balls and the Lions had little difficulty in defending the tactic.
The loss marked the final match in the high school careers of James, Shively, Sean Boyle and Jonathan Barton.
“Andrew’s had an outstanding career,” Trobeck reflected. “To think about where he is all-time… He’s basically a Top 10 player in career goals, career assists and career points. And he did it in less games than almost anyone else ahead of him.”
The Lions, who moved to 6-6-2 with the win, advanced to take on Bishop Luers for a spot in the finals. That match will be played Wednesday at 5 p.m.