John Bruce, Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by Holzer Health System.
SEAMAN — “Revenge is a dish best served cold.”
And revenge was exactly what Lynchburg-Clay had in mind on Wednesday night.
The Mustangs served up just that, attacking North Adams in the second half and eventually closing out a 4-1 win in SHAC play.
“We got beat on our home field by North Adams last year,” Lynchburg-Clay head coach Jason West said following the win. “That was the first time in a long time. So it means a lot to come back here and get a little revenge.”
Through much of the first half, it didn’t appear that revenge would be there for the Mustangs as they fell behind in the 22nd minute on a North Adams goal from Ian Raines. Raines hustled from the backside to hammer in a rebound after Jaxson Baldwin’s shot bounced loose in the box.
Besides the goal, the Mustangs (3-2, 1-0 SHAC) were in control throughout much of the first half.
However, North Adams goalkeeper Thad Moore was playing exceptionally well, tallying five saves in the opening 40 minutes, including a pair of diving efforts.
With just under a minute remaining in the first half, the tide turned as Lynchburg-Clay senior midfielder Aric Slack let loose with a right-footed shot from well outside the box. The shot looked to be heading to the right upper 90 until Moore leapt to try and push the ball above the crossbar. But that attempt did not work, leading to Slack’s score with just 51 seconds left to draw the teams even at the break.
“It was definitely a boost,” West said of Slack’s goal heading into the half. “We have just struggled to play in the first half of any game this season. But getting that first goal before the half made the halftime speech a little easier to hear.”
One of the keys for the Mustangs in the second half was to limit the touches of the outstanding Jaydon Reckers in the attacking third, a task that the Mustangs’ defense performed at a high level. Another key was taking advantage of their own athletes, which they were able to do in a major way.
Play started quickly in the second 40-minute stanza with the Mustangs’ wings of Quin Wells and Harley Lewis pushing the issue in the defensive backfield of the Green Devils. Wells let loose a pair of shots from the right wing that Moore had to lay out to parry wide of the goal to keep the game knotted at 1-1.
Quickly following the barrage that Moore was able to successfully defend, Lynchburg’s pressure finally broke free, leading to a score with 34:04 to play in the match. A long throw found Lewis, who instead of putting a header on target, played it back to the middle, finding freshman Colton Short.
Short one-touched the ball into the back of the open net to give the Mustangs a 2-1 lead.
Short nearly struck again just nine minutes later on a loose ball in the box. The striker won a touch around the penalty spot and sent a right-footed shot towards the net, but North Adams’ Maddox Martin came from seemingly nowhere to deflect the shot wide of the target for a non-goalie save.
The momentum from Martin’s heroics nearly paid off for the Green Devils (1-3, 0-1 SHAC) as they won possession and moved the ball quickly to Baldwin around the top of the box, where he hammered a high-pacing shot. The shot had to go high to try and beat the 6-foot-6 Tanner Roberts, but the ball clanged off of the crossbar and out of play with 24 minutes to play.
The rest of the night belonged to the Mustangs.
With the midfield taking advantage of the action and using the speed of Lewis and Wells, the Mustangs consistently put pressure on the Green Devils’ defense, eventually leading to a foul whistled in the box against North Adams. Lewis came streaking down the left side and a defender was a bit too physical on the tackle, leading to an easy call for the center official.
Lynchburg senior Alexander VanFleet stepped up to take the penalty kick. Moore read the kick well, lunging to his right as VanFleet connected, but the penalty was too surgical. VanFleet’s shot was low with pace, and just inside of the right post to make it a 3-1 game with just 19:39 to play.
CREDIT: Raymond Gleadle/SOSA
The final goal of the night came off a miscommunication by North Adams’ defense with Short forcing the action in the back, and eventually getting an open one-on-one in the box. He finished that opportunity into the corner for his second goal of the night.
“Short is just one of the kids with a nose for the goal,” West said of his freshman forward. “He’s holding his own on the field and when he’s motivated, he knows how to put the ball in the back of the net.”
Things don’t get any easier for the Green Devils as they travel to play undefeated Fayetteville on Monday. The Mustangs will return to action on Monday as well, hosting Eastern Brown in an important SHAC matchup.
“This sets us up for a strong start to the league,” West said of the win. “Everyone [in the SHAC] will start looking around and figuring out where the strength of the league is, so it’s a good start.”
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