Lancers show some fight in win
Through the first 40 minutes of Thursday's boys soccer game between Wheaton North and host Lake Park, the Lancers lived up to their preseason goal of erasing the memory of last year's rocky season.
"We still have a chip on our shoulder from last year, and we want to come back and show everyone we're still a top program," said Lancers defender Dereck Surges. "We can fight."
Fight they did, getting the game's lone goal on a head shot by Jaime Zinni and holding the Falcons without a legitimate shot on net in the first half. The Lancers (2-0-1) brought the heat from the outset, and it paid off.
"It's definitely a nice win. We're pleased," said Lancers coach Norm Hillner. "We're not going to get perfection, but we're playing terrific. We're playing hard."
Zinni's goal came on one of the Lancers' 9 first-half corner kicks, when the senior ran onto a serve from Chris Gajda and buried it six minutes in.
The Falcons (1-1) were dangerous mainly on the counterattack in the first half, as they slowly began to match the Lancers' pace of play.
"Lake Park plays physical, they play direct, they play fast, and they were a great test for us," said Falcons coach Bryce Cann. "They really put us on our heels in the first 40 (minutes)."
The main concern for Surges, Kevin Hughes and the Lancers back line in the first half was Falcons forward Kristian Rosenberger, who made a handful of blazing runs to the right corner and showed that he'll again be one of the area's most dangerous attacking players this year.
"He's quick, and when he got a ball loose we were just praying for him to take a mistouch," Surges said.
Scott Harold played a solid midfield throughout for Lake Park, and in the second half it was Josh Pedersen, Jason Lollar and Tom Langan spearheading a better Falcons attack from midfield.
"We had a choice to make at halftime. Either we were going to fold and let them push us around a little bit, or come out and play the game," Cann said. "I'm pleased with how we responded. They showed a lot of heart in the second half."
Lancers goalkeeper David Mack stayed steady down the stretch, and Surges cleared a ball off the line as the Falcons pushed numbers forward in search of a tying goal that didn't come.
A late flurry of Falcons pressure and corner kicks kept Mack on his toes.
"Those last 10 minutes went by like nothing because you're in the game," Mack said. "On those corner kicks I just had to come out and make sure to catch the ball."