WALES – After a strong start, the Oak Hill Raiders have been scraping for goals and wins over the last couple of weeks, so the last thing they needed Wednesday was to face the top team in Western B, Lincoln Academy.
But that doesn’t mean it can’t pay off in the days and weeks to come.
The Raiders hung around, but ultimately didn’t have the firepower to keep up with the Eagles. who scored twice in the final 10 minutes to pull away with a 3-0 win.
“They’re a good team. They play the ball hard. They’re deep and they wore us down,” said Oak Hill coach Joe Fletcher.
The Eagles, ranked atop the latest Wester B Heal Point standings, outshot the Raiders 29-9 and got goals from David Thorpe, Sam Elmes and Devon Peaslee.
Lincoln (7-1-1) pressured Oak Hill (3-6) early but fell back on its heels about 10 minutes in. The Raiders used their narrow home pitch to their advantage, pressuring Eagles goalie Kevin Conant (five saves) on several long throw-ins by Devon Eaton.
The Raiders’ best chance came about midway through the first half, when Nate McDonald, who was feisty in front of the net, had an open net as Conant tried to emerge from a scrum to the right of the goal. His shot from about 15 yards angled wide left.
“They attack well, and we didn’t want to give up a goal in the first 20-25 minutes because of how well they attack,” said Lincoln coach K.J. Anastasio, who is a Mountain Valley high school graduate. “If you look at the Heal Points, we’re one, they’re eight, so this could be a preview, if it ended today, of the playoffs. Teams that are struggling, once they get that first goal, it really lifts them up.”
Lincoln got the lift instead by ratcheting up the pressure in the final 15 minutes of the half. They finally broke the ice when Thorpe powered a loose ball through a Raider defender and past goalie Mike Eaton (13 saves) with 7:25 to go in the half.
The Eagles clogged up the Raiders’ passing lanes and wore them down as the second half progressed. Oak Hill managed just three shots and moved Mike Eaton, a converted striker, back to offense to try to create a spark.
“We had opportunities. We don’t create a lot, but when we do, we’ve got to learn to capitalize on them,” Fletcher said. “This game wasn’t out of hand. A goal in the first half would have made a big difference. (The team’s offensive struggles) puts a lot of pressure on our sweeper, Nic Daggett, and Devon Eaton, our stopper. We just can’t seem to get a big goal.”
“We have quick kids. They can defend well,” Anastasio said. “Once we got our game plan established and we could talk about it at halftime, they came out and executed better.”
Oak Hill’s defense eventually tired and Elmes and Peaslee provided the insurance against back-up goalie Corey Vanek.
Comments are no longer available on this story