Lexington soccer teams defeat Grand Island Northwest
GRAND ISLAND — Thursday night’s game against Lexington posed a big question for Northwest’s boys soccer team, which was off to a 5-1 start.
They got their answer, in the form of a 3-0 loss.
Lexington entered ranked fifth in the Omaha World-Herald’s rankings, less than a week removed from pushing defending champion Schuyler to its limit. The Vikings had just snuck into the 10th spot of those standings, but Thursday’s result showed Northwest how much further it has to go.
“I didn't think our confidence was there in the first half. I think once we realized that we could hang, we were down two or three goals, and it's hard to mentally reset after that,” said Northwest coach AJ Armstrong.
The Minutemen’s opening goal came on a fast break, when a bouncing ball slipped through the Vikings defense, leaving Kendrick Marroquin-Ordonez in on goal by himself.
Even after that early gut punch, Northwest took the better of the possession and scoring opportunities for the next 15 minutes. The Lexington defense held strong and kept the final passes from finding a Northwest striker in the box but the field was definitely tilted in the Vikings favor.
“They controlled quite a bit of the game, especially that first half,” said Lexington coach Joel Lemus. “They were kind of controlling the tempo, and they were pressing us.”
However, that was completely reversed in the 17th minute, when another defensive lapse more than 40 yards out from goal hurt the Vikings.
Lexington went in with a two-on-one, and the second was converted by Marroquin-Ordonez.
“We weren't very organized in the back in the first half, and we got spread out more than I would have liked,” Armstrong said. “And that's where we kind of got ourselves in trouble. If we give them space in the final third, they're going to make us pay for it."
That moment completely deflated the Vikings. From that point on, Lexington dominated the possession, imposing its will on the game.
The Minutemen tracked back with speed, refusing to let a Northwest run break the back line open. They stayed dangerous on the counterattack too, which is how freshman Christopher Moro scored the third with about five minutes remaining in the half.
A few minutes before that, they had rung a pair of shots off the crossbar in a 30-second span.
Those fast-breaks emerged out of thin air, and seemed to make Northwest play a bit more timid the rest of the way, for fear of being exposed.
“We have some speed. We're going to use it to our advantage,” Lemus said.
Offensively, Northwest was unable to generate much of consequence. Its midfield was mostly locked up. Not only were they struggling to create looks into the offensive end but they struggled to make themselves viable passing options for defenders trying to clear.
“We were able to finish, and we won the battle up front,” Lemus said. “I think that was really the difference. But they got a strong midfield. I would take some of their guys on our squad in a minute, and I think they'd compete for starting spots.”
The Vikings found a bit more energy toward the end of the game and began to come out of their shell, but couldn't to crack the score column. Armstrong cited that as the Vikings finally finding some confidence in their play, just being too little too late.
“It was good for these guys to see that next level of competition and help them realize we can take that next step,” Armstrong said. "We’ve just got to have the confidence to do it.”
The Vikings return to action on Monday against Columbus Scotus, while Lexington welcomes Crete in for a clash on Saturday afternoon.
Minutemaids top Vikings with late goal
Lexington’s girls scored with 11 minutes remaining to take a 2-1 win over Northwest, although the overall performance encouraged Vikings coach Molly Nicol.
“A well fought battle. It was the best we've seen them play,’ she said. “They were aggressive to the very end.”
The Vikings got some action in front of goal in the early minutes, but Lexington got on the board in the 18th minute, when Samantha Caballero chased a perfect ball in behind the defense, pulled back and snuck her shot across the goal and inside the goalpost to keeper Maddie Kral’s left.
Ava Waind equalized for the Vikings in the 37th minute, a high-lobbed shot from the edge of the 18 that recaptured Northwest’s momentum.
The winner came in the 69th minute of the contest. Kral made the initial save on a Lexington shot, but the rebound was deflected in for an own goal, with the ‘assist’ going to Caballero.
“They capitalized on their end of their opportunities, whereas we didn't finish ours,” Nicol said. “It could have easily went the other way. We both had plenty of attacks.”
The Vikings are young, especially up front, but the pressure they applied on the Lexington defense in the final minutes was impressive. They got a couple of close looks and showed promise for being a team that can rely on its attack.
“We've gotten better, built some chemistry with the girls, and I think they just have more experience,” Nicol said. “I have a feeling we might see (Lexington) again at conference, so it'll be another fun game.”
