The Bedford High School boys soccer team played a tough match against Ashtabula Lake High Thursday night, but still came away with the loss.
By the end of the first half, the Bearcats had kept the Dragons off the scoreboard due in large part to their hustle after contested balls, and the presence of defensive back sophomore Xavier Martin, who prowled around the field, and helped diminish any real chance of Lakeside scoring.
In fact, the Dragons had only a handful of shots on goal in the first half, as most of the action was on the Bearcats offensive side of the field of play.
It seemed inevitable that one or more of the shots by the Bearcats would eventually hit the net, but this part of the game was seemingly the most frustrating for the team. They easily had three times as many shots on goal as their opponents in the half, but there were other times when players could have shot the ball but didn’t.
Head soccer coach Nick Schaefer, who is in his ninth year at Bedford, said he could see that some of the players were timid on the offensive side of the ball, and he continued to encourage them to shoot.
Many of the players on the team this year are underclassman which could be adding to some of the lack of confidence. Schaefer said that in some cases you have 14-year-olds going against 18-year-olds. He said part of his job is just convincing his team that “You can play with these guys.”
The Bearcats had only three subs available on the bench during the game. On their side, Lakeside had only one sub during the game, but they still seemed to come out with some extra vigor in the second half. At about 22:18 left in the period, they scored the first goal of the match.
The Dragons kept up the attack during the second half with more shots on goal than the first, and limited the time the Bearcats had on offense. Both teams had some exciting breakaway opportunities, but the defenses stayed strong, including Bedford goalie Jaylen Thomas who faced more threats in the half.
The Bearcats continued to put pressure on the Dragons with more shots on goal as the minutes wound down, but to no avail, as the team fell to 0-2 on the year. They suffered their first loss to Charles F. Brush High School in their first game on Tuesday, 5-0.
Schaefer said this is rebuilding year for the team. He lost at least 11 seniors to graduation from last year’s team — a team that went 9-4-3. He has two seniors on the team this year and quite a few freshman.
Many of the athletes have not played much together before, so they do not know each other’s tendencies. Schaefer said the two weeks they were off because of the uncertainty around the coronavirus didn’t help in building chemistry either, since the players have not had much time to practice together.
The team will be looking for their first win at Parma High School on Saturday at noon. The girls soccer team will play after the boys at 2 p.m.
The girls team also played Thursday night, but their game was at Open Door Christian School. Head coach Chan Coleman said the girls fought hard, and trailed only 1-0 after the first half, but injuries to two key players in the second half proved too difficult to overcome. The girls ended up losing the game 4-0.
Earlier in the week the girls lost to Brush 5-0, so they will also be looking for their first win on Saturday against Parma, also. Coleman said he has six seniors on the squad this season, so there are a few players with experience, but there are other players who are still really just learning some of the basics, so it is a work in progress.
