Balest, Watson lead JFK over Lordstown

October 28, 2015 at 12:09a.m.

LORDSTOWN

Almost a year ago to the day, Warren JFK defeated Lordstown in a shootout during the sectional finals as the Eagles earned a spot in the Kent district semifinals.

On Tuesday at the same field, the ninth-seeded Eagles needed just one score as they posted a 1-0 victory over the second-seeded Red Devils to advance to a district final against top-seeded Maplewood.

The Rockets worked overtime to beat Rootstown, 4-3, on Tuesday,

The district final between JFK and Maplewood is set for 1 p.m. Saturday at Girard’s Arrowhead Stadium.

Jake Balest’s goal at 24:09 of the opening half proved to be the game-winner while Eagles goalie Ethan Watson rejected 19 overall shots, including 14 on goal to pace Warren JFK (7-7-2).

“I was dribbling down the left side of the field, switched the ball over to my right foot and saw that I had a few guys in front of me. If I wanted to get the shot off, it had to be then so I put a little bit of spin on it and kicked it with the inside of my foot,” Balest said. “I aimed toward the right side of the goal, got lucky and it went in. It was a great feeling for us to take the lead because the defense today was absolutely great on both sides. The ball was mostly in our end, especially in the second half so I give their defense credit for that and for clearing the ball out.”

Balest said the field was in better condition this year than a season ago.

“This game was a lot different than last year’s. The field was in way better condition as last year and we had injuries left and right and it was a struggle for both teams to get on the board.” he said. “This year was a cleaner game for both sides with less penalties than a year ago. There weren’t as many scoring opportunities.”

A season ago, Watson was playing football for the Eagles.

He’s made an impact on the soccer field this year by posting his third shutout of the season.

“Yesterday, I told the defense that there were no goals against Mineral Ridge in the sectional final and I wanted the same thing on Tuesday against Lordstown,” Watson said. “Our defense had a big part in today’s win. They didn’t let too much get back to the goal box and they just kept the ball out front. Also, we played better as a team with a lot more communication. Whatever came back as a one-on-one, I handled it.”

Eagles head coach Scott DePasquale said goals are at a premium when the two teams get together at tournament time.

”Our defense played awesome as they knew what to expect. The strategy coming into the game at Lordstown, with the field being as small and narrow as it is, you’re forced to play really direct.” DePasquale said. “We knew that we were going to be in a direct game and that they were going to be playing balls right at us, which forced us to do the same. The dimensions of the field really dictated that. We played here last year, I knew what to expect and we prepared for that. We just wanted to make sure we got enough offensive opportunities.”

Lordstown head coach Tim Malone said that when the two teams get together, scoring first is very important.

“The most important thing today was to win the coin toss. We lost the coin toss and they got to pick which side to go to,” he said. “While it didn’t look like a big wind advantage, there actually was a big advantage and that helped as they put the ball in the net. That put us on the defensive.”

With the loss the Red Devils (13-4-1), co-champions of the Northeastern Athletic Conference with Maplewood, saw their six-game win streak fall by the wayside.

Lordstown held a 19-6 shot advantage, including 11-4 in the first half.