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Raines’ brace pushes Lakeview past Mooney
By BOB ETTINGER
CORTLAND
Lakeview girls soccer coach Shawn Varley understood exactly what his team needed to hear and delivered the words. The Bulldogs heard them and delivered two second half goals for a 3-1 victory over Cardinal Mooney in a Division II district semifinal at Don Richards Memorial Stadium on Monday night.
“(We were down) the entire first half and most of the first 15 minutes of the second half,” Varley said. “I’d love to say it was the weather that was the problem. We just weren’t clicking at all. The halftime talk was really about heart and passion and, really, there’s no tomorrow. You’re living in the moment. It got through to some of those players and it showed in the second half. Soon as we started to play our style, it broke Mooney down completely.”
The Bulldogs (13-2-3) will play the winner between Canfield and Niles McKinley on Thursday night at a site yet to be determined. The game between the Cardinals and Red Dragons had been rained out.
Lakeview took the early lead, 1-0, after Hailey Raines played a ball ahead to Reagan Rosenberger who get her feet under her with a dribble or two, then sent it past the goalkeeper on the ground with 22:05 to play in the first half.
“Great runs,” Raines said. “Great runs. Teamwork. We passed it, combining unbelievably and Reagan happened to make that run. I played a simple ball to her and we were lucky enough to get it in the goal.”
The Cardinals (12-5-2) seized control of the emotional edge with 3:55 left in the half after Katie Violi’s free kick from 40 yards out knotted the score, 1-1.
“It was huge,” Mooney coach Thomas Beck said. “To get a goal before the break when you’re down 1-0 that gives you all the momentum and you could tell we had it. We came out in the second half and we had a lot of chances. We didn’t put it in the back of the net.”
Raines struck for her first goal with 23:13 left in the contest when she sent a shot from 15 yards out and near the sideline over the keeper and to the far back post for the go-ahead tally.
“They have three really good players and that girl up top (Raines) did a great job,” Beck said. “If you look at the goals, you look at the game, it was from our mistakes again. We lost the ball in the middle on the first goal. We had a center back pass it out and she steps out of her position. They play it in off a back pass. The second goal I can’t recall right now. The third goal we had a missed clearance and they get the ball and go.
“If you mess up on the ball, you leave space open and that’s what happened for us. They did very well to capitalize and go and score.”
With 14:39 to play, Sam Yanci sent a ball deep into the Mooney end, Raines outran a defender to the ball and sent it just inside the far front post from about 30 yards out for the insurance goal.
“I just hoped for the best,” Raines said. “The defenders are big. I’ve got to put everything I have into it. Luckily, I gave it my all and did it for the team.”