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Campbell gets its offense going vs. Ridge
Campbell gets its offense going vs. Ridge
By Dan Hiner
Niles
The Campbell boys soccer team’s offense was in a bit of a rut entering Wednesday’s Division III regional semifinal against Mineral Ridge.
The Red Devils, who averaged 6.2 goals per game, scored just four goals in their two district games. And junior Giovanni Lisi didn’t feel he was playing up to par either.
But Lisi scored three goals and assisted on two others to give the Red Devils a 7-2 win over Mineral Ridge at Bo Rein Stadium in Niles.
“I just came off my ankle injury, so it’s my first game feeling 100 percent,” Lisi said. “The goals felt good ... the first time scoring in a while, it feels like. It feels good to take my team to the next level.”
Campbell (17-3) will play Kirtland in the first regional final in program history on Saturday.
“We have some great athletes on the team, [they’re] fast and some guys that can touch the ball really well,” Campbell head coach Phillip Atsas said. “This was a very good game for us.”
Campbell’s up-tempo style of play caused problems for the Rams in the second half.
The Rams (16-3) pressured Campbell for most of the first half, but the Red Devils started to create space as the game went on.
“They just kept coming at us and coming at us and coming at us,” Mineral Ridge head coach Ted Gaydosh said. “We got so focused on, ‘Where’s the ball’, we lost our shape, we lost track of runners.”
Lisi gave the Red Devils the lead with an unassisted goal 13 minutes into the game. He took the ball down the sideline and around the Rams’ defense, scoring from just in front of the net.
After a goal by Kevin Cisneros with 20:12 left in the first half, Ethan Smallsreed of Mineral Ridge scored on an assist by Garrett Smith to cut the lead to 2-1 less than a minute later.
The Red Devils pulled away in the final 1:46 of the half. Jhanier Rojas Martinez and Lisi scored within 23 seconds of each other to push the lead to 4-1.
“The goals before the half were big because it gives you a chance to breath,” Atsas said.
Maria Atsas, Henry Peredomo Mejia and Lisi scored in the second half for Campbell before Phillip Atsas pulled his starters and inserted his bench players.
The Rams’ other goal was scored off a free kick by Smith. His kick deflected off a Campbell players head for the score.
Mineral Ridge played without star midfielder TJ Gaydosh, who was recovering from an injury suffered in Mineral Ridge’s win over Crestwood last Saturday.
The senior dressed and didn’t start, but didn’t have enough strength in his ankle during a halftime evaluation to make an appearance.
“They have a very strong team, they have a lot of pace,” Ted Gaydosh said. “He might have been able to come in and help out, but in the end I have to be conscientious of the safety of my players. Not just for today, but for the future as well.”
Despite the big win, Phillip Atsas said his team missed some opportunities to score. He said the Red Devils need to make the most of their chances if they want to advance further.
“I see 35 minutes on the clock [in the first half], we should’ve had three goals at least,” Phillip Atsas said. “We missed some easy ones, and the deal is we cannot do this in these types of games.
“Now, as you advance, the teams get harder and harder. All it takes is one mistake and that could cost you the game.”
For Lisi, there wasn’t any reason the team’s offense began scoring again.
“We played good today,” Lisi said. “It’s perfect weather. That’s about it.”