Campbell soccer downs Crestview

Photo

Henry Perdomo Mejia

By Dan Hiner

dhiner@vindy.com

Beaver Township

Henry Perdomo Mejia was in the right place at the right time. He scored the game-winning goal in the Campbell boys soccer team’s 2-1 Division III district title win over Crestview Saturday at South Range High School.

Crestview goalkeeper Carter Blakeman caught a shot from a Campbell player, but the ball bounced away from him. Mejia gained control and sent the shot into to the top-right corner of the net from 27 yards away to give the Red Devils the lead in the first half.

“[I] want to make the goals. [I] want to shoot it,” Mejia said through teammate and translator Maria Atsas. “[I] took a chance and shot [my] shot. [I] don’t have any words for it. [I] did what I had to do.”

Mejia scored both goals for Campbell, who won their first boys soccer district title. The senior began the scoring with a goal on a free kick with 31:24 left in the first half. His game winner came less than four minutes later.

“[I’m] very happy and [I’m] glad [I’m] a part of this team,” Mejia said. “It’s not only because of [me], it’s the whole team. [We] work together because if you don’t work together as a team you will not succeed at anything.”

Blakeman stopped five shots for the Rebels. But it wasn’t all on Blakeman.

The Red Devils (16-3) were aggressive to loose balls in the open field and had three shots at adding to their lead. Two missed were just wide of the net and one bounced off the crossbar.

Campbell wanted to be aggressive so the game would be out of reach early.

“We got a lot of guys that are pretty fast on the team and have a good touch,” Campbell head coach Phillip Atsas said. “The sooner you make a statement ... the closer the game is, the harder the fight. I thought we were gonna get a couple more in and we didn’t, and the fight came down to the end.”

Colton Novak tied the game at 1 for the Rebels with 30:28 remaining in the first half, but Crestview had few opportunities the rest of the way.

Campbell goalie Miguel Gonzalez only had to make one save during the game.

Gonzalez had to pick himself off the ground a couple times. He collided with Crestview’s Jacob Wickline and Colt Crane on separate occasions. Wickline and Crane each received yellow cards.

“Miguel did a phenomenal job this year,” Phillip Atsas said. “A couple times we had some collisions with people and him. He might be hurt a little bit but he still stays in there. He did a fantastic job.”

Campbell finally got its title after falling short in 2017. The Red Devils suffered a 6-0 loss to top-seeded United in the district semifinals.

“It’s a great feeling and I have a lot of seniors on the team. It’s great for the seniors, great for our community — it’s the first time ever,” Phillip Atsas said. “This is my second year back coaching. Last year we were close, but we fell short.

“This year we completed one of the goals. Hopefully we’re not finished yet.”

The Red Devils will play Mineral Ridge in a regional semifinal Wednesday at Bo Rein Staidum in Niles.