LCA Scores Four Goals In Final 13 To Stun Wawasee
September 5, 2024 at 8:00 p.m.
A nonconference affair between two local teams, the Wawasee and Lakeland Christian boys soccer teams met in Winona Lake Thursday evening. The Warriors started the game strong but it was the Cougars who were able to finish, scoring four goals in the final 13 minutes to win 5-4 after a stunning comeback.
It was evident from the first few minutes of action that this was going to be a high-paced and exciting affair. The opening section of the game was controlled by Wawasee, with the Warriors keeping possession for long spells in the LCA final third.
After a few chances went by the wayside, the visitors were finally able to break through and get onto the scoreboard seven minutes into the contest, with forward Quentin Taylor getting the ball at the top of the box on a nice feed. The senior did the rest, unleashing a bomb of a kick that soared past Cougar goalie Braden Weirick and into the back of the net for an early lead.
Even after giving up the opener, Lakeland Christian continued to struggle to get going. Wawasee was able to continue dictating the pace and possession, keeping the home side from getting their offense started.
Eventually, the continued pressure would end up paying off once more, as a long shot by Wawasee’s Mattia Melli didn’t find its mark, but went past every LCA player on the pitch, finding freshman Beckham Denton wide open on the far side of the net. All the forward had to do was stick his foot out, and the easy goal made it a 2-0 lead 15 minutes into the game.
The second goal seemed to wake the Cougars up. Lakeland Christian began winning possession more often, getting the ball into the Warriors’ territory of the field while starting to generate chances. Just two minutes after the second Wawasee goal, LCA won a corner kick and converted on the chance. A perfect feed made it right in front of the net to Jashawn Zielasko, who was able to get a foot on it and redirect it into the back of the net to cut the deficit in half.
Senior goalkeeper for LCA Braden Weirick goes high to snatch the ball before Wawasee's Josiah Jones has a chance to put it in the net...Nieter
That was just the beginning of chances for the Cougars. LCA almost tied it up not long afterwards on yet another corner, but a fantastic save by Wawasee goalie Landon Smith kept his team in front. Midway through the first half, the home side earned a penalty kick on a hand ball in the box. The shot was attempted by Zaiden Miller, but Smith came up big once again with another huge save.
With nine minutes left in the half, the visitors struck again. After another corner for LCA, the ball found itself at the foot of Taylor, who went on an incredible run the length of the entire field, beating out numerous defenders and the keeper to score his second of the game and make it 3-1 at the half.
Zielasko almost picked up a brace of his own in the first few minutes of the second half, but a leaping save by Smith kept the Warrior lead at two. That didn’t deter the home side, as the Cougars continued to press the action throughout the first 10 minutes.
This continued as time continued to go down, raising the question if Wawasee was willing to sit back and play defense while they held onto their lead. LCA came close to scoring another goal numerous times, but each attempt was foiled by the visitors.
Despite the constant pressure of the home side, Wawasee was the next team to add onto their goal total. On a counterattack after a long LCA spell of possession, Melli found himself all alone with just the keeper to beat, and got the result he was looking for to make it 4-1.
The latest goal saw the game enter a lull, with not much happening in terms of chances for either side. Wawasee seemed content to let the clock continue to wind down, and the Cougars seemed to have used all of their energy in their initial push at the beginning of the half.
Eventually, the Cougars would get back on the offensive, finding themselves in a odd man rush that saw Zielasko scoring his second goal of the game with 13 minutes left to make it a two-goal game.
The Cougars weren’t done there. The score energized the home side once again, resulting in a corner kick with just under seven minutes to go. The ball stayed in the box for a little longer than the visitors would have liked, resulting in Zielasko rocketing a ball that was deflected into the net for a hat trick that made it a one-goal game.
It didn’t stay that way for long. Just seconds after the goal, the Cougars were able to pick up another rush, with Zielasko and Noah Higham all alone with just the keeper to beat. Zielasko’s shot was stopped by Smith in net, but Higham was there to clean up the rebound, miraculously tying the game up with just over five minutes to play.
With momentum fully on their side, the Cougars continued to keep it rolling. With just under two minutes left in the game, LCA was awarded yet another corner, which allowed the team to complete the comeback. Jazz Wyatt took the corner and did it all himself, scoring the goal himself to give his team their first lead of the game.
That was enough for LCA to hold on, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat with the comeback win.
Lakeland Christian (4-3) takes on Central Noble in Winona Lake on Saturday while Wawasee (1-4-1) plays Bethany Christian at home.
A nonconference affair between two local teams, the Wawasee and Lakeland Christian boys soccer teams met in Winona Lake Thursday evening. The Warriors started the game strong but it was the Cougars who were able to finish, scoring four goals in the final 13 minutes to win 5-4 after a stunning comeback.
It was evident from the first few minutes of action that this was going to be a high-paced and exciting affair. The opening section of the game was controlled by Wawasee, with the Warriors keeping possession for long spells in the LCA final third.
After a few chances went by the wayside, the visitors were finally able to break through and get onto the scoreboard seven minutes into the contest, with forward Quentin Taylor getting the ball at the top of the box on a nice feed. The senior did the rest, unleashing a bomb of a kick that soared past Cougar goalie Braden Weirick and into the back of the net for an early lead.
Even after giving up the opener, Lakeland Christian continued to struggle to get going. Wawasee was able to continue dictating the pace and possession, keeping the home side from getting their offense started.
Eventually, the continued pressure would end up paying off once more, as a long shot by Wawasee’s Mattia Melli didn’t find its mark, but went past every LCA player on the pitch, finding freshman Beckham Denton wide open on the far side of the net. All the forward had to do was stick his foot out, and the easy goal made it a 2-0 lead 15 minutes into the game.
The second goal seemed to wake the Cougars up. Lakeland Christian began winning possession more often, getting the ball into the Warriors’ territory of the field while starting to generate chances. Just two minutes after the second Wawasee goal, LCA won a corner kick and converted on the chance. A perfect feed made it right in front of the net to Jashawn Zielasko, who was able to get a foot on it and redirect it into the back of the net to cut the deficit in half.
Senior goalkeeper for LCA Braden Weirick goes high to snatch the ball before Wawasee's Josiah Jones has a chance to put it in the net...Nieter
That was just the beginning of chances for the Cougars. LCA almost tied it up not long afterwards on yet another corner, but a fantastic save by Wawasee goalie Landon Smith kept his team in front. Midway through the first half, the home side earned a penalty kick on a hand ball in the box. The shot was attempted by Zaiden Miller, but Smith came up big once again with another huge save.
With nine minutes left in the half, the visitors struck again. After another corner for LCA, the ball found itself at the foot of Taylor, who went on an incredible run the length of the entire field, beating out numerous defenders and the keeper to score his second of the game and make it 3-1 at the half.
Zielasko almost picked up a brace of his own in the first few minutes of the second half, but a leaping save by Smith kept the Warrior lead at two. That didn’t deter the home side, as the Cougars continued to press the action throughout the first 10 minutes.
This continued as time continued to go down, raising the question if Wawasee was willing to sit back and play defense while they held onto their lead. LCA came close to scoring another goal numerous times, but each attempt was foiled by the visitors.
Despite the constant pressure of the home side, Wawasee was the next team to add onto their goal total. On a counterattack after a long LCA spell of possession, Melli found himself all alone with just the keeper to beat, and got the result he was looking for to make it 4-1.
The latest goal saw the game enter a lull, with not much happening in terms of chances for either side. Wawasee seemed content to let the clock continue to wind down, and the Cougars seemed to have used all of their energy in their initial push at the beginning of the half.
Eventually, the Cougars would get back on the offensive, finding themselves in a odd man rush that saw Zielasko scoring his second goal of the game with 13 minutes left to make it a two-goal game.
The Cougars weren’t done there. The score energized the home side once again, resulting in a corner kick with just under seven minutes to go. The ball stayed in the box for a little longer than the visitors would have liked, resulting in Zielasko rocketing a ball that was deflected into the net for a hat trick that made it a one-goal game.
It didn’t stay that way for long. Just seconds after the goal, the Cougars were able to pick up another rush, with Zielasko and Noah Higham all alone with just the keeper to beat. Zielasko’s shot was stopped by Smith in net, but Higham was there to clean up the rebound, miraculously tying the game up with just over five minutes to play.
With momentum fully on their side, the Cougars continued to keep it rolling. With just under two minutes left in the game, LCA was awarded yet another corner, which allowed the team to complete the comeback. Jazz Wyatt took the corner and did it all himself, scoring the goal himself to give his team their first lead of the game.
That was enough for LCA to hold on, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat with the comeback win.
Lakeland Christian (4-3) takes on Central Noble in Winona Lake on Saturday while Wawasee (1-4-1) plays Bethany Christian at home.