No. 9 Squires Get Victory Over Lakeland ChristianWINONA LAKE – Manchester High School’s varsity boys soccer team kept its perfect record intact Tuesday evening, but not without a serious challenge from the Lakeland Christian Academy Cougars.
The Class 2A No. 9 Squires, who improved to 12-0, led 3-2 at halftime and used a pair of second-half goals from senior Caleb Stout to pull out a 5-3 victory over the hosts.
“We had to hold them off,” said Manchester coach Dave McKee. “It’s different playing with a target on your back. We’re now No. 9 in 2A, so every team is going to play their best game against us.
“They’re not a bad team. They have a good record. They’ve only lost to good teams. It’s nice to get out of here with a win, and it’s nice for my defense to see a quality player. That No. 4 is a quality player.”
The No. 4 McKee referenced was LCA senior Parker Stewart, who scored all three of the Cougars’ goals.
Stewart gave the hosts a 1-0 lead in the 7th minute of the 80-minute match, scored a goal that tied things 2-2 in the 19th minute, and netted another that cut Manchester’s advantage to 4-3 in the 70th minute.
Sophomore A.J. Fortman scored the Squires’ first goal in the 11th minute.
Senior Harley Kruschwitz netted Manchester’s next two scores, sending the visitors into halftime with a 3-2 advantage.
Stout made good on a penalty kick in the 68th minute, giving Manchester a 4-2 lead at the time, and then netted the contest’s final goal with a little over a minute remaining.
LCA coach Dan Miller, admittedly a defensive-minded coach, said it was fun watching two of the state’s top goal-goal scorers in Stewart and Kruschwitz.
Kruschwitz has scored 33 goals this season for Manchester, while Stewart has 29 goals for the Cougars, who fell to 8-4.
“We started well, scoring the first goal. Little bit of a letdown, letting them get two back, but Harley is a good player,” said Miller.
“He’s very hard to contain. We tried to man-mark him up and do the best we could at second-defending and making it difficult for him, but he got a couple goals.
“I thought we went toe-to-toe with them the whole game. I think Parker is one of the best players in northern Indiana, if not the state. He is a vital part of what we do, and I know they were marking him just like we were marking Harley. He’s a very key part to our team, and he wanted this. It was a little bit of a matchup. Those two ... Parker and Harley ... are two of the leading goal-scorers in the state.”
LCA is in action again Thursday against Tippecanoe Valley in contest that will be played at Grace College.
