The Lake Orion Girl’s soccer team fell, 1-0, against the Lancers of L’Anse Creuse May 26, for their final game of the normal season.
The Dragons fought strong right off the buzzer, keeping the ball in the Lancers zone for long periods, but simply could not get effective shots on goal. The wet weather prevented quicker plays, with slipping and sliding plaguing plays on either side. Yet despite the weather, and Lake Orion’s offense, the Lancers drew first blood with 14:24 left in the first half.
The Dragons answered with the same strong offensive plays, but again could not maintain their presence in the L’Anse Creuse end.
The second half played out the same, with the Dragons making every effort to keep the ball in their opponents zone. To add to the frustration, with around 18 minutes left in the half, a Dragon’s put the ball in L’Anse Creuse’s net, but a penalty made by the goal scorer prevent the point from counting.
Finally, the Dragon’s hard work paid off with 5:41 left in the half, thanks to a goal by senior Alyssa Wesley. Yet despite a solid effort from senior Shannon Inglis, who shot with less than ten seconds on the clock into the open hands of the Lancer goalie, the game ended in a draw.
The Dragons ended their season 6-7-4.
Yet despite the season’s finish, Head Coach Ken Snage said he’s concentrating on the road ahead – playoffs.
‘Everything we did during the season, all the experience we gained, was a build up to now,? said Snage. ‘The cool thing is that everyone starts out (with a record of) 0-0-0, so it’s kind of like a second season – a second shot.?
The Dragons began their playoff run against Waterford Kettering on Tuesday, who Snage said looks very similar to Lake Orion because the coach is one of his former players.
One difference from the regular season is the exclusion of tie games in favor of around 10 minutes of overtime, followed by penalty kicks.