BOYS SOCCER

General McLane 2, Bradford 1 (OT)

Bradford lost a nail-biter to General McLane, 2-1 in overtime, as both goalies stood on their heads.

McLane got to a lightning fast start as Cooper Robson scored in the first 30 seconds.

“They caught us right off the bat,” said head coach Wes Lohrman. “They played a long ball into their top three. We weren’t organized yet… Ultimately we weren’t ready at the start of the whistle.”

Ready or not, stout Bradford defense and a standout performance from starting goalie, Tristan Dragoone, prevented McLane from building momentum or pressing the attack. Dragoone had 15 saves on the night.

But once McLane scored early, Bradford found its footing, before gaining momentum in the second half.

“We knew coming in we were pretty evenly matched up,” said Lohrman. “Last time was a 1-1 draw… After that we settled in, got into the game. I feel like we controlled the middle of the field, took away their long ball threat. We really just needed to take a deep breath and get settled into the game… We weren’t ready in the first 30 seconds.”

The Owls scored in the 41st minute when Mitch Strauss found a lane and a pass from Jake Franz to put the only ball in Landon Olzeewski’s net. Olzeewski finished with 14 saves.

Injuries have taken a toll on the Owls, as players are missing or coming back from injury. According to Lohrman, the team needs to get its legs back.

“Didn’t do a good job taking advantage of space given (by McLane),” Lohrman said.

Neither team scored for over 30 minutes of game time, sending the match to a 10-minute overtime period. David Price scored at the 87th minute to win the game for McLane, after Dragoone left the net.

“(Dragoone) took a knock at the end of the game, so we had to bring in (Alex) Rimer,” Lohrman said. “The goal was in his hands and he started to move and the ball dropped and squeaked into the back of the net.”

Bradford cannot afford to dwell on the loss, however, they play Harbor Creek on Wednesday and the playoffs are right around the corner.

“Harbor Creek, last time we played it was a 2-1 win,” said Lohrman. “It was a well coached squad. They’ll be looking for revenge. We’ve got to iron out our game plan and continue to work on the things we’ve been working on and have a quality game on Wednesday…It’s a learning experience that our guys will take into the playoffs.”

JV BOYS SOCCER

Bradford 1, General McLane 0

Bradford and McLane played a tough, defensive slugfest but the Owls pulled off a 1-0 win.

Cade Bucher had the goal for Bradford, the only goal on the night for either side.