Cougars' Soccer hold off Lexington, win 5-4

The Martin Luther School Cougars’ soccer team (5-2 overall, 4-1 in PSAA Div. II) was able to hold onto a close victory by the final score of 5-4 against Lexington at the Metropolitan Oval, Wednesday.

This match truly represented the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Cougars’ soccer team in terms of the halves they played.

The Cougars came out strong early in the game, putting pressure on the Lexington defense, which resulted in success.

Junior Jay Kim definitely ate his Wheaties this morning, putting through two goals early in the contest on assists from both Alex Ortiz and Franco Libano.

Despite having the early lead, the Cougars would not back down in a sport where within a couple of minutes, the whole game can change. Soccer demands teams to keep their foot on the pedal at all times.

In the 31^st minute, Ortiz was able to get behind the defense off of a free kick from Libano and the rest was history. He handled it cleanly, getting past the goalkeeper and knocking it through.

In the 34^th minute, Kim was able to accomplish the feat known as the hat trick as he received a chip pass from Ortiz. Kim simply popped it over the goalkeeper’s head for this third goal of the contest.

Four minutes into the second half and the Cougars were back at again as Senior Jacob Park was able to get in on the action. He knocked in a goal off the assists from whom else, Jay Kim.

Remember what I said about keeping your foot on the pedal in soccer? This is why.

Lexington was able to put through four goals within a twenty minute span as the clock was winding down; most coming as a result of mental errors.

The Cougars had a few missed opportunities as well throughout the second half but sure knew how to make this one interesting. Being able to put the ball over the top and run onside plays a big part in their offensive attack. There were a few very close offside calls that could’ve went either way but were called against Martin Luther.

Martin Luther Coach Matt Moran had a few things he thinks the team could improve on.

“Working together. Stop worrying about things we can’t control like the referee and who we have on the field,” said Coach Moran.

The Cougars next home match will be October 18 at 4 p.m. against Kew Forest at the Metropolitan Oval.

By: Frank Stampfl