The Patriot’s Anthony Lehn takes the ball up the sideline as the Lions’ Tyler Hacker defends.
Beta shines in NL clash, leaves Omega in the dark
Beta and Omega met Saturday night with the number one playoff seed up for grabs. Omega jumped out to an early lead, but Beta’s offense led the way to a 3-1 victory despite wet conditions and a power outage in the second half that left the teams playing with only two light towers.
The Lions scored at the end of the first half when Zach Roschi ripped a shot past Beta’s goalie Caleb Sowers and into the back of the net. Omega controlled the first half and maintained a 1-0 lead going into halftime.
“We passed really well, and we really played a great half where we controlled the field and limited [Beta’s] chances,” Zach said.
However, the second half was a much different story, and the Patriots showed much more intensity attacking the net.
One of their attacks led to a corner kick for Beta’s John Woodhall who found midfielder Anthony Lehn cutting into the box. Anthony put his head on an excellently placed kick and tied the game up at one apiece.
Beta continued attacking and eventually produced another corner kick. This time, the ball did not find anyone in the box and squirted out to fullback Chris Anastos just beyond the 18-yard line. Chris fired a shot on goal that was deflected by Omega’s Thomas Ginsburg and sent into the net giving Beta the lead.
John Woodhall, who set up both of Beta’s earlier goals, netted an insurance goal for Beta when he buried a shot in the back corner of the net from about 25 yards out.
“[Omega] controlled the game and the intensity,” Anthony Lehn said. “Soccer is all about carrying the momentum, and we knew if we got the momentum early in the second half, it would get us through.
With the win, Beta wrapped up the NL’s number one seed and dodged a potential matchup with Pi Gamma in the first round, a game both teams said they wanted to avoid.
