SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Boys Varsity Soccer NW vs Lexington

Lex gave NW all they could handle tonight. A couple of lucky breaks here or there and Lex could have won that game. Lex had quite a few chances that could have went in, but didn't. NW is a quality side however, and I sure would like to be at the game if and when someone beats them. Jess shutdown Enzo for the whole game except the last 30 seconds when Enzo made a great move in front of the goal to get free and converted on a nice shot. He will just get better as he gets older which is a pretty scary thought for the other teams in SC. Great game tonight. One of the best I've seen in a very long time (and the refs did a good job too)

was jess the blonde kid? if so it looked as if he was trying to hurt someone in the last 5-10 min. of the game. he played a great game but seemed to get frustrated at the end when lex pressed.

Well I predict Mauldin to beat NW in an extremely close game. They really are a good team with a lot of talent and have the chance to give NW trouble if NW doesn't play great. Wouldn't that be amazing if they make it to state.

Yeah, that's Jess. I highly doubt he was trying to hurt anyone. Just to reiterate LF's point, Jess did an amazing job on Enzo tonight. He could not get anything going in the start on the first half and was taken out for the last 10 minutes or so. Enzo started to create some chances later in the game especially when Lexington starting pushing players forward to try to equalize the game. Well played game by both teams, but after watching that game I think the state champion will be Spring Valley.

who does mauldin have that can be nw mauldin have been the sleeper we havent heard of them all year

Mauldin will not even come close. 5-1 NW.

What a game is was, I would say second ONLY to Dreher-BC in my favorites of the year. (this excludes all CN BL matches...)

As was said, NW's first goal came in the last minute of the first half, and their second goal came in the last seconds of the second half. But I don't look at 2-0 as an inaccurate score for the play on the field, though 2-1 would probably have been perfect. NW had probably twice the opportunities Lex had (around 20ish-10ish) HOWEVER, Lexington's all seemed to be well executed pieces, while some of NW's were far fetched. 2 keys keeping Lex in the game

1-Ryan Kropp's left foot (or the lack thereof). Twice he set himself up perfectly, and twice he failed to be Kyle Hughes, but props to the kid for taking the shot rather than losing the ball trying to bring it back.

2-Jess Maki. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, the guy is phenominal, and my favorite defender in the state. Enzo was held to just 3 scoring opportunities, 2 coming late in the second half when Jess's duties were lessened due to the heavy attack Lexington was involved in.

2 keys to NW's victory

1 Lexington couldn't finish a kid's meal (copyright Goals66). I mean you no disrespect, as I meant Kropp none. Reel Callison, Brett Keatly, and Andrew Chavarria all had maybe 10 Quality opportunities which were all beautifully created. Chavarria's volley off Reel's cross was a thing to behold, and I couldn't believe it sailed between cross bar and field goal. Reel had many a chance sail wide, and Keatly's shot was well placed, and well saved by Crawford.

2 The refs. Ha, jk, I felt the reffing was wonderful. Why? for 90% of this high level match they seemed nonexistent, and it was the game that captured everyone's attention rather than the refs.

Congrats to both sides on excellent seasons...Lexington, with the cleverness put behind those t-shirts (they say, "From the Hollow to the Grave") I truly wanted to see you advance and put meaning behind them.

Ok...here we go.

I have to first say I was dissapointed in NW, not because I thought they played bad or disrespect intended, but because they did not live up to the pre-game hype...and note...IN MY MIND. I honestly did not know what I was expecting to see.

I thought the game was very even, probably more even than NW expected. NW had the edge of play in the first half and Lex had the edge in the second. Lex's game revolved around the midfield, and in my opinion lex midfield had the better part of the game. NW are just huge, reminiscent of Dreher (which ironically beat them).

I honestly got lost within the game and would be unable to give you a blow by blow or stats. I cannot say however that NW had 2 times the number of chances. Both teams had many opportunities and many of NW came in the last 15 when Lex had already committed to the attack for the equalizer. Paul Fisher's volley that skim of the post late in the game was the equalizer that did not come. Chavarria's volley was indeed a beautiful attempt that sailed just high as was Enzo's shot skimming of the crossbar.

So how would I play NW, 3-5-2 as Lex played. Man mark Enzo and Kropp. NW tries to get the ball to them to take players on - if they have no time they cannot do damage. Note here... in my opinion Lex has one of the best midfields in the state and you must have this quality against NW, otherwise they will kill you in the build up. And lastly Lex forwards both sophomores and same with the 3rd late in the game, they will only get better, they caused all kinds of problems in NWs defense because of their work rate.

The winning goal - late in the first half, is the stuff of cliches. You never want to concede a goal before halftime. In this case I thought the error was on the Gk not coming for the ball (20/20 hindsight). Otherwise he was solid the remainder of the game.

Both teams sub sparingly.

Lex loses 6 seniors (3 starters), NW loses 14 (7 starters). The future is bright for Lex but is no consolation today. The players came of the field believing they could have done better, that is the only thing you can ask of a young man after leaving everything on the pitch.

The crowd was unbelievable for both teams, and the running of the flags after the goal a fun thing to watch. Some NW fans (younger ones) were somewhat disrespectful but to me was part of the exhuberance, I hope in the future they would be more mature. The ballboys/girls where doing a good job and did not diserve being put down, they were kids. Otherwise a great crowd that had the players pumped from the beginning.

Good luck to NW the rest of the way, I have not seen Mauldin this season. They got pass a 10 men South Aiken on a pk, and beat Fort Mill at FM so I have no idea what they will bring. The game will be played in Mauldin as both are #2s.

Benp appears to know more and may offer more insight

To newcastlemagpie... I don't think that Jess was trying to injure anyone. He plays hard from the first whistle and the proof is that never once did the ref show him the yellow. Enzo on the other hand is very skilled at gaining fouls were none are there. Nothing wrong with it as it is part of the game and the ref is supposed to know the difference (as he did twice on Enzo during the game). Good Luck in Mauldin.

futbol(soccer) i know that the ref did not produce a card but jess was talked to several times and told to settle down. I wasn't saying that he was playing dirty just that he made a couple of hard fouls that the ref let slide at the end of the game. whether he was doing it on purpose or not isn't relevant. also i don't think that you would be able to run a 3-5-2 and beat northwestern on a larger field than lex. enzo played up for most of the game leaving andrew phillips on the bench for most of the game. if that game would have been on a larger field i don't think that the game would have been as exciting as it was. now for my biased view of the refs....the linesmen did a fantastic job the best i have seen all year however the center ref called a great first half and must have not been in the game for the second. he missed several handballs, one of which the linesman called and the center waived off...i also thought that the added time at the end of the game was to long...i just couldn't see where he got all of that time to add on...just my thoughts....overall a great game and the best officiating that i have seen all year...great job lexington and good luck next year.

NEWCASTLE Lexingtons field it not small.