High school soccer: Firelands' Nathaniel Duke saves day for Away Team in Lorain County All-Star game

ELYRIA — It was only fitting that a showdown between two familiar competitors decided the Lorain County boys soccer all-star game Saturday at Ely Stadium. After playing to a 5-5 draw in regulation, Firelands goalkeeper Nathaniel Duke needed a save to clinch the penalty kick shootout, and stepping to the line for the all-important shot was league-mate Zander Yoho of Keystone. Duke made a nice dive, blocked the ball and the Away all-stars clinched the win 4-3 on penalty kicks. "We lost in PKs in the playoffs so coming back in this all-star game and getting to do it again with a second chance to make my team proud," Duke said. "It was just fun. The pressure of standing in that goal, standing face-to-face with the opponent is just unbeatable. It's deadly. I've played against Zander for a long time, took a few PKs against him so I had an idea of where he was going." Lorain County's best got to showcase their skills one last time and they didn't disappoint. The game featured five ties and three lead changes as neither team led by more than one goal. Even the goalies tried to get in on the action as Duke and North Ridgeville's Aidan Wood played forward for a spell while others relieved them in the net. Both teams got creative with their post-goal celebrations as each goal featured a new choreography. Vermilion's Alex Werth stole the show with a hat trick for the Home team, including one in the 68th minute that put his squad up 5-4. Werth's best goal stunned both teams when he launched a ball from 35 yards that sailed past everyone and into the right corner of the net. "It was really fun," Werth said. "I play with a lot of these kids in club and against a lot of them, too, so it was really fun to play with everyone in a game like this where it wasn't super competitive." The Away Team didn't lead until the second half, but Oberlin's Naim Brandt and Amherst's Landon Plum kept the squad alive. Plum set up Brandt with an easy finish 19 minutes in with a nice cross through the middle of the box. Brandt paid it forward two minutes later to Wellington's Henry Abram. As the defense closed in on the Oberlin senior, he found Abram tearing down the opposite side of the field for an easy finish. Plum gave the Away Team its first lead at 3-2 five minutes into the second half with a 20-yard goal that sailed by Wood. Avon Lake's Jacek Gomez scored the final two goals for the visitors, the first a point-blank shot at the 22:12 mark. He then swooped through the left side of the box and tied the game with two minutes left. "It was really exciting," Gomez said. "We've been doing celebrations all day. We had talked about our celebrations before we even scored. It was just really exciting to be able to perform and execute another celebration. It's really fun, especially since I haven't seen a lot of these players, but I had a great time with them." Contact Chris Sweeney at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com and follow him @CSweeney1686 on X. Away 5 (4), Home 5 (3) GOALS: (A) Niam Brandt (Oberlin, 10th minute), Henry Abram (Wellington, 21st minute), Landon Plum (Amherst, 45th minute), Jacek Gomez (Avon Lake, 58th and 78th minutes). (H) Job Pruitt (Open Door, 10th minute), Alex Werth (Vermilion, 20th, 51st and 68th minutes), Carter Richardson (Midview, 63rd minute). ASSISTS: (A) Brandt, Plum.