Boys soccer: Avon Lake has finishing touch in win over St. Edward

AVON LAKE — After Monday's win over Cleveland Heights, Avon Lake felt like it let way too many scoring chances slip away. The Shoremen were determined not to let that happen again. Senior forward JP Gannon got his team on the board in the fourth minute and Avon Lake scored three times in the opening 25 minutes on its way to a dominating 4-0 non-league win over St. Edward on Wednesday. Against an Eagles team that allowed only two goals in its first two games, Avon Lake was able to control the ball and spend most of the night attacking their opponent's goal. "Coby (Ostrowsky) gave me a good first touch and I was able to flick it in the corner," Gannon said of the opening goal. "I've been in a slump so it was so nice to get the team going so early." Since an opening loss to defending Division I state champion St. Ignatius, the Shoremen (2-1) have won two in a row behind shutout performances from junior goalkeeper Lukas Pentz. Pentz stepped up to make big saves when Avon Lake needed them but he didn't have to work too hard as the Shoremen outshot the Eagles 21-4. "We've really been practicing building up our plays and it showed today," Pentz said. "Our center backs were really connected today. I think they only let one through ball come back. St. Ed's is always a good team, so to get a 4-0 shutout is great." While getting a win against his alma mater is always fun for Avon Lake coach Pete Klepek, Wednesday's result was even better as he got to see the depth of his roster on full display with four players finding the back of the net. "Today we played our level that we wanted to play and that's a higher gear," Klepek said. "Getting that goal early was key. We've been working on finishing and we're going to keep getting better. "This year I have the depth, I have the boys who can come off the bench and there's no letdown." Lincoln Rose put Avon Lake up 2-0 in the 18th minute. Seven minutes later, Brendan Stupp scored to make it 3-0. Ostrowsky, a sophomore midfielder, had his second assist of the night on Stupp's goal. "I look forward and see the runs my teammate is making and I just find a way to get the ball to them," Ostrowsky said. "The way we were playing and our style of play was really breaking down their defense. We were able to get numbers up against their defense and we were able to finish." Senior midfielder Brendan Sheehan scored three minutes into the second half to give Avon Lake its final margin of victory. "If we want to keep this going we need to stay focused and listen to our coaches in practice," Pentz said. Aaron Richardson and Luke Bellenir each had assists for Avon Lake, which opens Southwestern Conference play next Thursday at Berea-Midpark. "With the division changes (Avon Lake is in Division II in the new five-division format) I kept my schedule just as tough," Klepek said. "We still have four or five D-I's on our schedule. I do that for a reason. I want to challenge my boys because I want them ready for playoffs." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Avon Lake 4, St. Edward 0 GOALS: (AL) JP Gannon (4th minute), Lincoln Rose (18th minute), Brendan Stupp (25th minute), Brendan Sheehan (43rd minute) ASSISTS: (AL) Coby Ostrowsky 2, Luke Bellenir, Aaron Richardson SAVES: (SE) Will Day 17; (AL) Lukas Pentz 4 SHOTS ON GOAL: St. Edward 4, Avon Lake 21 FOULS: St. Edward 9, Avon Lake 6 CORNER KICKS: St. Edward 3, Avon Lake 4 OFFSIDES: St. Edward 1, Avon Lake 3 YELLOW CARDS: (SE) Sean Davis, Brandon Elek; (AL) Rose HALFTIME: Avon Lake, 3-0