Boys soccer: Midview beats Firelands for fourth win in five games

SOUTH AMHERST — Although Midview scored five goals Monday when it traveled to Firelands, it was the Middies defense that was the star of the game. Senior goalkeeper Lucas Matesic made 12 saves and helped the Midview defense withstand an early barrage of pressure from the Falcons in a 5-0 non-league win. It was the fourth win in five games for the Middies who improved to 5-6-1. All four of those wins have been shutouts. "I tell our boys we have one of the best, if not the best, goalkeeper in the (Southwestern Conference)," Midview coach Tom Baracskai said of Matesic. "He's just phenomenal. He can do anything we ask him to do." Although Firelands (9-2) controlled the possession for much of the first half, Midview took advantage of its chances with the ball in its offensive third. Senior forward Anthony Loera scored on a rebound in the fourth minute and made the score 2-0 in the 13th minute when he connected on a free kick that skidded across the wet grass and slithered past Firelands goalkeeper Ashton Lutz. "I am just thankful to my teammates for playing great ball. I am always ready for them and ready to keep trying to put them in the back of the net," Loera said. "Once we score our first goal it motivates us a lot. We don't stop at one goal. We keep going." The Falcons came in with a four-match winning streak but lost for the second time this month against a non-league foe."We felt good about the game, we had a lot of possession time. We had a lot of opportunities we just couldn't capitalize on," Firelands coach Bill Yakunovich said. "It was a hard game for sure. Midview is a good team." After conceding the two early goals, Firelands managed to regroup and stay in the game, but a foul in the box in the 34th minute resulted in a Arnuphap Promso penalty kick which increased the Middies lead to 3-0. "I was kinda happy with the way the boys performed," Baracskai said. "Firelands is a really tough team. We don't play them a lot here at Midview but we played them a lot when I was at Keystone and I tried to impress on the boys that they were going to come out and come after us." Just like in the first half, after intermission Firelands spend much of its time on offense, but again Matesic was up to the task. "I feel like we're the backbone of the team. Everything starts with us," Matesic said. "I like coming out strong. If I can make some saves and my defense is playing strong we can carry the team up with us." Sophomore Andrew Morris scored in the 56th minute to make the score 4-0. Eight minutes later Promso added his second goal on the evening to close out the scoring. The Middies have scored 26 goals in their last five matches. Firelands is 1-1 this year against bigger SWC teams. They will also face Elyria later in the year. "The playoffs are coming, and we know we're going to face good teams later in the year," Yakunovich said. "These non-conference games are good opportunities to prepare for that." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Midview 5, Firelands 0 Goals: Midview - Anthony Loera (4th minute, 13th minute); Arnuphap Promso (34th minute PK, 64th minute); Andrew Morris (56th minute). Goalkeepers: Midview - Lucas Matesic (12 saves); Firelands —Ashton Lutz (9 saves) Corner Kicks: M - 3, F - 4 Halftime: Midview, 3-0