Boys soccer: Home team wins on penalty kicks in all-star game

AMHERST – Lorain County gave its senior boys soccer players one more taste of drama before their careers came to an end with Saturday's all-star game going to penalties tied 3-3 and Midview goalkeeper Lucas Matesic scoring the winner for the Home team in the sixth round of spot kicks. Avon's Brock Harman did what he does best, opening the scoring in the 13th minute for the Away team before a goal off the head of Clearview defender Ethan Gifford tied things up a few minutes later. The Away team took the lead again with just over 10 minutes to go in the first half when Amherst's Ben Thompson bulldozed through the defense to score one final goal on his home field. "This is the last time playing on my home field, and it just felt amazing," Thompson said. "I just wanted to end on a bang, so I saw that opportunity to streak across the field and finish that goal, and it felt good to have one last goal on my home field." Avon Lake's Luke Bellenir tied things up again in the final minutes of the first half to send the game to the break tied at two. It took the Home team just seven minutes of the second half to take its first lead of the match, with Firelands' Carter Jones finding teammate Mikey Janosik for a simple back post finish, his 30th goal of the season. "It was amazing," Janosik said. "My last game out here, I left it all out here. It's been an honor to play for this team all season." The game had one more twist left in regulation, as Avon's Mark Dushaj found the net with just under 20 minutes to play on a shot that crept under the goalkeeper's outstretched arm into the bottom corner to tie the game at 3. "I just got the ball on the left side, did my thing, and it worked out," Dushaj said. "It felt good, we needed to tie the game and make a comeback, and we did that to get it to penalties, but it was a fun experience, it's always good to see all the cities compete together." The game went to penalty kicks thanks to Dushaj's goal, and after each of the first 10 takers scored, Avon goalkeeper Oliver Dobrovic hit the post and Maresic fired home past Dobrovic for the win. After an incredibly successful season for a number of Lorain County teams, Saturday's all-star game provided one last chance for the area's best seniors to compete for the last time and end their careers on a high note. "I love high school soccer," Dushaj said. "I'm glad it comes to an end like this." Among all the seniors who saw their careers and seasons celebrated Saturday, Thompson's goal was as appropriate a way to end his career as a player can ask for, and he took a moment after the match to reflect on what it meant to him. "Man, it's awesome," Thompson said. "Some of the connections that I formed in the last 90 minutes, you can't find this experience elsewhere. I'm glad that the coaches were here to set this up, and I'm glad for all these wonderful teammates I got to play with one last time." Home 3 (6), Away 3 (5) Goals: A - Brock Harman (13th minute), Ben Thompson (29th minute), Mark Dushaj (62nd minute); H - Ethan Gifford (OG) (19th minute), Luke Bellenir (38th minute), Mikey Janosik (47th minute) Assists: A - Brady Parker; H - Carter Jones Goalkeepers: A - Oliver Dobrovic (3 saves), Zachariah Gaines (3 saves), Casey Giancaterino (4 saves); H - Lucas Matesic (2 saves), John Jarvan (0 saves) Shots on goal: A - 9; H - 13 Fouls: A - 3; H - 2 Corner kicks: A - 3; H - 6 Offside: A - ; H - 1 Halftime - Home 2, Away 2