Leviathan falls in home opener

AVON — A little less than a year after the announcement that semi-pro soccer was coming to Avon, the Lorain County Leviathan took the field Monday. Over 2,000 fans packed the ForeFront Field to see the team's inaugural USL2 home game against FC Buffalo on a sunny Memorial Day afternoon. The only thing that dampened the mood was the final score. Buffalo's Ali Alomari had a hat trick, with two of the goals coming off penalty shots, to provide all of his team's offense as the Leviathan dropped their home opener, 3-1. Forward Stefan Velickovic put his name in the record book in the 13th minute with the first goal in Leviathan history. Velickovic, a junior at Walsh University, received a pass from Santiago Maiolo, fired a shot that bounced off a defender, gathered the rebound and placed a shot just inside the near post to put Lorain County up 1-0. "It was amazing," Velickovic said. "The cheering from the crowd, all the boys celebrating. It was the start of something great." The Leviathan (0-1-1) has only managed one goal in its first two matches. "I think we played well. It's a stepping stone and it's only up from here," Velickovic said. "We have great chemistry. Most of us have already played together previously. It's been a really fun experience and a great growing opportunity for all of us." One player who probably didn't have a lot of fun Monday was Lorain County goalkeeper Patrick McLaughlin. In his first start, McLaughlin made five saves but he also had to attempt to defend two penalties, both from Alomari, who came to FC Buffalo by way of Yemen and Niagara University and drilled both PKs into the lower right corner of the net. "The only criticism I'd give the boys on defense is we've just got to be a little more disciplined," Leviathan coach Blake New said. "You just can't put referees in that position to call the penalty. But we have a very talented group and as the season goes on I expect them to really come together as a unit." Buffalo (1-0-1) withstood sustained pressure from the Leviathan in their attacking third early in the match. But as the day wore on, it was able to control much of the run of play and earned 10 corner kicks compared to just two for Lorain County. Despite the final result, New was excited to see the support for the team in the first of its six home matches this year. "It was a great atmosphere," New said. "We had a great crowd. Hopefully, they will give us a little grace and a little time to build this thing. We've only had eight practices. We're still getting to know each other. I think, 20 days from now, our team is going to be a much better team." The good news for Lorain County is through two match days, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds are the only team in the Great Forest Division with two wins. The Riverhounds travel to Forefront Field to take on the Leviathan on June 6. Two Lorain County natives, Avon's Dakota Jonke and Avon Lake's Brendan Sheehan were in the starting 11 for the Leviathan. "It was awesome," Sheehan, a 2025 Avon Lake grad, said. "Credit to the crowd for coming out tonight. It's so cool to see a huge group of people coming out to support Lorain County. It's incredible to see the amount of people who came out to support us today, when a few months ago this team didn't even exist." Lorain County played to a scoreless draw in the franchise's first game against Steel City in Pittsburgh. Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com