Lake Center girls soccer take down Massillon in the battle of the Tigers

When a healthy starting goalie watches the second half from the bench, one of two things is true. Either that goalie is struggling and his or her coach has decided to make a change between the pipes or the team is so far ahead that the coach decides to give the player a much-deserved break.

For Lake Center Christian School (6-2-3) senior goalie Annie Diller, it was the latter as her team defeated Massillon 9-0 in a home contest on Oct. 1 in a matchup of Tigers.
 

It was LCCS that came out fast and furious in the first half, with senior Elizabeth Puckett finding the back of the net less than two minutes into the contest. Eight minutes later, sophomore Elaina McCarty registered a goal from close in off an assist from junior Maggie Battista. One minute later, LCCS was back on the attack and scored again as sophomore Karli Kadilcek received an assist on a nice cross from Puckett and put her team up 3-0. In the game's 34th minute, Puckett recorded her second assist of the game, this time to  Maggie Battista's sister, freshman Sara Battista, for a four-goal lead. With less than a minute remaining in the first half, Puckett finished off the scoring with her second goal of the game off a sharp pass from Sara Battista.
 

“Obviously this was a good game for us offensively,” LCCS coach Matt Rogers observed after the game. “We were able to get some good scoring chances and work a lot of players into new spots on the field, get them experience at new positions.”
 

At half, Rogers made the decision to give Diller the rest of the night off. She donned her warmups and watched from the bench as freshman Bethany McHugh replaced her in goal. Like Diller in the first half, McHugh rarely found herself tested as LCCS was able to maintain possession for most of the game and allowed Massillon no clear shots on goal.
 

Coming out of half, LCCS didn't let down offensively. In the 48th minute, freshman forward Melanie Harvey scored on a ball that deflected off of a teammate before nestling in the back of the net.
 

“Melanie has a lot of experience playing club soccer,” Rogers said of his freshman. “She sees the field well, sees how things are going to develop and makes sure her feet are in the right position for a pass or shot.”
 

McCarty recorded her second goal of the night in the 59th minute, scoring after LCCS worked the ball up the field and made multiple passes to set up the shot.
 

“In the second half, we worked on moving the ball from the back of our defense up to the front, making good passes,” Rogers stated. “Elaina is a versatile player who can play well up front or back on defense. She knows her spots on the field and makes sure she gets there.”
 

Rogers' team finished off the game strong, with Kadilcek posting her second goal of the game in the 71st minute and Sara Battista becoming the third LCCS player with two goals on the night by pounding home a goal off a defender in the game's 78th minute.
 

With five games remaining before the district tournament, Rogers knows his team must continue to progress.
 

“We need to work on the basics, like controlling the ball, containing the ball and winning balls when they are up for grabs,” he pointed out when asked what his team must work on for a successful tournament run. “Like every coach will say, we have to work on our defense and improve there.”