John Bruce, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
LUCASVILLE — In a clash of contrasting styles vying for the top spot in the Southern Ohio Conference title race, the sharpshooting ability of Carson Lyons gave Ironton St. Joseph all the scoring it needed.
Lyons’ goal, paired with a stout defensive effort, helped the Flyers (11-2, 5-0 SOC I) hold off a late charge from Valley to earn a massive 1-0 win on Thursday night.
Valley (5-3-1, 3-1 SOC I) came out of the gates with more energy and pressure, but the Indians were unable to penetrate the Flyers’ backline for any high percentage looks at the goal.
Nearly 10 minutes into the half, Valley got its best look, but St. Joseph freshman goalkeeper Beckham Waginger coolly made the save.
The Flyers then secured their first opportunity off a corner kick from senior Landon Rowe, but were unable to put the resulting header on target.
However, at the 22:12 mark in the first half, Lyons was pushed near the top of the box for an easy foul whistle. On the ensuing free kick, the junior smashed his kick off the bottom of the crossbar and into the side netting to give the Flyers a key 1-0 lead.
“It felt really great,” Lyons said of his score. “That was one of the best goals I’ve had all year. For the placement, I saw the space around defenders. The goalie wasn’t really playing that middle space. He was close to the bar. So I put the ball there. That’s where I wanted it to go.”
The scoreline remained silent to the conclusion of the opening half with both defenses holding strong as they faced aggressive counter chances for each team.
PHOTOS: Images from ISJ’s win over Valley
St. Joseph, the smallest soccer playing school in the Ohio High School Athletic Association, continued to play a high level defense behind Carson Willis, Brody West, Kemper Kerecman and Ian Whaley, while still pushing forward behind Lyons, Rowe and Jack Whaley, who looked to add to the lead.
“We talk a lot about [being a small school]. We have a group chat and we talk about every game beforehand, no matter who we’re playing or what their record is,” Rowe said. “It’s always a huge game to us. We really feel like we have to prove ourselves because of our size.”
Junior Blake Medinger was pushed into the midfield and played outstanding in his new role, aiding Lyons and Rowe in controlling the forward pushes from Valley, as the Flyers were able to quell any serious looks for the Indians.
The Indians had their best look of the contest with 22 minutees to play, but Waginger was able to put just enough pressure on the shooter to force the shot to go wide of the target.
St. Joseph quieted the Valley attack over the closing minutes and was able to ride an excellent defensive effort into a shutout and solo position atop the SOC I.
“Our defense steps it up every single game,” Rowe said. “We genuinely have one of the most solid defenses, I think, around [the area]. We have two juniors right in the middle and they’re solidifying everything. Blake [Medinger] came up today because we were down one of our seniors. Blake stepped up in the midfield, our defense took care of business and our offense worked it.”
While Valley attempts to bounce back on Saturday with a home date against Circleville, the Flyers will try and stay in the win column on Tuesday at New Boston.
“We’re having a really good year,” Rowe said. “We lost a good amount of seniors last year, great players. We didn’t know what to expect but we’ve really stepped up this year.”