Lake’s Travis Merrill attempts to head the ball over Maumee’s goalkeeper, Jaxson Blue, in the second half of Wednesday’s 9-0 loss. Blue left the game after the collision. (Nicholas Huenefeld | Sentinel-Tribune)
By Nicholas Huenefeld
Special to the Sentinel-Tribune
MILLBURY — The Lake boys soccer team came up short in a bid for the Northern Buckeye Conference championship on Wednesday, suffering a 9-0 loss to undefeated Maumee inside Lake Community Stadium.
It was the NBC finale for both teams, who each entered the contest with identical 5-0 records in league play.
“Our overall performance was not good,” Lake coach Brian Reed said. “I thought we came out and played pretty strong in the first half. We gave up the first one, and I think we were still in it. The PK kind of deflated us.”
Blake Wagener, who achieved his sixth hat trick of the season with three goals, got Maumee on the board just over 14 minutes in.
The Flyers defense then maintained a one-goal deficit for the next 20 minutes, staving off four wide shots by the Panthers.
With 5:43 remaining in the half, however, Maumee’s Frankie Folger was taken down in the box and proceeded to successfully score on the ensuing penalty kick attempt.
Just over two minutes later, Noah Preciado added another goal for the Panthers, who stunned the Flyers with two late goals for a 3-0 lead at the break.
“When we’re on our game and the ball is moving, and we train properly, we’re a tough out,” Maumee coach Chad Kain said. “You’re going to get our best day in and day out.”
Five different players found the net for the Panthers (13-0, 6-0 NBC), led by Wagener. The duo of Folger and Danny Ballez added two apiece, while Preciado and Charlie Skeels had one apiece.
Skeels led the way with three assists, while four others had one apiece.
“We have firepower,” Kain said. “Make no mistake of that. You can guard Blake all you want. You can take Blake out of the game all you want, but we still have three or four guys who can put a ball in the net.”
Wagener, who has 35 goals in 13 games this year, pushed his career total to 116, which is among the top 35 in OHSAA history.
Maumee’s defense, anchored by senior centerback Bradyn Sanholtz, allowed just one shot on goal from the Flyers. He leads a defense that includes two sophomores on the outside and a freshman in goal.
“Bradyn is probably the most underrated player in this league,” Kain said. “He gets zero respect because of how many goals we score. But without that kid, our defense isn’t where it’s at.”
Lake’s lone shot on goal came from Xavier Lautzenheiser with 28:58 left in the second half. Mason Sneed also had a shot go wide just over five minutes into the second half.
The Panthers have outscored their opponents 109-9 this year with four games to go in their regular season. This is their second consecutive league title.
“This is an awesome feeling for us,” Kain said. “It’s a great thing to go back-to-back. We didn’t concede one goal in league play. Not one.”
Kain said his team circled Wednesday as a statement game because of Lake’s record and what they’ve done.
“The grind for us continues,” he said. “We set goals to win the NBC, to be undefeated, to win the district and get to the state final. The ride continues.”
The Flyers (11-2-1, 5-1 NBC), who got nine saves in goal from Mitchell Maguire, will face Van Buren on Saturday before taking on Liberty Center in the regular season finale next Thursday.
“Maumee is a good team,” Reed said. “They have three of the best players in the league. I just think we didn’t play a very good game today.”
