Late goals lifted Rochester Lourdes to a 4-0 win over Austin High in Saturday's boys soccer game at Hass Stadium.
This non-conference game was a scoreless defensive struggle until the visiting Lourdes Eagles scored their first goal with 12:41 left to play in the second half. The goal was credited to Jack Covery of the Eagles, but it appeared the Packers defense knocked the ball into the net.
It was a still a toss-up heading into the final minutes. Lourdes then scored with 6:41 left to play off a corner kick. Zach Hebl gave the Eagles a 2-0 lead and they finished off the Packers.
"We played well for most of the game, but then that shot went off one of our guys on the direct kick and it was a turning point," Austin coach Jens Levisen said. "That goal happened and our defense got deflated."
Throughout most of the second half, the action took place near the Austin net. The Eagles put a lot of pressure on Packers goalie Collin Weisert and it paid off with the road win.
ADVERTISEMENT
Karl Krecke added to the Lourdes lead as the Austin defense wilted under the barrage in the final minutes. This goal came with 3:33 left to play in regulation.
Lourdes scored its final goal only 34 seconds later. Calvin Kim fired a shot past Weisert and the Eagles defense did the rest for the shutout win.
In the final minute, the Packers had some chances to avert the shutout. Jake Hagen-Erickson of the Packers got a free kick with 40 seconds to play, but Eagles goalie Will Elder made another stop.
Hagen-Erickson had a couple of other open looks on the day. Early in the game, the Lourdes netminder made a finger-tip save on a shot by Hagen-Erickson. There was another chance in the second half, but the ball rolled just past the net.
A final rush by the Packers in the waning seconds almost got them a goal. Off a corner kick, Jake Brehmer fired a header toward the net. Unfortunately, there would be no late goal as the shot from Brehmer sailed high.
"We had some scoring opportunities and it was a competitive game," Levisen said. "This lets us know we have still have a lot of work to do, but we can play with them. The season's not over and we have to keep playing hard heading into the section playoffs."
Austin (3-3-3 overall) goes on the road this evening for a non-conference game against Byron.
