Liberty-Benton shuts out Rams

UPPER SANDUSKY -- It was a defensive battle for almost the first 30 minutes when Liberty-Benton faced Upper Sandusky on Thursday.But, when Quinn Taylor scored for L-B, the ice was broken and the pressure was off.That goal allowed the Eagles to play looser in the second half and Liberty-Benton topped the Rams, 2-0 in North Central Ohio Soccer Association action."That was huge," L-B coach Aaron Troyer said. "We have been struggling to score. We have been hitting the post a lot lately in the last few games. Getting one in the back of the net was huge for us."Neither team had many chances over the first part of the game. Will Niese had a shot on goal midway through the first half for L-B (7-3-3 overall, 2-1-1 NCOSA), but was denied by Upper goalie Landen Lamb. The Rams (7-5, 2-3) almost got on the board when a throw-in bounced toward L-B goalie Andrew Thomas, but Thomas punched the ball away. Thomas set the school's career record for saves in the win. He has 252.It wasn't until the 30th minute when Taylor got the Eagles on the board. He got past his defender then just poked his shot past Lamb for the 1-0 lead."We have fought back before," Rams coach Keith Miller said. "We have been down 1-0 and come back before. We would score two or three goals, but tonight it just did not happen."Holden Daris had a shot go just past the net and Thomas in the 34th minute. Despite the deficit at halftime, Upper Sandusky was still in it."It was 1-0," Miller said. "We knew we needed to score at least one goal to have a chance to win. We wanted to even it up. We had a goalie go into concussion protocols, so that hurt switching goalies. That might have deflated the team a little bit."The Eagles had the better opportunities early in the second half, including a nearly identical play from Taylor. This time, Lamb came out of goal, and Taylor's shot went straight into Lamb for the save.In the 61st minute, L-B doubled its lead and put the game away thanks to a 25-yard Brandon Gaerke goal that slipped past several Ram defenders —and Lamb—for the 2-0 advantage."For us to get one goal is big and to get a second goal, the pressure is not on now," Troyer said. "The guys have been feeling pressure. We have not been scoring. I think the guys were having a little more fun tonight."Troyer noted that his team played solid defense in the second half to keep Upper Sandusky from scoring while also balancing an aggressive offense."We are telling our guys to think in situations where we are tied or down one goal," Troyer said. "We want to emphasize going forward. Our defense is strong. We have a lot of good defenders."The Rams had one final push late in the game. Upper Sandusky had multiple cracks at cutting into the L-B lead, but Thomas eventually corralled the ball to maintain the 2-0 lead."Not to make excuses, but we have two kids out that are starters," Miller said. "We knew it was going to be a struggle. We had to have some kids step up."Both teams are back in action on Saturday. Liberty-Benton faces Continental while Upper Sandusky takes on Pleasant."That is the defense we have been playing all year," Troyer said. "We have given up 14 goals all year and six were in one game. We have done a good job of limiting shots and chances. We have some really good players in the back."