Game 15 - Thursday, Sept 28 LVC Round 2 home vs. Waterford Mott In Round Two of the Boys Soccer LVC tournament, Waterford Mott returned to our home field after a lightning-shortened match earlier in the season. The game started a little slower with some long balls back and forth on the field. After a corner kick cross midway through the first half, Mott got a ball behind the goalie and crashed the back post to push the ball cross the line for their first goal. Ten minutes after halftime, the Cougars added an insurance goal for the 2-0 lead. But fifteen minutes later, the Eagles took advantage of a corner kick from #10 Ian Waldman that found the foot of #20 Zach Dobrin. Dobrin was able to redirect the ball back into the net to bring the score to 2-1. From there, the Eagles picked up their effort and battled hard for the next fifteen minutes, but there just wasn't enough time to get their next goal. The match ended at 2-1. 

Game 14 - Tuesday, Sept 26 LVC Round 1 at South Lyon  In Round One of the LVC end-of-season tournament, the #6 Eagles went up against the #3 South Lyon Lions. In this third matchup of the year, the Lions got out to a fast start with multiple through balls that opened up chances that keeper Alex Caines #1 had to fight back. After ten minutes, a miscue in front of Alex gave South Lyon the break they needed and they took the 1-0 lead. The Eagles had a few opportunities at the other end, including a shot off the crossbar, but no goals. After halftime, even though the Lions continued to control possession, our boys did put together some good connections and passes down the outsides, resulting in a few shots off the frame. Unfortunately, South Lyon added two more goals, and the match ended at 3-0. 

Game 12 - Wednesday, Sept 20th home vs Royal Oak (Senior Night) On Senior Night, the Boys Varsity Soccer team took the opportunity to celebrate 7 graduating seniors: Alex Caines #1, Mustafa Alfreeji #2, Camron Patersmark #6, Elliot Smith #7, Jack Swantko #19,  Michael Woods #21, and Brevan Ward #25 (absent due to illness). After the ceremony, Royal Oak took little time to demonstrate their passing, scoring three goals in the first seven minutes. Finally, Thomas White #14 found himself with some open space about 18 yards out and stopped the bleeding with a hard shot past the goal. But the Ravens kept pressing and added two goals before the half, 5-1. After the break, Royal Oak was determined to continue putting the pressure on, but our Eagles held as strong as they could. The Ravens added four goals and ended the game with four minutes remaining on the clock, per mercy rules. 

Game 11  - Tuesday, Sept 19th home vs. Walled Lake Central Last Tuesday, the Boys Varsity Soccer team hosted Walled Lake Central, a team near the top of the LVC standings. The Eagles held good possession and it was a balanced game throughout. About halfway through the first half, off a corner kick the rebound returned to the corner where #14 Thomas White found an open space to make a cross over to the back post at the six-yard box. #11 Omar Bakdeleyah was ready and waiting for a well-placed header past the keep to take the 1-0. Unfortunately, with 1 minute remaining in the half, Central took advantage of an unlucky bounce and evened the score. The second half was more same, with several chances at both ends, neither team was able to break the tie. That is, until just ten seconds remaining, Walled Lake Central played a cross into the box and another unlucky bounce found the back of the net. The result wss a heartbreaking 2-1 loss. 

On Thursday, September 14th, the Boys Varsity Soccer team played Milford in a early 4pm game.  The Huron Valley rivalry showed up with some solid physical play, but the ref kept the teams in check. #1 Alex Caines made some big saves early and then the defense settled in and kept the Mavericks away. The Milford high defensive line kept the strikers away with very few chances. But in the second half, a foul inside the box presented the Eagles with their best chance with a Penalty Kick. Unfortunately, a home team infraction nullified the goal and the game remained scoreless. Both teams continued to press for opportunities to move the ball into shooting positions, but neither could get through solid defenses on both ends. The end result was a 0-0 draw. 

On Tuesday, September 12th, the Boys Varsity Soccer team played in front of a big crowd at Walled Lake Northern, including their band who played at halftime, the excitement was in the air. A quick start had some back-and-forth action with scoring opportunities at both ends, but it was the Eagles who struck first. A chance down the left side found #2 Mustafa Alfreeji in the corner who left a simple pass to Zach Dobrin #20 to put a bending shot around the defense and goalie and into the back of the net. Both teams settled into their games, but no more significant chance came. In the second half both goalies were forced into important saves, but Dobrin's first-half goal was the decider and the Eagles held on for the 1-0 win. 

On Thursday, August 31st, the Boys Varsity Soccer team lost to South Lyon, 4-0. South Lyon demonstrated their composure and skill and picked up two early goals to take the lead 2-0. The Eagles continued to battle and push the ball back out into the midfield and into a couple of chances, but the attacks kept coming. After a halftime pep talk, our Lakeland team took the ball down the field more consistently and with solid passing and possession, but South Lyon kept pressing and created more chances of their own. They picked up two more second-half goals and took the win 4-0. 

In a recently played game at Walled Lake Western, the Boys Varsity Soccer played to a 1-1 tie in a game shortened by stormy weather. The home team got off to a quick start and had repeated attacks on the defense and goalie Alex Caines #1. They broke through after 5 minutes and took the 1-0 lead. After that, the Eagles settled into their game and the ball stayed in the midfield with shared possessions. On one deep ball late in the half, #20 Zach Dobrin pressured the Western defense and caused a turnoff. He quickly took advantage and scored a tap-in to even the score, 1-1. With just a minute left in the half, #6 Cam Petersmark picked up a second yellow card and subsequent red, so the Eagles would be short-handed the rest of the way. However, as the whistle blew for the half, lightning flashed in the distance and the ref cleared the field. The resulting storm blew in minutes later and the game was called with the 1-1 Draw result. 

On Wednesday, August 23rd, the Boys Varsity Soccer team headed to South Lyon East to open up Lakes Valley Conference play. The game became physical early and the Eagles responded with solid defense. Midway through the first half, after an unlucky bounce, the Cougars were able to get the ball past the Lakeland defense and beat goal Alex Caines (#1). Going into the second half down 1-0, the Eagles pressed high against the South Lyon East defense. Just 2 minutes in, this strategy paid off with Zach Dobrin (#20) taking advantage of a mistake in the final third and popping a shot over the goal to even the score back to 1-1. Unfortunately, the Cougars responded quickly and within 5 minutes took back the lead. The Eagles midfield battled to get balls back up to the forward who got several shots on goal but left the defense a little vulnerable and South Lyon East added an insurance goal late to close out the game with a 3-1 loss for our Eagles.

On Monday, August 21st, the Boys Varsity Soccer team traveled to Holly for an non-league competition.  As this matchup has become a regular early-season tune-up, the Eagles went into the game hoping to secure their first win, but the Holly Bronchos took advantage of a deep giveaway to surprise goalkeeper Alex Caines (#1) to go up One-Nil. One of the few times the Eagles will play on a grass field this season, they were challenged to connect successive passes together and struggled to get into a rhythm in the first half. They came out in the second half and managed to string together better ball possession and move the ball up the field more easily. With one through ball into dangerous space, #8 Brock Vinter drew a foul in the 18-yard box resulting in a penalty kick being awarded. #14 Thomas White stepped up to the penalty spot and converted to bring the game even again with about 20 minutes remaining. The Eagles continued to press and create lots of chances, but the Holly goalkeeper was up to the challenge and kept every opportunity out of his net. Lakeland had to leave with a 1-1 draw.

On Friday, August 18th, the Boys Varsity Soccer team traveled to Orchard Lake St. Marys.  This game was marked by very physical play with multiple fouls being called throughout. St Mary's scored an early goal as they maintained a large amount of ball possession in the first half. The Lakeland defense settled in a kept the scoring chances to a minimum for the remainder of the half. In the second half, St Mary's added a second goal and continued to prevent Lakeland from getting into scoring positions. The game ended with a 2-0 loss for Lakeland.

Our first official result from the 2023 Fall Season comes from the Boys Varsity Soccer program's match versus South Lyon on Wednesday: A quick start for South Lyon led to many chances bearing down on goalkeeper Alex Caines (#1) and a relatively new back line headed by Brevan Ward (#25) and Ian Waldman (#10). Alex Caines did well to hold off these early attacks as Lakeland started to find its footing midway through the first half. However, neither team could find the back of the net, with South Lyon's goalkeeper coming up with a huge save on the counterattack. Nil-Nil at the half, both teams began to press forward. These efforts would begin to gain traction with 20 minutes to go in the second half when Alex Caines was forced off his line to bear hug a blistering shot on the breakaway to keep the score level. Despite the ever-looming threats posed by South Lyon's attack, Brevan walled up in the backfield and Ian did well to fly back and stop the counterattacks. A few good opportunities by Lakeland's Zach Dobrin (#20) came up just short, and a deadly last-minute cross by South Lyon found its way all the way through the 18-yard box before being cleared away to secure a 0-0 tie for Lakeland in its first match. Lakeland will play its next match this Friday (8/17) at St. Mary's.