Injuries continue to add up for the Lyons

Nick McKinney put forth a great effort – and a brave smile – during the Caldwell vs. Lyon game, though he left the field in an ambulance. -Photos by Levi Holsapple

The Lyon County Lyons (0-8-0) soccer squad returned to action Monday night after a week off to recover from injuries acquired in earlier contests. For the second time in barely over a week, the Lyons faced off against district rival Caldwell County (5-2-1), this time hosting the Tigers. Lyon efforts to avenge an earlier 0-9 loss to the Tigers at Caldwell was unsuccessful as the Lyons dropped this contest 0-8. Adding to the loss was the departure of Lyon Nick McKinney on a stretcher early in the second half.
The visiting Tigers squad did not waste much time in scoring, waiting only seven minutes into the contest to score their first of eight goals. Their first goal was scored by Devan Oliver, whose sliding shot snuck barely into the right corner of the goal. Oliver’s goal was assisted by an Aaron Laurent cross from the opposite side of the box. Caldwell County scored again when a crowd of players in front of Lyon goalkeeper Hunter Thomas combined efforts. This goal was the second of the night for the Tigers. The second Tiger goal found the net just five minutes after their first score. With 18:28 remaining in the first half of play, a hard shot from outside the goal box off the foot of Cody Hooks found the net. Hooks’ goal gave his Tigers a 3-0 lead. However, this goal was not the last of what Lyon would see from Hooks in the game. Zach Adams of Caldwell also got in the book by scoring Caldwell’s last goal of the first half of play. His score came after only one minute had elapsed from the clock since Hooks’ score. Adams’ ability to place his shot just above Thomas’ head gave his team the 4-0 lead going into halftime. As the past could have predicted, injuries once again plagued the Lyon squad with Nick McKinney having ankle problems, but still remained playing, and Houston Cruce, who went down on his way to score with a leg injury that prohibited him from finishing the contest and leaving his team with only an 11 player roster.
Lyon County, after regaining their stamina, came out strong as Landon Aycock’s attempt at a goal fell just short when his shot on goal was cleared by the Caldwell defense. With the new half came a new goalkeeper for Lyon in Alex Russell. Russell was able to come in and save several hard shots, including a key shot by Hooks. Another dramatic moment in the contest for Lyon came when McKinney was trampled as he was going for control of the ball in front of the Caldwell County goal. Preliminary reports of the injury signify a dislocated shoulder; however McKinney did leave the game on a stretcher with Lyon County EMS. This injury left Lyon with only ten players to finish the contest, which had 17:20 remaining. Caldwell County returned to their scoring with only ten minutes remaining in the game. Jesse Sherrill’s shot from right in front of the goal found the corner of the net to put the Tigers up 5-0. A unique opportunity for the Tigers occurred around the six minute mark as their starting goalkeeper, Logan Hall, scored back to back goals on the Lyon defense. Hall’s first goal glided into the upper left corner of the net on a shot from outside the 18 yard mark. The second Hall goal and his team’s seventh, came on a breakaway by the goalkeeper playing offense. The Lyons did not give up trying to score though, when Brandon Fraliex was fouled just outside of penalty kick range, the Lyons took charge. However, the resulting free kick from the foul was saved by new Tiger goalkeeper T.J. Gilkey. Gilkey exchanged positions with Hall earlier in the half. The final score of Caldwell’s night came just before the two minute mark on another Hooks shot that fell just under the hand of the Lyon keeper. This was enough to secure the Tiger victory.
In the junior varsity contest, Caldwell County was the victor. However, Hunter Thomas’ early goal was a positive note for a rebuilding Lyon squad. With only Fraliex as a senior on the varsity Lyon squad, all remaining players were eligible to play in the junior varsity game with the addition of three Lyons. This added a boost to the roster, unlike in the varsity contest.
Future games for the Lyons squad include traveling to Paducah to face off against Community Christian Academy (4-6-1) in a JV/V contest, set to begin at 5 p.m. on September 22. Results for this contest were unavailable at presstime. Graves County (5-6-2), the second first region opponent, will be visiting the Lyons September 26h with varsity set to begin play at 5:30. The only upcoming district matchup for the Lyons will be when they host the Trigg County Wildcats (6-0-3) on September 28 in another JV/V contest. Varsity action for this event will begin at 5:30 p.m.