10 man roster not enough to defeat the Wildcats

Above, Daniel Bugg lines up a shot
-Photo by Levi Holsapple

After almost a week’s rest since their last game, the 10 man roster for the Lyon County (0-10-0) Lyons took the field to avenge an earlier loss to district rival Trigg County’s Wildcats. Earlier in the season, the teams had faced off with Trigg County (8-1-3) earning the victory 6-1. Unfortunately, the Lyons lost to the Wildcats on Monday night 10-0 in a game called by the officials with just ten minutes remaining because of mercy rule. Recording the shutout for Trigg County was Ezra McNichols, who also played goalkeeper in the Lyon’s first loss to the Wildcats.
The Wildcat attack began early on into the game with Jared Stallons capitalizing on a dropped ball by the Lyon goalkeeper. The goal came just six minutes into the match after Lyon goalie Houston Cruce successfully deflected a hard shot off the foot of Joel Ben Thomas, but was deflected right in front of the charging Stallons. After that score, Trigg did not take much time to continue the scoring frenzy. Just three minutes later, Stallons scored again as he was able to direct the ball into the far right side of the net just ahead of the diving Cruce. Stallons second goal gave Trigg the 2-0 lead, which remained on the scoreboard until the 10:25 mark. Lyon’s Hunter Thomas came close to earning himself a goal as his shot across the field was saved by McNichols. Trigg’s Joel Ben Thomas assisted on the third Wildcat goal of the night by Romaine Cunningham. This was the final goal scored before halftime, a time much needed for the exhausted teams. With no substitute players on the bench for the Lyons, the ten man roster was truly tested throughout the first half of play, while the substitutes were in abundance on the Trigg County sideline. The strategy of keeping the more rested players on the field constantly and giving breaks regularly through substitution, certainly worked in favor of the Wildcats.
To begin the second half of play, Stallons completed a hat trick with 35:24 remaining in the game. Stallons’ third goal was enough to put the visitors up 4-0. A mistake by the Lyon defense proved costly in the scorebooks as Trigg was again able to capitalize. Trigg’s Stallons was again the one to put the ball into the net after the mistake for his fourth goal of the night. A great deal of foot skills by Jeremy Butts paid off in terms of a goal for his team as he was able to weave between Lyon defenders to earn his first goal and put his team up by six. Just five minutes after his first goal, Butts scored again as his shot from the far left side of the field found the far right side of the net. Once it worked for Butts, Stallons repeated the process just three minutes later by also finding the far side of the net with his shot from the left side of the goal box. Lyon Alex Bugg’s shot with 16:20 on the clock was saved by McNichols just inches from crossing the goal line. Bugg’s attempt at a goal was just enough for Trigg’s offense to continue their precise passing and footwork, which ultimately led to Butts’ third goal of the night giving him the second hat trick by a Wildcat in the contest. Butts’ third goal came with just 15:23 left in the game to put his team up by nine goals. However, the pivotal goal of the contest which put the home team behind by ten was Blaine Alexander’s goal into the upper corner of the net. Alexander’s goal was the tenth of the night for Trigg and his first versus Lyon all season.
In the junior varsity contest, a combination of goals past Trigg goalkeeper Jake Green by Landon Norman (2), Hunter Thomas (2), and Landon Aycock all in the first half of play was enough to earn the 5-2 Lyon victory. Houston Cruce and Thomas were also credited with assists in the contest. Lyon’s Alex Russell and the Lyon defense allowed only two second half goals after Lyon had taken the 5-0 lead into halftime.
The Lyons will next be in action October 2 when they host Community Christian Academy (6-7-1). Community Christian took home the victory earlier in the season 7-1. Varsity action is set to begin at 5:45 with the junior varsity contest to follow. On October 5th, the Lyons and Lady Lyons will play host to the Reidland (1-10-0) Greyhounds for the first time this season. The boys’ game is set to begin at 5:45 with the girls’ contest to follow.