Lion Sports Update 02/03

Soccer
Last Tuesday, the varsity soccer team traveled to Arlington to play the Oakridge Owls needing a victory to keep alive their hopes of earning a bye at SPC. The Lions did their part with a 5-1 victory. The Owls proved formidable, and the match could have turned for the worst in the second half, but the Lions proved resilient. Offensively, St. Mark’s executed some of its best combination play of the season, moving the ball well and frequently changing the point of attack. Senior captain Colin Campbell wasted no time in opening the scoring in the sixth minute on a smoothly stuck shot from the edge of that penalty area that nestled comfortably in the upper right-hand corner of the net. Oakridge equalized within six minutes as the Owls made quick work on a second-chance ball that was parried by the Lion goalkeeper. Junior Henry McElhaney would add his team-leading, tenth goal of the season on a free kick. Just before halftime, McElhaney earned a brace when he found daylight between two defenders and then beat the Owls’ keeper. In the sixty-fifth minute, junior Knobel Hunt, lurking on the far post, redirected sophomore Lars Ochs’ driven corner kick into the back of the net. Junior Michael Anderson shrewdly ran across the keeper’s face, momentarily distracting him, which allowed the service to arrive untouched at the far post. Seven minutes from the full-time whistle, Campbell earned his brace when he emphatically struck a “frozen rope” from 40 meters over the head of the Owls’ goalkeeper and under the crossbar. With the 5-1 victory, St. Mark’s remained in third place in the North Zone behind leaders Casady and Cistercian. Needing a draw in their seventh and final North Zone counter match of the season to secure the third-place seed, St. Mark’s hosted the Eagles of ESD on Friday night. The Lions continued their recent run of good form with sharp passing and excellent ball movement. Nevertheless, the Eagles proved resilient, and the Lions’ final pass and finishing were not quite as sharp as they could be. Five minutes into the second half, senior captain Colin Campbell received the ball on the right flank in midfield and made a penetrating run that the Eagles were unable to shut down. When the Eagles’ goalkeeper was forced to close at the near post, Campbell adeptly struck a low driven ball into the net at the far post, and the deadlock was broken. With renewed confidence, St. Mark’s began attacking with greater frequency as the match saw an increase in end-to-end play. In the sixty-eighth minute, the culmination of a wonderful build-up by the Lions offense was the exceptional combination play between juniors Henry McElhaney and Christian Shadle. When McElhaney drew two defenders and the goalkeeper at the left post, he unselfishly centered the ball to a wide-open Shadle who emphatically struck the ball into the back of the Eagles’ net. The St. Mark’s crowd went wild! Their enthusiasm was rewarded less than a minute later when junior Cristian Pereira, dribbling down the left flank at pace, beat his defender and drove his cross to the far post where senior captain William Holtby headed back across the goal into the net at the far post. Sophomore Stefan Moreno recorded the shutout with a strong performance in goal, helping the Lions win 3-0. The Lions (5-0-2, 15 points) will now face the Spartans of St. Stephen’s on Thursday, February 13, at 5:30 at Greenhill (Brinkman Field) with the winner advancing to the quarterfinals on Friday against perennial SPC powerhouse Bellaire Episcopal.