Rebels run through Vikings to end September
Rebels run through Vikings to end September
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EAST FAIRFIELD -- Crestview and LaBrae finished up very different Septembers against each other on Wednesday in East Fairfield.
While the Vikings picked up their sixth loss in eight games played in the month, the Rebels earned their seventh win in eight matches as Crestview beat LaBrae 4-1.
"Better match, cleaned a lot of things up since just last game," Crestview head coach Tony Dolan said. "LaBrae's a pretty decent team, and we were ready and so were they. No more than that. Execute and go forward."
The Rebels' consistent pressure paid off early, as Danny Novak gave his team a 1-0 lead in the fourth minute. Novak, whose promising shot sailed above the crossbar seven minutes later, eventually added to the Crestview advantage with 26:40 remaining in the half, when he capitalized on LaBrae failing to clear the ball out of its box following a corner kick.
In the 22nd minute, the Rebels went ahead 3-0 when Carson Barber finished off a counterattack by narrowly beating Vikings goalkeeper Connor Geiszler to the ball at the top of the box.
"We just came out slow," LaBrae head coach Isaiah Carmichael said. "We played a little bit more defensive. To me, it felt like we were playing just to try to stay equal or maybe not get blown out rather than playing to play the game and playing it the way that it should have been played. When we switched gears, you saw we stepped it up and we were a lot more competitive for it."
LaBrae found greater success on the attack in the second half, although it took nearly 11 minutes following halftime until the Vikings got on the scoreboard.
Two minutes after a long-range Treiton Popielec free kick bounced off the crossbar, Cameron Mills narrowed the Crestview lead with the first and only Vikings goal of the game.
The Rebels responded with several promising attacks one after another, with Novak, Jaden Moore and Arthur Gelbecke nearly putting their team up 4-1. Undeterred, Novak eventually scored again, finishing off a hat trick with 10:11 left to go.
"Danny’s our guy," Dolan said. "He’s the captain for a reason as a sophomore. Captain last year as a freshman. You can see on the field he’s the leader. [He] puts everybody first, and then he takes it when he needs to. Great, great effort."
With the loss, LaBrae dropped to 6-7 on the season and 5-3 in the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference (MVAC) Scarlet Tier. The Vikings, who went 4-1 in August, finished 2-6 and were outscored 37-19 in the month of September.
LaBrae finishes up its nonconference regular-season slate at Lordstown on Monday.
"What I hope they’ve learned is that the things that we’re talking about at practice, things that we’re talking about at games, those things work," Carmichael said. "We’re analyzing the game, the coaching staff is, and we’re seeing things that we could improve on. And when we execute on those things, that’s where we continue to grow. We don’t always execute on it, and that’s where we get caught up and muffled."
Crestview (12-2, 8-1 MVAC Scarlet) has won its last three matches and only fell to league leader Champion in September.
The Rebels also finish up nonconference play next; they host Badger today.
"It’s outstanding [to have this momentum]," Dolan said. "We start working in the summer for this. We get to the valleys, hit a little roadblock, but they’re where we need to be. Feels good."