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ECHS boys’ soccer falls short to Lakeside in OT
Kenneth Harn
No. 7 Kenneth Harn scores on a penalty kick early in the game to put the Rebels up 1-0. (Photos by Gilbert Miller/Effingham Herald.)

By Donald Heath

Special for the Effingham Herald



SPRINGFIELD – An early goal encouraged Effingham County’s soccer players Tuesday night against a squad physically bigger and faster.

The Rebels stayed even through 77 minutes, but Lakeside prevailed in overtime 2-1 in a Region 1-5A North clash.

Adam Pitts squeezed a shot into the top right-hand side of the goal past an ECHS defender and goalie Michael Deien for the game-winner with 2:06 to go in the first 10-minute overtime.

“We went up and I think the mentality became let’s play not to lose instead of playing to win,” ECHS coach Austin Czachowski said. “(The coaches) tried to tell them to give themselves a chance.”

It was the second straight subregion game when the Rebels scored an early goal and ended up losing. ECHS had the early lead against undefeated Evans before falling 5-2.

This time, Michael Otieno was pulled down in the penalty box, resulting in Kenneth Harn’s penalty-kick goal at 37:23 of first half to give the Rebels a 1-0 lead.

Lakeside scored the equalizer on Ethan Kirk’s goal midway through the first half. The Panthers peppered shots at the ECHS goal and held a 13-4 advantage about seven minutes into the second half.

But the Rebels didn’t fold. Deien had a solid second half with four of his seven saves in the 40-minute half and Otieno had a potential scoring run in the final minute of regulation that was stuffed by the Lakeside defense.

In the final minutes of the second overtime, Esteban Reyes corralled a loose ball in the box off a corner kick, but shot over the net in his attempt to tie the match.

ECHS was outshot 20-11, but had its share of scoring chances with an 8-1 edge in corner kicks.

“After the game I told the kids I was proud of them,” Czachowski said. “They fought hard and never gave up. They had an opportunity to win, but that’s the nature of soccer. Keep your heads up.”

Friday, the Rebels lost another tight match, falling on the road to Greenbrier 3-2. The ECHS boys record dropped to 2-5 overall, 0-3 in Region 1-5A play.

Marisol Miller
No. 23 Marisol Miller tries to kick the ball deep upfield late in the game vs Lady Panthers down 0-4. (Photo by Gilbert Miller/Effingham Herald.)
In the girls' game Tuesday, Lakeside defeated Effingham County 5-0. Three nights later, the Lady Rebels fell to Greenbrier 9-0.

ECHS dropped to 2-5 overall, 0-3 in the subregion.

Friday, ECHS’ boys and girls will host rival South Effingham. The Mustangs (4-2 this season) have dominated the series on the boys side lately, posting a 9-0-2 record against the Rebels in the last eight years.

SEHS’ girls (4-3 this season) have won five of their last six games in the series. The teams split last year with the Rebels winning the first game 1-0 and the Mustangs taking the second game 2-1.