VERNON — Badger’s earned a strong reputation in the Northeastern Athletic Conference. The Braves have been one of the top dogs in the league for years now. And that just means they’re getting everyone’s best shot.
On Thursday, Lordstown’s shot was good enough, and the Red Devils upended the Braves for the first time since 2017, beating Badger 2-1.
“The approach today was to try to control things defensively. We wanted to control the ball as much as we could. We were trying to play it into open space in the outside wings and keep it out of the middle,” Lordstown coach Eric Lloyd said. “We figured that that was probably the best approach to try to keep our center backs tight, and it seemed to work out pretty well.”
After 20 minutes of scoreless play, Lloyd and the Red Devils saw an opening. If they could do that, it was anyone’s game.
“I told them if we could hold them (off the scoreboard) for 20 minutes, that we really gave ourselves the best shot,” Lloyd said. “When we got to 20 minutes and there was no score, I was just like, ‘We’re there, guys. We’re there.’ These guys have got so much heart. This team, it’s unbelievable. I’m just so proud of all of them. They’re just great guys.”
With 12 minutes left in the first half, that opening paid off with a goal as senior Ganon Force got the Red Devils on the board.
It took until the midway point of the second half for either team to find the back of the net again. Badger junior Silas Harnett got the goal on a penalty kick.
Less than 10 minutes later, Jonah Force broke the deadlock to give Lordstown the advantage again.
As the time crept down, the intensity only ramped up. Badger got more aggressive, but the Red Devil defense stifled them at every turn.
“Tonight they just made it their mission to not let anything get past them, and they just knocked it down. They just did so good,” Lloyd said. “Moving the ball around, being creative, all the things that you’re supposed to do – that’s what we were doing tonight, and I’m just really pleased with them. It became a dogfight for the last 10 to 15 minutes. There was just a lot of back-and-forth. It was like watching foosball, but our guys are a tough team.”
When the clock hit zero, Lordstown’s excitement was apparent. The Devils had lost the last 16 contests against the Braves.
“This has been a thorn for us,” Lloyd said. “We’ve wanted to take one from these guys for so long, and we’ve just never even had a chance. Tonight they had their chance, and they took it.”
Now, the Red Devils (6-2-1) hope to parlay this win into some momentum going forward. With a league game against Grand Valley scheduled for Tuesday, the challenges continue.
“If we continue playing above the line like we did tonight, and keep this emotion going, and keep doing what we did out there on the field, keeping our heads and having good responses (to adversity),” Lloyd said. “Our guys just rose above it the whole time, and that’s how you have to play. If you do that, and you stick together, you keep controlling those things that you can control, you’ll be in a good spot for the playoffs.”
This serves as a gut check for the Braves. It’s never a pleasant experience, but Badger coach Scott Smith mentioned how it can turn the season around if they respond correctly.
“I’m more curious about how my team mentally responds,” Smith said. “Knowing that we had a disappointing game, disappointing result, just seeing their response to the situation. It definitely is not ideal, but I always feel a gut check is almost necessary. Honestly, sometimes it can be the best thing that’s ever happened to you.
“We need to recognize that what we did wasn’t our style. It wasn’t how we like to play, and it wasn’t good enough from front to back. I can’t say there were many people that played their game, and I wanna see if they’ll be able to adjust to recognize our issues. We’ll have a hard practice tomorrow, and then come back and rely on each other and rely on ourselves to dictate how we want to play.”
Badger (4-3-2, 3-1-1) takes on Girard on Monday.
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