Late goal sinks Saxony in Class 1 semis

A tight battle for the duration of the contest saw the Saxony Lutheran Crusaders fall 2-1 to the Summit Christian Academy Eagles in the Class 1 state semifinals at World Wide Technology Soccer Park in Fenton.

“I thought we played really well today,” Crusaders coach Chris Crawford said. “We didn’t finish a couple opportunities that we had but we defended well. Overall, it was a really good performance and obviously we’re disappointed with the results but when we look back on it we’re going to see that we played a good game.”

Early on in the contest, the Crusaders carried the pace of the game, generating the first good scoring chance of the game.

However, it was the Eagles cashing in first as Grace Hay put home a rebound to make it 1-0 Eagles in the 24th minute.

Hay’s strike began an onslaught of momentum and possession time for Summit Christian as the Eagles controlled the next 20 minutes of play after the Crusaders controlled the first 10 minutes.

“We knew our strength was defense and that their strength was offense,” Crawford said. “They had a ton of momentum (after they scored) and we weathered the storm.”

Credit to the Crusaders, they kept it a one-goal game and they finally cashed in with Mallory Kohlfeld finishing off a beautiful cross into the box to even the contest at 1-1 in the 34th minute.

“Mal put a big shot in for us,” Crawford said. “I thought it was a back-and-forth battle.”

The goal by Kohlfeld sent the two clubs into halftime tied at 1-1.

Out of the half, the tightly-contested matchup continued, as neither team was able to get anything going offensively.

With just 11 minutes remaining, the Eagles threatened with a strong rush into the box, but Saxony Lutheran’s Grace Ozark made a terrific save lunging to her right to keep the game tied.

It appeared as if the game was destined to go to overtime, but a late rush by the Eagles saw Brynne McFarland cash in a rebound with just 40 seconds left to make it 2-1 Eagles.

The Crusaders were unable to generate anything in the final seconds as the late goal proved to be the backbreaker as they fell 2-1.

With the loss, Saxony Lutheran (13-7) will take on Laquey for third-place in Class 1 at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 1, at World Wide Technology Soccer Park in Fenton.

“We went and watched Laquey play and they have some talent,” Crawford said. “Our goal when we came up was that we were going to win on Saturday no matter what.”