Flashy first half carries Faribault

The Faribault boys soccer team scored five first half goals and coasted to victory against Lake City Saturday in Lake City.

The Falcons connected five minutes into regulation when Cody Johannsen found the back of the net after a misplay by the Tigers defense.

They scored again five minutes later at 30:51 on nifty footwork by Jacob Kohl. After the second goal, Lake City (2-9, 1-2 HVL) immediately turned the ball over, allowing Faribault to quickly move up the field and score on a shot from just outside the penalty box by Nathaniel Vanloon.

With three goals and 10 shots on goal in 10 minutes of play, the Tigers were rattled. They were also without five starters dealing with injuries and sickness, Lake City coach Paul Oliver said. The players taking their place struggled to gel from the start.

“We were too worked up,” Lake City junior Nick Ziebell said. “I think we wanted to win too badly.”

The Falcons scored twice more in the first half, one on an arching corner kick headed past the keeper and the second with less than eight minutes left before halftime on a booming shot by the Faribault striker.

“We had some new guys in there the first half and it took them awhile to get a feel for things,” Oliver said. “We tried a different defensive scheme to compensate for some of the people who were missing.

“It didn’t blend. Communication was lacking. Speed kind of killed us.”

Coming out of the break trailing 5-0, the Tigers subbed-in a couple junior varsity players and their energy caught the Falcons on their heels.

Lake City and Faribault traded shots until the 10-minute mark when a beautiful through ball by Ziebell found the foot of freshman Jonah Kroll who put a shot from just inside the left side of the penalty box by the Falcons’ goalie.

The Tigers caught Faribault out of position again with one minute remaining when Lake City junior Jack Falvey headed a pass to himself and put a floating shot from just outside the penalty box over the Faribault keeper’s outstretched arms.

Kroll put another attempt just wide with 28 seconds left, capping an impressive half from the underclassman. He did not get any playing time in the first half.

“He’s a good player,” Oliver said. “He’s up and coming. I’m looking forward to him for the next number of years.”

Oliver told his players at halftime to loosen up and focus on having fun. The plan worked and the Tigers outplayed a faster and more talented Faribault team in the second half.

“Going into every single game we play to win and forget to have some fun,” Ziebell said. “We get tense and lose. Coming out being the underdog we always want to show everybody up.”

The Tigers play Thursday at P-E-M.

Tags: lake city, sports, soccer, prep