Pace and flow created enough good opportunities in lifting Lowell boys soccer team to a 4-1 win over East Grand Rapids Tuesday night.
The win was also the Red Arrows eighth straight to start the season.
“For the most part we were comfortable in our play. We had a nice pace and flow, creating early opportunities,” Lowell soccer coach Rich O’Keefe explained. “It enabled us to score some early goals and put East on its heels.”
The Red Arrows (8-0, 2-0) will have little time to savor the win with a road game against defending conference champion and Division 2 state champion, Northview.
Defensively, Lowell was able to apply high and immediate pressure against the Pioneers, slowing down their transition attacks.
“The challenge is for us to do that for 80 minutes. We’ve done it in spurts,” O’Keefe said. ‘We need to continue to get better.”
A key element of that was the defensive play of senior Matt Kyllonen.
O”Keefe, though, was impressed with the play of the entire defensive line of Matt Hogenboom, Will Athmann (center) and outside defenders Grant Brueker,Alex Heffron and Sean Kohdl. “They all played well,” he said.
Kyllonen on an assist from Jeremy Wodarek got Lowell on the board first with a goal.
Shortly after, Alex Ligman followed with the game’s second goal on an assist from Spencer Lyon.
The 2-0 Red Arrow advantage stood up till half time.
East Grand Rapids gained some footing prior to half and early in the second half with its pressure. The Pioneers cut the deficit to one when Graham Pickett on a feed from Evan Groenink creased the Lowell net.
‘Your only going to hold a team like East down for so long,” O’Keefe said.
The Red Arrows regained its pace and netted the game’s last two goals.
Kyllonen posted his second goal of the game on an assist from Joe Sweet. The two seniors teamed up again in the second half, this time Kyllonen assisted Sweet.
“Our goal is not to be undefeated. It’s to compete every night, win the conference and to play well in the tourney,” O’Keefe concluded.
