High school soccer; Buckeye boys cruise to win over Lincoln West

YORK TWP. — It was clear from the start that it wouldn't be a matter of if the Buckeye boys soccer team was going to win its Division II, Northeast 4 Sectional semifinal game, but by how much. The fifth-seeded Bucks were in control throughout and smashed 13th-seeded Lincoln West 7-0 Tuesday to advance to face a familiar foe in Rocky River in the sectional final Saturday. Buckeye (10-3-4) used the soccer version of a run-and-shoot offense to perfection, scoring three goals in five minutes and four in 10 to put the game out of reach early in the first half. "We wanted to put pressure on and get goals as early as we could and get shots on goal as early as we could," Buckeye coach Andrew Coccia said. "We tried to put the match out of reach as early as possible." Jese Nkemanyang got things started, taking a feed from Sam O'Brien and finishing to make it 1-0 Buckeye 8:08 into the contest. The two switched roles on the Bucks next tally when Nkemanyang set up O'Brien for a 2-0 lead 47 seconds later. Buckeye goalkeeper Chase Miller (5 saves) got into the scorebook for a different reason than just making saves just over four minutes later when the junior buried a penalty kick. It was his only mark in the stat sheet in the first 40 as the Buckeye defense didn't allow the Wolverines (5-9-1) to put a shot on goal until midway through the second half. Despite not seeing much action at the outset, Miller was ready when the rare ball got through the defense in the second half. "It's playoffs, man," he said. "You have to stay focused. The playoffs are my main driving goal. Stay focused and I always want to keep a clean sheet." While the Buckeye defense was dominant in the limited action at its end, much of the Bucks' success was due to the defense and midfield's ability to get the ball high and long to set up the Buckeye forwards. "Normally we don't like to attack that way," Coccia said. "It was because of the way they were defending us that gave us some opportunities to go a little bit more direct than we are used to. It's a credit to the team that we can play multiple styles." A pair of Spencer Dreibelbis goals sandwiched another O'Brien goal, and it was all Buckeye as it built a 6-0 lead before the break. "It was important for us to get off to a quick start and put pressure on them," Dreibelbis said. "It got our spirits up and we kept attacking." The dominating performance allowed the Bucks to play everyone who suited up for the game and get some rest for a big matchup with Rocky River. It will be the second meeting between the Great Lakes Conference members this season. They battled to a scoreless tie on Aug. 25. "They are always well coached," Coccia said of the Pirates. "They are well organized and they are very good on set pieces. We have to be prepared. We have to be disciplined. It's going to be a tough match, and it always is against them." Contact Chad Grant at sports@medina-gazette.com. Buckeye 7, Lincoln West 0 Division II, Northeast 4 Sectional Semifinal BUCKEYE 6 1 — 7 LINCOLN WEST 0 0 — 0 First B — Jese Nkemanyang (Sam O'Brien), 8:08 B — O'Brien (Nkemanyang), 8:55 B — Chase Miller (penalty kick), 12:57 B — Spencer Dreibelbis (Lucas Miller), 18:55 B — O'Brien (Dreibelbis), 29:54 B — Dreibelbis (Hamza Alnadi), 34:28 Second B — Jackson Powell (Dreibelbis), 7:01 Shots on goal — Lincoln West 5, Buckeye 16. Corner kicks — Lincoln West 0, Buckeye 4. Saves — Jafari Byamungu (L) 8, Shabani Mlbeinge (L) 1, Miller (B) 5. Records — Lincoln West (5-9-1), Buckeye (10-3-4).