Published: October 08, 2008 01:53 pm            

Berea shuts out Danville, 4-0

BEREA — For their final game on the Berea Community boys soccer team, Max Leetz, Riley Ambose and Silas Montgomery put on a show, sending the Pirates out on a 4-0 victory over Danville Tuesday in Berea.

“The effort tonight was extremely good,” Berea coach Casey Poynter said. “We came out to play and a lot of these guys wanted to get the other guys on the field. That made a big difference. A lot of the starting seniors wanted to see the other guys get time to play.”

Leetz, who is listed as a junior forward but is an exchange student from Germany, got the game started on a good note, scoring in the third minute. Both offenses were quiet for most of the rest of the half until Leetz got his second goal with 11:54 left before the break.

“Max came on and gave us a lot of energy,” Berea assistant coach Kelly Williams said. “We put him back in the midfield and he brought a lot of pace in. He’s good with the ball at his feet. He’s an international student, so this is his Senior Night as well. He completely changed the game when he came in. He always gives 110 percent. He’s a joy to coach.”

Ambrose, a senior midfielder, helped put Berea on the board again with just less than six minutes left in the half. Ambrose’s shot on goal was blocked by Danville junior goalkeeper Byron Hempel, Montgomery, a senior midfielder, was able to head the ball in the back of the net.

“I think that we could have possessed the ball a little bit more,” Williams said. “Our forwards and our midfielders could have been in motion a little bit more. I think all-in-all, I think we didn’t test their keeper enough from 25 yards out.”

Within five minutes of the start of the second half, Leetz found the back of the net again when Ambrose threaded him the ball from the left wing.

“It was Senior Night and there were high emotions,” Williams said. “Our energy was great. I think everyone put their best effort forward and we got a great result. We’re always happy with four goals. They played well in the second half and gave a better effort.”

Berea’s final regular-season game will be at 7:30 p.m. Thursday against West Jessamine in Nicholasville. The Pirates’ first game of the district tournament will be at 7:45 Tuesday at Memorial Field in Richmond.

“We’re going to be working on getting more touches on the ball and keeping our defense organized,” Williams said. “Those are our main concerns right now. I think our defense is playing well. We’ve only given up one goal in two games. We’re going to keep working on that and keep organized.”

        

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