AVON — The Red teams breezed to victory at the Lorain County Soccer Coaches Association All-Star Games on Saturday.
Actually, “breezed” is an understatement.
It was more like they hurricaned or cycloned to victory because a stiff and constant north wind was a factor in the outcomes.
The boys Red team routed Blue 10-0 in the opener and girls Red torched Blue 4-0 in the nightcap. Of the 14 goals, all but two were kicked into the net at the south end of the field, chiefly because the Red teams had the wind at their backs most of the time.
The girls game was called at halftime because of dropping temperatures and a nonstop rain that was whipped in sheets across Avon Stadium’s water-logged artificial turf by the relentless wind.
In the boys game, Wellington’s A.J. Hyde, the Division II player of the year, and Adam Severs of Lake Ridge, Division III player of the year, each scored a hat trick for the boys Red squad. Southview’s Josh Morris added a pair and Shawn Bell, his Saints teammate, scored one.
As if things weren’t difficult enough, the Blues gave up a point when they scored an own-goal in the 55th minute.
“I am absolutely freezing,” Hyde said later in front of a press box heater. “I can’t feel anything in my body right now. But this means a lot, because it’s (against) the best players in the county and a hat trick is always nice.”
“This was fun, but my hands and feet are numb right now,” Severs said. “But our regional game at Brunswick against St. Thomas Aquinas, it was worse than this. It must have been 10 or 15 degrees colder and it was sleeting the whole time.”    
The weather as a factor was not lost on the Blue team’s Kevin Squire, an Open Door midfielder.
“It wasn’t the reason, but the wind was blowing for us in the first half but not the second,” said Squire. “They (Red) came out real strong the second half.”
Squire gave the Blue team its two best chances when he put a shot on net near the right goal post in the eighth minute and sent a nice crossing pass in front to Firelands’ A.J. Yorks in the 14th minute. But Red team keeper Ryan Tucker saved his shot and moved off his line to prevent a shot by Yorks.
In the girls game, Firelands’ Elizabeth Kozlowski, the state’s leading Division II assist-maker, and her Falcons teammate Rachael Melendez, the leading goal-scorer in Ohio, both scored in the Red team’s shutout. Melendez assisted on Kozlowski’s goal in the 17th minute.
Red also got goals from Angela Gorka of Brookside and Wellington’s Morgan Ziegler. Goalkeeper Amanda Herzberger of Avon Lake was forced to make only one save because the Blues got off only two shots, only one on goal.
It was the final official match for Avon’s Megan Repas, who ended her high school career on her home field playing for the Blue team.
“It was a fun game, but it was too miserable, too cold and no one wanted to be out there,” Repas said. “The field was a puddle.”
It was also the finale for Melendez, whose 60 goals this season were 21 better than the next-best girl in the state and 16 more than the boys’ leader, regardless of division.
“This is it,” Melendez said. “This is actually the best ending to one of the best years I’ve had. We had a good season. My hat’s off to the Firelands girls (who finished 12-3-1). We had an awesome season this year.”
Kozlowski said she did not object when the match was halted after 40 minutes.
“I don’t really remember much about the match because it’s really cold out,” she said, “and the wind made it 10 times worse.”
Contact Bob Daniels at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.

Boys game

Red 10, Blue 0

GOALS: (R) A.J. Hyde 3, Adam Severs 3, Josh Morris 2, Shawn Bell, Blue own-goal
ASSISTS: (R) A. Severs, Ben Pabst
SHOTS: Blue 9, Red 20
SHOTS ON GOAL: Blue 2, Red 10
SAVES: (B) Ryan Tucker 2, Adam Turnik, 0; (R) Andrew Wimmer 2, Kurt Innes 0
FOULS: Blue 1, Red 6
CORNER KICKS: Red 3
GOAL KICKS: Blue 7, Red 6
CARDS: None
HALFTIME: Red, 2-0

Girls game

Red 4, Blue 0

GOALS: Elizabeth Kozlowski, Rachael Melendez, Angela Gorka, Morgan Ziegler
ASSISTS: Melendez
SHOTS: Blue 2, Red 12
SHOTS ON GOAL: Blue 1, Red 5
SAVES: Cheryl Lindsly1, Amanda Herzberger 1
FOULS: None
CORNER KICKS: Red 2
GOAL KICKS: Blue 4, Red 1
CARDS: None

LCSCA Awards

Boys
Players of the year
Division I – Nick Siko, Avon Lake
Division II – A.J. Hyde, Wellington
Division III – Adam Severcs, Lake Ridge
Coaches of the year
Division I – Jimmie Fossie, Southview
Division II – Chris Dore, Avon; Kenny Searight, Firelands; Mike Wisnor, Elyria Catholic
Division III – Ryan McRaild, Lake Ridge
Assistants of the year
Division I – Mike Murphy and Gary Gonzalez, Amherst
Division II – Matt Johnson, Avon
Division III – No award
Girls
Players of the year
Division I – Trisha Wladecki, Avon Lake
Division II – Rachael Melendez, Firelands
Coaches of the year
Division I – Kiko Lopez, Avon Lake
Division II – Tony Demacchia, Avon
Assistants of the year
Division I – Stan Hughes, Midview
Division II – Dan Repas, Avon 

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