Eagles return to state semifinals with 3-0 blanking of Avon Lake

As long as the smothering defense continues to smother and the explosive offense continues to explode, the magical season of the Avon boys soccer team will continue. The latest installment came Sunday evening at Amherst, when the Eagles trounced archrival Avon Lake in a Division II regional final, 3-0. Avon, 15-2-3, will play Brecksville-Broadview Heights in a state semifinal at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Twinsburg High School. Avon and Brecksville played to a 2-2 tie back on September 27. “I’m feeling excitement, but I’m not satisfied,” said senior defender Logan Fitchko. “I want to go out and win the whole thing. I want to go next week, and I want to win that game, come out strong and just dominate the competition.” That’s exactly what the Eagles have been doing since that tie against Brecksville. They have played eight matches since then, going 7-0-1 while outscoring the opponents, 30-1. Two of those matches were against Avon Lake. First came a 2-0 victory that earned Avon the Southwestern Conference title, and the second was Sunday’s whitewashing. The Shoremen ended the season with an 18-2-2 mark while giving up just 11 goals. The only two losses were against Avon, and five of the 11 goals were scored by the Eagles. “I’m ecstatic,” said coach Chris Dore. “You just never know what’s going to happen in big games like this, especially when you play against a really good team that’s won 18 games this year. I’m just happy we were able to rise to the occasion and do what almost no other team in our school’s history has been able to do so far.” The only other time the Avon boys program has gotten this far is 2021 when the Eagles lost to eventual Division I state champion St. Ignatius in a state semifinal, 1-0. It was the 12th shutout of the season for Avon and goalkeeper Oliver Dobrovic, but in this one, the lanky senior was hardly tested. He was only asked to save four shots on goal, and none of the saves were particularly challenging. In fact, Avon Lake’s best chances to score came on shots that missed the goal frame, twice going over the crossbar and twice going wide to the left. “I think the last month, month and a half, our back line has been playing lights out,” said Dore. “You know, it’s nice when goalkeepers come up with every save they’re supposed to, and even a couple that they’re not. But when they don’t get tested all that much, it’s a testament to the back line. But in this sport, you’ve got to defend all over the field with the whole team. Team defending is going to win us games.” Avon only had five shots on goal, but the Eagles were incredibly efficient, scoring on three of them. The first goal came midway through the first half when junior London Carnie redirected with his head a cross from senior Brock Harman. The team’s leading scorer, Harman showed a burst of speed to split two defenders, creating enough time and space to send his pass right in front of the Avon Lake goal. “He’s talented,” said Dore of Harman. “He’s a talented player. Sometimes attacking players feel like they have to take over and dominate the whole game, but, really, they just have to be big in certain moments. Goal scorers can hide themselves in little bits of time, but then they find themselves in situations where they can just create, and that’s what he’s been doing for us all year. He’s a very valuable attacking player, one of our best, for sure.” Harman also assisted on Avon’s second goal less than 5 minutes into the second half. He appeared to be dribbling toward the right sideline but found Mateo Muratore with a clever back heel pass. The junior then used his left foot to curve his laser shot just inside the far post, making it 2-0. With 12:34 to play, junior Valentino Cruzado completed the scoring. Mark Dushaj had a shot that Avon Lake keeper Lukas Pentz was able to block from point-blank range, but he was unable to secure the ball and Cruzado easily put it into the nets. It was the first time Avon Lake had allowed three goals the entire season. “I believe that’s the most they’ve given up all year.,” said Dore “They’re an unbelievable team. They’ve had a great year, and they have nothing to be ashamed of. But it’s nice to put not just one in, but then a second and then a third. I was still tense after the second goal, but the third one is nice, a good feeling.”