By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
KEIZER, Ore.– Tuesday evening’s game between McNary and Lakeridge lived up to the hype.
Both were playoff teams last season, and both entered the season ranked in the Top 10 in the 6A Coaches Poll. The Pacers ranked thrid to the Celtics 16th. At the halftime break, the two squads were knotted up at one-apiece as the two squads opened the season at McNary High School. Fernando Zepeda had the goal for the Celtics in the opening half.
The physicality. The passion. The intensity. It was all there as the two teams battled it out in the second half. It was one of those games that you wanted to see right off the bat to see where you are as a team moving forward with the season.
“I saw a lot of good things, but I also saw a lot of things to improve on. We’re not 100 percent in shape. We lost the possession in the physicality too quickly. We fixed it in the second half. These are the things we’ll need to improve. More pressure on the ball so we can create opportunities with the ball,” said the Celtics Head Coach Miguel Camarena
Lakeridge pulled ahead early in the second half off a PK, and McNary held the Pacers to that goal for the remainder of the game that gave their offense a chance to try to find the tying goal during the final minutes of the game.
They had a golden opportunity to bring the game even in the 73rd minute when Zepeda lined up for a PK himself in what was a 2-1 ballgame at the time. Unfortunately, it was saved by Lakeridge’s Olanda Tangkjaer that helped Lakeridge seal the victory. From that moment, the Pacers kept the ball from entering their defensive back-end to help solidify that 2-1 victory in favor of the Pacers on Tuesday night.
Lakeridge will host Mountainside for their home opener on Thursday while the Celtics will host Grant on Thursday for their second home game of the season.
