Colorado Springs – David Trainer seemed to dribble the ball forever Tuesday night.
The Liberty junior raced down the left side, cut to his right and crossed the entire field before slicing a pass down to teammate Max Light. Light steamed in and crushed the ball from 23 yards out, beating Pine Creek goalie Ben Schneider to his far post to put an emphatic stamp on a 2-0 victory.
“It was a rip-and-a-half,” Trainer said. “He killed it. He’s done that all season long.”
With the victory, the top-ranked, Class 4A defending champions took control of the Colorado Springs Metro League title race, winning their seventh straight game and improving to 13-1, 5-0 in league.
Senior David Shumake scored the opening goal in the 23rd minute before Light’s wonder goal in the 52nd. Liberty goalie Spenser Lang made just one save as the Lancers recorded their 10th shutout of the season.
“This was a huge win for us, to defend our home turf,” Liberty coach Mike Goyden said.
Fourth-ranked Pine Creek (11-3, 6-1) had its nine-game winning streak snapped and lost for the first time this season to 4A competition.
The Eagles had a chance to make things interesting when they were awarded a penalty kick in the 70th minute. Leading scorer Sam Pinegar took the honors but ripped his shot high over the goal.
“If we had punched one in earlier, it would have made a difference,” Pine Creek coach Ben Corley said. “We had our chances early in the first half.”
The Lancers opened the scoring when Kyle Schafer pressured the Eagles’ defense into a turnover. Schafer stole the ball, raced on goal and had his shot pushed away by Schneider.
Schneider, however, could not control the rebound, and Shumake raced in and punched it into the vacant net.
The Eagles had success early with speedy flankers Nathan Ralphe and Tommy Tucker stretching the field and trying to funnel the ball in to strikers Anthony Juliano and Pinegar.
But Liberty didn’t get burned and put on an organized and physical defensive effort led by Sean Reed, Joey Royer and Josh Crotser. The Lancers eventually neutralized the Eagles’ direct game by pinning them down in the second half.
“We want to keep the line of confrontation high,” Goyden said. “We got to play the game 30 yards deep for us to be successful.”
Pine Creek 0 0 – 0
Liberty 1 1 – 2
Goals – Shumake (unassisted), 23rd minute; Light (Trainer), 52nd.
Shots on goal – Pine Creek 1-0 – 1; Liberty 4-4 – 8. Saves – Pine Creek (Schneider) 3-3 – 6; Liberty (Lang) 1-0 – 1. Offsides – Pine Creek 0-0 – 0; Liberty 0-2 – 2. Corner kicks – Pine Creek 1-2 – 3; Liberty 2-1 – 3. Fouls – Pine Creek 2-4 – 6; Liberty 7-7 – 14.
