By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Push forward. The aggressive are rewarded.
Silver Creek shifted into attack mode in the second half and finally got rewarded with a late goal, completing a rally from an early deficit to conquer Bedford North Lawrence on a salty Saturday.
After the Stars struck first, the Dragons countered just before the half, then posted the go-ahead goal – by a freshman with small stature but a big foot – with five minutes left for a tense 2-1 victory. Silver Creek (3-2) handed BNL (2-6) its sixth straight loss.
BNL’s Saeben Arce connected midway through the first half, but the Dragons got the equalizer from Kayden Dale at 3:47 in the first half and the eventual game winner from Logan Warth (a 5-foot-2 rookie) with 5:35 remaining.
Arce’s early goal was the result of a sensational, if not slow developing, individual move. Racing down the right side, he found open space and shifted into the middle of the box. He got isolated with the goalie, waited to dribble around him, then popped a soft shot into the net at 27:03.
“I took a second, saw two defenders, decided to cut around the goalie and poke it in,” Arce said. “Slowing down the game can be the best decision sometimes.”
Dale’s goal was the result of a more frantic pace. He charged in from the right side and cracked a shot that BNL goalie Owen Williams deflected with one hand. But Dale kept moving forward and won the race for the rebound goal.
The difference was Warth’s snappy goal. He took a centering pass and smacked home a shot into the left corner. Silver Creek won for the fourth time in the last five meetings (the teams tied in 2023). BNL last topped the Dragons in 2021.
“In the second half, we started to get a little tired, reverted back a little bit,” BNL coach Reeve Arce said. “This team, in the past, has been used to playing in the back, parking defenders back there and hoping to survive. We’ve been pushing them to pressure from the back, play in the attacking third. We did that in the first half. We had opportunities, finished one but didn’t finish the others.”
Despite the setback, BNL continued its transition in stance and style.
“We’re learning how to come out with heat, how to crash the goal,” BNL’s Weston Holtz said. “We’ve been a more defensive team, so it will take time to switch and learn to be more offensive.”
“We have a lot of talent on our team,” Saeben Arce said. “If we give it time, we’re getting better game after game. We just have to keep clicking and working as a team.”
BNL will host Columbus East on Tuesday.
”We keep stressing the team motto, being a better version of yourself,” Coach Arce said. “Keep your head up and find something to improve each day. It’s not where we start, it’s where we end. We stay positive and build them up.”
