RAF LAKENHEATH, England – The girls varsity game Friday between SHAPE and Lakenheath came down to the height of the goalie. Maggie Ehrich, a SHAPE sophomore, was in the midfield at RAF Lakenheath. The game was tied at 1-1 and her team wanted to make a shot at the goal.
“We were planning on shooting because we knew the goalie isn’t that tall, and she couldn’t like get the ball,” Ehrich said.
So from what Ehrich called “pretty far away,” she took a high-arcing shot that made it past the goalie and brought SHAPE to 2-1, giving the team from Belgium a repeat of its March victory over Lakenheath.
Ehrich’s shot came after what her coach, Shawn Whitehurst, characterized as a problematic performance in the first half. He said his team did not keep the ball in the middle of the field enough, a problem that led to them not taking enough shots at the Lakenheath goal.
“One thing is for sure, Lakenheath was playing harder than us in the first half,” Whitehurst said.
SHAPE’s victory brings its record to 3-0, while Lakenheath fell to 1-3-1.
The Lakenheath boys were able to continue the girls’ strong performance during the first half of their game, stalemating SHAPE in a scoreless first half.
Within the first five minutes of the second half, however, SHAPE managed to net an unusual point. A penalty kick by Adrian Domijan, a SHAPE freshman, was blocked initially by Lakenheath’s goalie, Christian Huizar. But Huizar could not keep control of the ball and it popped out of his grip in front of the goal.
Domijan used this as a way to get a second chance at his kick and scored SHAPE’s first goal of the evening.
Lakenheath eventually fell 2-0, a loss that came as a result of what Lakenheath coach Paul Estrada called SHAPE’s ability to deny the Lancers shots by adopting a strategy tailor made to counter Lakenheath.
“We didn’t adjust right,” Estrada said. “I could tell we were properly scouted.”
Historically, SHAPE is a formidable team. It beat the Lakenheath boys in March and is undefeated for the season at 3-0 after going 4-1 in the region last year. Estrada attributed the winning record to a good pool of talent by being in Belgium, “where football reigns supreme.”
“They’re always going to be a solid school …” Estrada said. “Unfortunately for us, we’re a Division One school, but just barely. We don't quite have the talent pool that some of these other schools do.”
Lakenheath’s loss brings its record to 2-3.
