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Crown Point’s Lomeli gets clincher in semifinals
Updated: October 22, 2011 10:39PM
Christian Lomeli had played on the field until he was 12 years old, but the senior goalkeeper hadn’t taken a penalty kick in a competitive situation since his freshman season at Crown Point.
Still, he calmly and coolly helped the Bulldogs reach the Class 2A Warsaw boys soccer semistate championship on Saturday.
Lomeli converted the clinching penalty kick as Crown Point defeated Noblesville 5-4 in PKs in the semifinals, after the teams had played to a scoreless tie through regulation and overtime.
“It feels awesome,” Lomeli said. “There was a little pressure, but I got past it.”
The Bulldogs (14-6-2) made all five of their penalty kicks, with the Millers (15-4-2) sending their second PK over the crossbar.
“He’s been put in that position a lot of times, and he buried it,” Crown Point coach JR Rosenbaum said of Lomeli. “He’s faced that hundreds of times. He knows what the shooters are going to do.”
The game was generally evenly played, with the Bulldogs having a slight advantage overall, particularly crisp with their passing. Crown Point outshot Noblesville 8-6. Lomeli made four saves, playing an aggressive game in an attempt to cut off opportunities, and Dayton Jennings made five for the Millers.
“I think we had the better run of play, I think we tried to play the better soccer,” Rosenbaum said. “But they have an amazing back line. ... I think the result was deserved.”
The Bulldogs won the game without Martin Mitreski, who sat out the semifinal because of an accumulation of yellow cards. The senior midfielder returned for the final against Warsaw, which topped Fort Wayne Carroll 2-0 in the semifinals.
“It is a testament to our team and how deep we are,” Rosenbaum said.
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