Facing Elimination

The Aces traveled to North Penn this evening for a 2nd round District Playoff game. They were accompanied by their loyal parent & student body following, knowing that the season was on the line. Also, LM had lost both of their night games this season and were looking to remedy that situation. With league champion Conestoga losing on PK's to Souderton the Aces were the last hope for the Central League.

LM carried the play for the 1st 10 minutes or so before North Penn slowly took over. With just 13 minutes played North Penn capitalized on a scrum in front of the Aces' net to take an early 1-0 lead. About 7 minutes later NP were the recipients of a very controversial penalty kick call, and all of a sudden LM was in a 2-0 hole. It was a very physical game, with the refs having trouble taking control.

In the 2nd half the Aces got just what they needed, a quick goal to put them back in the game. Matt Lindheim lifted a beautiful long free kick just over the North Penn defensive line and junior David Baer headed it home to cut the lead in half. However LM still had their hands full as NP was a strong, quick team, with good height in the defensive end. Despite North Penn's very physical play the Aces weren't shy about giving it back. As time wound down LM got several great scoring opportunities coming off long throw-ins, free kicks, & corners. They fought til the end, giving it everything they had, but just couldn't put another one in the net. The game ended 2-1 and the Aces season was over.

It's always tough to end your season with a loss, but considering all this team had to overcome they should feel very proud of what they accomplished. They returned only a few starters from last year, and the new "Academy Rule" took away 4 of their better players. Despite this they finished in a tie for 2nd place in the Central League (just 2 points behind champion Conestoga), had a 14-4-1 overall record, and went to the 2nd round of the District 1 Playoffs. Congrats to all the players & coaches.