Tigers advance to sectional final

Will Willems, The Lebanon Reporter, Ind.
·2 min read

Oct. 6—LAFAYETTE — For just the third time in school history, the Lebanon boys soccer team will play in a sectional championship game.

The Tigers topped Kokomo 2-0 on Wednesday night at Loeb Stadium in Lafayette, and advance to the title game on Saturday at 7 p.m.

They will play Harrison in the final.

"It's great to advance, especially being in 3A for the first time and we played a team in Kokomo that we haven't played in years," Lebanon head coach Scott Milam said. "Kokomo played us really well the entire game, and getting that result with all the pressure was great."

The Tigers got first-half goals from Treyton Achor and Joel Acton to grab the lead, and held on from there.

Milam said it was big for the Tigers to get out to a lead against the Wildkats.

"It helped us relax a little bit," Milam said. "A 2-0 lead is one of the worst to have in my opinion, but we held them off in the second half. Our backline and midfield held strong throughout."

The Tigers shut out an opponent for the fifth time in the last 10 games.

The team had just one shutout in the first eight games, but have gelled together well as the season has gone on.

"Early in the year, we were trying some people in different positions," Milam said. "Once we got that settled and they started playing well together — it's been the communication, the clearances and being in the right spots at the right time have been important. Hopefully that continues on."

It will be the first appearance in the sectional title game since 2017 for the Tigers.

One of their previous two title match appearances was against Harrison, back in 2016. Milam said the Tigers have to just stay focused on what they do well.

"We have to be flawless," Milam said. "We can't make simple mistakes and give them extra opportunities while taking advantage of ours. They have a quality midfield and quality forwards, so we have to be ready for that."

WeBo falls to Cascade

The season came to an end for the Western Boone boys soccer team on Wednesday night.

The Stars fell to Cacade 5-1.

WeBo trailed 2-1 with 18 minutes left in the first half, but the Cadets added two goals before the intermission, then added another in the second half.

The Stars finished the season 2-12.

Will Willems is the Sports Editor of the Lebanon Reporter. Follow him on Twitter @Will_Willems.