Mansfield Christian boys’ soccer coach Jesse Rider likes playing against Ohio Cardinal Conference teams, most of whom are significantly larger than the Flames in terms of student enrollment.
His OCC counterparts are probably not feeling the same way today.
That’s because Mansfield Christian (11-1) ran its record to 4-1 this season against OCC schools with a decisive 3-1 win over the league-leading Ashland Arrows (6-4-3 overall, 5-0-2 in the OCC) on Thursday night.
“It is what it is. It’s fun to play against teams from the OCC,” the first-year head coach said after the game at Comstock Field on the Mansfield Christian School campus. “They have some very good teams and it will be fun come (OCC) tournament time to see who comes through to win it.”
If the Flames were in the OCC, odds are good they would get the top seed in the tournament. MCS has beaten Ashland, Lexington, Madison and Clear Fork this season. Its only loss was to Mansfield Senior when the Flames were missing a few key players.
Mansfield Christian, ranked 7th in the state among Division III schools in the most recent poll, dominated play in both halves. The Flames finished with 26 shots on goal, compared to just seven for the Arrows. MCS also had 13 corner kicks, compared to just two for the Arrows.
“I thought what Mansfield Christian did in both halves really well was transition from offense to defense,” Ashland coach Chad Williams said. “They are the best team I have seen this year in making that transition.”
Despite controlling the pitch, Mansfield Christian didn’t get on the scoreboard until the 7:33 mark of the first half. That’s when junior Brendan Ernsberger headed in a corner kick off the foot of junior Nate Adam, one of eight corners the Flames earned in the first half.
Ernsberger made it 2-0 less than 75 seconds into the second half on an unassisted goal. He dribbled in from the left side and slammed the ball into the right corner of the net, beating Ashland goalkeeper Gabe Kral, who finished with 13 saves on the night.
MCS senior Josh Cochran notched the Flames’ third goal with 21:18 left in the game, assisted by sophomore Brandon Mount and junior Bailey Cramer.
Ashland finally got on the board with 42 seconds left to play when Michael Meixner dribbled cleanly through the Mansfield Christian defense and rocketed the ball past MCS goalkeeper Caleb Young, who finished with six saves.
A trio of Mansfield Christian defenders – senior Matt Millard, sophomore Stevie Brown and senior Matthias Meiers – frustrated the Ashland attack throughout the game, shutting down high scoring Ashland forward Dakota Estep.
“In the second half, I thought our defense really stepped up,” Rider said. “It was probably the best defense we have played as a unit this season.
“Our game plan really does not change from game to game. We want to control the ball, maintain possession and limit the other team’s opportunities. In the second half, I think we really picked things up,” Rider said.
Williams praised the work of Cochran, most of which came in the midfield. “He is really a nice player. They play three defenders back and he just kinds of floats to whereever the ball is.”
Rider agreed. “Josh did a great job tonight of helping us eliminate the Ashland attacks and taking the ball back the other way,” he said.
Williams didn’t find much good to say about his own team’s efforts. “The only positive thing tonight is this was not a tournament game and we aren’t going home. That’s about it,” he said. His team is back in action at home Tuesday in the OCC tournament against West Holmes.
On Saturday at 1:30, the Flames have a huge rematch from a year ago when they host Western Reserve Academy, the state’s No.-3 ranked Division III school. MCS fell to WRA last year.
“It was our only regular season loss last year and it will be fun to see how we match up against them this season,” Rider said.
Ashland did win the JV match on Thursday, topping the Flames, 4-2.
