by Richard Creaser
copyright the Chronicle 9-11-2013
ORLEANS — What the Lake Region Rangers failed to accomplish in 80 minutes they managed to do in 40 seconds of overtime play on Tuesday — beat Lamoille Lancer keeper Bennett Anderson. Alex Beauregard capped off an afternoon of solid play by beating Anderson on the left side, burying a pass from Austin Roberge to win the game.
“It was a perfect ball right to my feet,” Beauregard said of the pass.
On a day when finishing the play eluded the Rangers, Beauregard’s charge down the right side finally yielded results. That the results came during Lake Region’s home opener only sweetened the victory.
“It should have been over long before,” Lamoille Head Coach Phil Rogers said after the game. “They controlled the pace from the start. We had more than our share of luck.”
Luck may have played some part in the close score but the superb play of Anderson in goal was what enabled the Lancers to keep up with the Rangers. Time and again the Rangers broke through to attack and Anderson was seemingly always perfectly positioned to break up the play.
“He played a brilliant game,” Lake Region Head Coach Tom Evans said. “There’s no doubt about it, he was on top of his game. We should have broke it wide open.”
Coach Evans was pleased with the intensity and control his team showed on the pitch Tuesday. The team’s inability to convert some of its chances was frustrating, he added.
“We did some really good stuff,” Coach Evans said. “But we weren’t finishing. Alex got his goal and it was a beautiful thing.”
Coach Rogers commended the effort the Lancers put on the field. Allowing the Rangers to control the flow of the game was not a highlight but the fact that they remained competitive against a strong Lake Region squad was a positive note.
“They played the whole game,” Coach Rogers said. “They played every minute. They never gave up.”
Both Coach Evans and Coach Rogers expect an even higher caliber of play as the season wears on. Coach Evans said that this year’s Ranger’s squad is very young with only three returning starters from last season.
“I like the style of play we showed,” Coach Evans said. “There were times when we played kick and run and that was to their advantage. But on the whole we had a solid game.”
The Rangers return to action on September 13 when they host Lyndon Institute at 4:30 p.m.
contact Richard Creaser at [email protected].
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