By SCOTT NOVAK
Vigilant/Argus

NILES – A close match turned into a bit of a rout Monday afternoon as visiting Edwardsburg posted a 7-0 Lakeland Conference victory over host Brandywine.

Leading just 3-0, the Eddies scored four goals in eight minutes.

Edwardsburg led 2-0 at halftime on goals by Climente Martinez.

Connor Smith scored twice in the second half for the Eddies, who also got goals from Zak Karamalegos, Chris Hotrum and Daniel Holston.

Karamalegos’ goal made it 3-0 early in the second half, but it wasn’t until the 70th minute that the Eddies exploded on offense.

Smith scored the first of his two goals in the 70th minute, while Hotrum struck for a goal a minute later and then Smith scored again in the 72nd minute.

Holston finished the barrage with a goal in the 78th minute.

It appeared that Edwardsburg had scored an eighth goal a minute later off a direct kick, but the official did not allow it because the Eddies, after asking to have the wall moved back a full 10 feet, kicked the ball too early.

“We just ran out of gas,” Brandywine coach Jim McNamara said. “We played really well right up to that point. Edwardsburg just keeps running players at you and they are talented players.”

Edwardsburg held a commanding 22-1 advantage in shots on goal against the Bobcats.
Jason Andrews had 15 saves for Brandywine.

“Brandywine played a good game defensively and their keeper made a lot of good saves for them,” Edwardsburg coach Ryan Rozenkranz said. “I think with our conditioning and our talent we are able to wear some teams down. That kind of happened to them a little bit there at the end of the second half.”

Rosenkranz said that he switched some players around and that his squad was not happy with a 2-0 lead at halftime and came out with a purpose.

“We took it right at them,” he said. “We were able to finish.”

Edwardsburg…7
Brandywine…0
Halftime score
Edwardsburg 2, Brandywine 0

First half
E – Climente Martinez
E – Martinez

Second half
E – Zak Karamalegos
E – Connor Smith
E – Chris Hotrum
E – Smith
E – Daniel Holston

Shots on goal
Edwardsburg 22
Brandywine 1

Saves
Edwardsburg 1 (Ryan Housing)
Brandywine15 (Jason Andrews)

Edwardsburg…4
Niles…0
The visiting Edwardsburg Eddies shut out the Niles Vikings 4-0 on Saturday on the strong leg of forward Andy Boyles and the dependable hands of keeper Ryan Housing.

With seven minutes and nine seconds gone in the first half, Boyles scored the first of his three goals of the game. Boyles received 1-2 pass and sliced it home past the Viking defenders from eight yards out.

Although Niles’ defense was dependable and reliable, Edwardsburg was consistently on the offensive attack. Pierce Knoll and Jacob Stanage were seemingly always there on defense to wrestle the ball away from the Eddies front line.

On offense, the lion’s share of the load was shouldered by Vikings mid-fielder Jonathan Eddy. He made every attempt to distribute the ball, passing to his teammates Kassim Dafa and Derrick Nzabakira, but Niles’ forwards just couldn’t get it into the net.

Meanwhile, the Eddies continued to hammer shot at Niles goal keeper Derek Arguello. At 14:15 Boyles took a pass and crossed in front of the net, firing it past Arguello for a 2-0 Edwardsburg lead. The score stayed the same until the half.

Half way through the second period, at 58:14, Boyles scored again for Edwardsburg. Crossing through the middle and unmarked by the Niles backfield, he took a pass from Connor Smith on the weak side, and rammed it past a helpless Arguello for a hat trick.

After Niles failed to clear the ball on their end, Chris Hotrum added Edwardsburg’s fourth and final tally. He slipped past the defenders and punched home a 10 yard shot at 72:42.

Edwardsburg…4
Niles…0
Halftime score
Edwardsburg 2, Niles 0

Shots on Goal
Edwardsburg 14, Niles 7
Saves
Edwardsburg, (Ryan Housing) 7
Niles, (Derek Arguello) 9
Edwardsburg Goals
Andy Boyles, 7:09
Andy Boyles, 14:15
Andy Boyles, assist Connor Smith, 58:14
Chris Hotrum, 72:42

Varsity records
Edwardsburg, 8-2-0
Niles, 3-7-2