Edwardsburg boys soccer coach Sean Jesse sees plenty of potential in freshman Jacob Brown.

Brown flashed some of his talent on Monday against Dowagiac as he scored two key goals in the second half to help the Eddies turn back the Chieftains, 6-1, in Wolverine Conference West Division action.

“He’s got a lot of playing experience in him,” said Edwardsburg coach Sean Jesse on why he has Brown on the varsity. “He’s played for the Junior Irish and the Invaders. He’s got good skill. He’s really starting to develop into a high school player. He’s being aggressive on the ball and he’s finding ways to get involved as a freshman, which is something you don’t always see.”

Brown improved his goal total to four on the year with his performance against Dowagiac. The Eddies led only 2-1 when Brown scored from five yards off an assist from Ethan Brovold 36:17 left in the match. Almost four minutes later, Brown scored again from 20 yards to stretch the hosts lead to 4-1.

“I felt really good,” said Brown, who helped Edwardsburg improve to 3-2 in the West Division and 7-7-1 overall. “I’m just trying to prove myself to the team as a freshman on varsity. My goal is to help us keep winning and win the conference.”

Brown felt better about his technique on his second goal.

“The first one I almost tripped over my foot,” Brown said. “I felt good about the shot on my second one. I felt like it was going to go in to the right.”

Edwardsburg also got second half goals from Nick Karamalegos and Mackenzie McCracken. McCracken came on a penalty kick.

Dowagiac trailed only 2-1 at halftime despite being outshot, 14-7, over the first 40 minutes. Edwardsburg had two shots hit the left post and failed to convert on a penalty kick, which was stopped by Dowagiac goalie Nate Stewart.

“We did dominate in the first half, but we didn’t execute at all inside the 18,” Jesse said. “(Brown’s goals) took a load off my mind. It was nice to score some goals in the second half. We were able to get some other players in.”

Edwardsburg took a 1-0 lead with 34:48 left in the first half after Ben Chambers saw the Dowagiac goalie out of position and scored off an assist from Karamalegos.

The Chieftains, who fell to 5-6-1 overall and 2-2 in the division, tied the match at 1 with 25:16 left in the first half when Nick Foote scored on an assist from Jorge Ruiz. Ruiz’s shot deflected off the Edwardsburg goalie to Foote.

The Eddies took the lead for good on a goal from Tyler Treat from five yards with 20:55 left in the first half.

“Lack of effort front to back,” said Dowagiac coach Mike Williams about his team’s play. “We had a few kids killing themselves and the rest watching the game. That’s the worst game we’ve played all year by far.”

What was Williams’ message to his team at halftime?

“How bad do you want it?” Williams said. “They didn’t want it. It was obvious. That’s not the team that we normally play with. My hands were tied in regards to what I could do. Our defense was getting killed because our offense wasn’t working.”

 

Dowagiac…1

Edwardsburg…6

Halftime score

Edwardsburg 2, Dowagiac 1

 

First half

E – Ben Chambers (Nick Karamalegos) 34:48

D – Nick Foote (Jorge Ruiz) 25:16

E – Tyler Treat 20:55

 

Second half

E – Jacob Brown (Ethan Brovold) 36:17

E – Brown 32:39

E – Karamalegos 28:30

E – Mackenzie McCracken (penalty kick) 2:38

 

Shots on goal

Dowagiac 12

Edwardsburg 25

 

Saves

Dowagiac 15 (Nate Stewart)

Edwardsburg 11(Ryan Mahaney 7, Teige Brandt 4)

 

Corner kicks

Dowagiac 3

Edwardsburg 9