Liberty Christian boys soccer wrapping up fantastic season

PATASKALA - Trevor DeMarco expected he and his Liberty Christian soccer teammates would enjoy a bounce-back season.

Just how great the season has gone, the junior would not have put those expectations on it. The Eagles improved to 12-1-1 last Thursday with a 7-0 victory against New Hope on senior night.

"I just wanted to have a winning season," DeMarco said. "I was expecting to have one, but I didn't think it would be this good. It's really great to have to this kind of record."

The Eagles will begin play in the Ohio Christian School Athletic Association tournament next week with the semifinals and finals to be held in Circleville on Nov. 2 and 3. The Eagles have a strong soccer tradition, but at a small school, the number of athletes can be cyclical.

Coach Sean Smith said the season was touch and go during the summer as the Eagles were struggling to find 11 players to fill a lineup. They benefited from multiple players joining the team after Gahanna Christian announced its decision to drop sports.

"We weren't as successful last season, but the pieces just kind of came together and we are getting better each and every game," Smith said. "Soccer's a team sport. Nobody can carry it on their own. You have to combine and work together to be successful.

The skillful DeMarco is knocking on the door of an eye-popping 50-goal season, but he has plenty of help up front from Brody Smith, Luke Eckels and Mory Kamara. Goalkeeper Dylan Smith and Caleb Robinson stepped up defensively in a recent 2-1 victory against Horizon Science.

The Eagles also have a notable victory against Village Academy. DeMarco said the leadership provided by his co-captain Brody Smith and multiple experienced players from Gahanna Christian have provided a big boost.

"My brother is a senior, and using him as a role model and playing a season with him is fun," freshman Landon Smith said. "It's good to look up to him."

DeMarco, however, said he knew they had something special brewing was when they ironically had their loss and tie. The Eagles fell 7-3 to Madison Christian and tied Granville Christian 2-2, two solid Ohio High School Athletic Association opponents, early in the season.

"Just tying (GCA) was a big accomplishment for us, and not losing as bad to Madison was really good, too," DeMarco said. "We got destroyed the year before."

ksnyder@newarkadvocate.com

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