The Boyd Buchanan soccer team finished as runners-up in the DII-A championships. The Bucs lost a 3-0 decision to state champs Lausanne in the finals on Thursday at the Spring Fling in Murfreesboro.
photo by Mitchell Kernea
Boyd-Buchanan kicked off against Lausanne Collegiate high Thursday night for all the marbles in the DII-A championship, but could not stay with the Lynx as the squad from Memphis garnered their third state championship via a 3-0 blanking of the Bucs.
Lausanne were all over Boyd from the first whistle—scoring just 49 seconds into the game off a switch to the left wing that Kaue Costa looped over the backline to a streaking Lincoln Rasoul who made no mistake at the near post.
The Lynx’s 4-3-3 created space on the wing to exploit. Costa especially benefitted from this space—constantly finding himself on the ball with one man to beat. The Lynx’s attack ran through him.
Boyd played in a 4-2-3-1, with Mills Wood playing as a target forward up top. His every touch or attempt was met with a challenge by Lausanne’s back 4.
The mountain in front of Boyd only grew steeper when Lausanne netted its second on a corner. Ryan Ruguaru found himself unmarked at the top of the box and didn’t mess around—burying the chance. Costa had the assist yet again.
The Buccaneers looked lost.
Narrowly escaping a third goal conceded in the first 15 minutes on a handball in the box—Boyd needed answers.
The Bucs weren’t without chances. Wood hit the wrong side of the net in a 1v1 with the Lynx keeper. Drew Pollard had his shot pawed off the line by goalkeeper Levi Dorsey.
At the half coach Walker asked his team a simple favor. “Tell me now if you don’t believe… I need 11 guys who believe we can win.” His team responded—pointing to the fact that they had been here before and overcame.
About 15 minutes into the second half Boyd switched to a 3-5-2 to offer more support up top. The game grew chippy—with Lausanne looking to waste time by earning dead-ball minutes through being fouled and Boyd upped the aggressiveness in search of a goal.
The Buccaneers found more possession in the second half—linking up through simple passing and taking advantage of the added width of a five-man midfield. Lausanne sat in a low block and invited the pressure—looking to break on the counter.
It was one of these counters that saw the Lynx find its third goal. Rasoul tore down the wing before being tripped in the box. The ref immediately motioned to the spot. Costa calmly slotted it in the bottom right to stretch the lead to three.
In a game that had almost everything else—foul trouble for players and coaches, a stoppage to fix the scoreboard clock, controversy involving the ball boys—a goal for the Bucs just wasn’t in the cards.
Boyd-Buchanan finish runner-up for the second year in a row as Lausanne take home the DII-A state title—winning 3-0.
Score Summary:
Boyd-Buchanan 0 0 – 0
Lausanne 2 1 – 3
Goal Scorers:
Lausanne- Lincoln Rasoul, Ryan Ruguaru, Kaue Costa.
(Email Will McElyea at sports@chattanoogan.com)