Slow start dooms Crusaders in Class 1 sectional

~ Saxony Lutheran yielded two early goals in a 3-1 loss to Bayless

ST. LOUIS -- A problem that plagued Saxony Lutheran at times this season reared its head again Tuesday.

The Crusaders got off to a slow start against Bayless in their Class 1 boys soccer sectional game, and the Bronchos capitalized. Bayless scored a pair of goals in the opening 15 minutes and held on from there for the 3-1 victory at Mehlville High School.

"That's something we struggled with all season," Saxony coach Ryan Schweain said about the slow start. "We usually started the first half of the first half sometimes a little too lackadaisical. We just kind of start off on our heels a little bit. I don't know if we were seeing what the other team had, but unfortunately that happened again tonight."

Bayless wasted little time asserting itself. Sanel Hasanovic headed home an errant cross that smacked off the crossbar. Hasanovic was in perfect position right in front of the goal when the ball bounced right to him less than four minutes into the contest.

Edin Osmanovic doubled the Bronchos' lead when he curled a shot from about 30 yards out into the upper right corner of the goal. The shot looked destined to sail wide until it started to bend as it approached the goal and found the back of the net.

"It was real important because if we score early, we have the momentum to score more goals," Bayless sophomore Fazlo Alihodgic said about the early lead. "So we scored three goals and just played possession."

The Crusaders failed to gain possession in the early going, but they started to gain more confidence as the first half wore on. Saxony Lutheran managed to work the ball deep into Bayless' end and put the Bronchos' defense to work midway through the first half.

"We knew what we had to do and we just came out harder," Saxony senior Ryan Sprandel said. "I think we woke up."

Saxony Lutheran generated its most pressure in the closing 10 minutes of the first half. The Crusaders forced a couple of corner kicks and looked to be taking control of the pace.

"We didn't want our season to end," Sprandel said. "We're a team that's known to never give up. That's what we're going to do."

Even though the Crusaders were creating chances, Bayless scored its third goal when Alihodgic settled a cross and buried a low shot to the right for the 3-0 lead.

Saxony Lutheran wasted no time cashing in on its offensive pressure. Brandon Fritsche took a pass from Gus Klaus and ripped a shot past Bayless keeper Ermin Esmerovic just 12 seconds after Alihodgic's marker.

"It felt really good and pumped us up a lot," Fritsche said. "It just got us back on track."

Alihodgic said the Bronchos didn't get too worried after Fritsche's goal despite the Crusaders' ability to sustain pressure.

"We got excited for the third goal and then they scored," he said. "They started going harder and not giving up."

Schweain used halftime to encourage his players to continue attacking Bayless' defense.

"I felt when we pushed up in numbers and put a lot of pressure on their backs, they panicked a little bit," he said. "At halftime, I kind of really stressed that's what we needed to do and that we didn't need to worry about getting the two goals. Let's just worry about getting one."

Neither team gained much of an upper hand in the second half. Bayless created a couple of chances when Saxony Lutheran started pushing up more, but Saxony senior keeper Matt Stueve made a pair of diving saves to keep his team in the contest.

"They're pretty good at their skills and their footwork," Fritsche said. "We just had to mark them up better and we could have stopped them."

The Crusaders, who captured their second district title in three seasons to reach Tuesday's sectional contest, finished the season 13-14.