Shaker Heights Wins Soccer Doubleheader Over Cleveland Heights

When freshman Ashton Bernard woke up Wednesday morning, he probably had no idea he’d be rescuing the honor of the entire Cleveland Heights varsity soccer program.

With a minute and 45 seconds left in the second half against rival Shaker Heights, Bernard’s header found the net and a collective sigh of relief fell over It might’ve taken four hours, but Bernard seemingly got the entire school on the board and backing away from the ledge.

Beginning at 5 p.m., the girls lost, 3-0, in the first game of a soccer doubleheader between the two schools. But for Bernard’s merciful heroics in the 6-1 defeat, the boys would have met the same fate.

One could argue the Cleveland Heights boys' team held its own after trailing, 1-0, at halftime, but Shaker Heights had too many nifty passes, crosses and set pieces to think the Tigers could hold them off forever.

In the second half, the Raiders were every bit as crushing as the Clash’s “London Calling” that blared out of the speakers at halftime, seemingly making good on every one of Joe Strummer’s threats.

Bernard’s goal at exactly 9 p.m. finished the night’s scoring, but Shaker’s Ryan LaMonica and I’Jaaz Abdul-Hakim each had a pair of goals and Will Naugle and Joseph Wain complemented them with one each.

Combined with a 3-0 loss Monday against North Olmsted, the Tigers are now 4-3-1 overall and 2-1 in the Lake Erie League, the Raiders improved to 5-5 overall. Needless to say, it’s been a rough week at Cleveland Heights.

“We have to move forward. We’re never going to dwell. It’s a game. It’s past us. We’re going to set our sights on Olmsted Falls,” Tigers coach Sean Sullivan said. “I know this team has great ability. Tonight just wasn’t our night.”

Although the team played without two crucial starters in Noah Benson and Cornelius Pewu, the Raiders' firepower seemingly trumped just about any strategy the Tigers could have employed.

“My hat goes off to Shaker. They played a great game. I was very impressed with their speed of play and their ability to possess the ball. They were extremely quick, highly skilled and well coached. All credit to them,” Sullivan said.

In the second half, Shaker Heights took a more geometrical approach, going from elongated passing up and down the field to broadening their passing zones to gain more space.

“In the first half, they were pinching in all the time. So we told them to spread the defense. Let’s have spaces in between the defenders and that’s how we channeled the balls into the space,” Shaker Heights coach Nader Soliman said.

The boys' team faces Olmsted Falls at Denison Park on Saturday. The game begins at 7 p.m. The girls' team (3-7) will play at Brush on Saturday at 2 p.m.