Strong second half leads Chesterton boys past Lake Central

CHESTERTON | Chesterton coach Jamie Sensibaugh found his team’s performance in the second half far more to his liking than the first half.

The Times No. 5 Trojans scored two goals in the second half to break a halftime tie and beat No. 8 Lake Central 3-1 in a Duneland Athletic Conference matchup on Wednesday night.

“I challenged them at halftime,” Sensibaugh said. “I wasn’t happy with how we played, the mistake we made defensively.”

John Ward tallied the game-winning goal for the Trojans (7-3, 3-2 DAC) six minutes into the second half, when he flicked a header over the top of Lake Central keeper Joe Majchrowicz. Kody Lobsiger recorded the assist on the play.

“The second half was totally different,” Sensibaugh said. “I thought we played much better, far more dangerous. I think (Lake Central) may have been a little tired, that certainly helped a bit.”

Jonathan Blake, who finished with a goal and an assist, added a goal in the 76th minute. He moved in one-on-one against Majchrowicz and made a little move at the top of the box and put his shot into the open net.

“Shots just weren’t going in in the first half, and in the second half we just got tired of it,” Blake said. “We went in hard I guess and didn’t quit.”

The Trojans finished with 11-6 edge in shots on goal and an overall shot advantage of 21-12.

“The last 20 minutes our legs started to give a little bit and we weren’t able to match their intensity,” Lake Central coach Jereme Rainwater said.

Majchrowicz made eight saves for the Indians (4-6, 2-3 DAC), while Caleb Gymrek notched five saves for Chesterton.

Billy Biehl put the Trojans in front 1-0 just past the halfway mark of the first half. Blake made a run down the sideline and chipped the ball ahead to Biehl, who flipped a shot over Majchrowicz from 12 yards out.

Lake Central’s Josh Crague got the equalizer in the 36th minute on a scramble play off of a corner kick. A loose ball came to Ulises Hernandez, and he had a touch pass to Crague, who lofted a shot over Caleb Gymrek in net to tie the game at one headed to halftime.