The Lake Central High School varsity boys soccer team stormed towards their cheering fans on Oct. 12 with something important in their possession– their Sectionals trophy.

The team played the Griffith Panthers at home on Oct. 12 for Sectionals. The game’s final score of 2-0 made Lake Central Sectional Champions.

“It felt great [to win]. We continued to the winning tradition LC has in Sectionals, and we deserved it. Everyone fought hard and we came together when we needed to,” Trevor Clapman (12), captain of the team, said.

Although LC won, it was anyone’s game after the first period. Neither Griffith nor Lake Central had scored. “[Going into the second half, I thought] that we needed to come out with high intensity in those first five minutes of the second half and put some shots on goal,” Clapman said.

Nikko Kolintzas (9) broke the game’s tie at 0-0 10 minutes into the second half of the game.

“It felt great to score for my team. It felt good to start the second half with a 1-0 lead,” Kolintzas said.

With 18 minutes left on the clock, a second goal was made by Ogi Janjus (12).

“It felt pretty good [to score] because we were up only 1-0 and scoring another goal makes us feel safer on the field,” Janjus said.

The boys are advancing to Regionals, where they will face Crown Point. The game will be played at Merrillville High School’s soccer field on Thursday, Oct. 17.

“We have played Crown Point once already and we know how they play and what to expect. I am not nervous but more hungry for revenge,” Clapman said, “[We want] to beat them this time.”