LEONIA — After carrying a one-goal lead well into the second half, Leonia coach Drew Strohmeyer was left to lament what might have been by the end of the game.
Harrison scored two goals in the second half, the game-winner off the foot of Ney Moreno coming in the 75th minute with Leonia playing a man down, as Harrison came back to defeat the rival Lions, 3-2, in a huge NJIC Liberty Division game.
“We lost our composure,” said Strohmeyer, whose team played the final 17 minutes a man down when one of its players received a red card.
But up to that point, the Lions were playing lights out. The offense, particularly speedy Young Jin Kim, was getting behind the defense nearly at will and the Lions’ defense was keeping the high-powered Blue Tide from getting a good look at the goal.
Kim scored both goals for Leonia (9-4) in the first half, his 14th and 15th of the season, and hit the crossbar in the second after Harrison had tied the score.
“We knew we could get back behind them with our speed,” Strohmeyer said. “Kim is one of the fastest kids we’ve ever had up there, and he is getting better at finishing when he generates the opportunities.”
But Harrison (12-2) kept pace with two goals by Ali Lakhrif. The second came with just over 20 minutes remaining in the second half when his header from the goal line slipped past Leonia goalkeeper Anthony Cassano.
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