The Lake Region boys soccer team displayed lots of offense and an abundance of defense with its 4-0 West B prelim win at Oak Hill on Tuesday. The ninth-seeded Lakers (5-7-3) will again need plenty of both as they now face top-seeded Maranacook (13-0-1) in a regional quarterfinal on Friday.

“Our entire team played really well defensively,” said Lake Region coach Donald White. “We were able to put pressure on the ball and close down any short passes on Oak Hill’s side of the field – to force turnovers and not allow them to possess the ball. Once we won the ball, we transitioned to offense quickly, controlled the ball well and were able to find the open man.”

Tavish Leland started the scoring by heading in a cross from Adam Chase. The same two players combined on the second Laker goal with Leland feeding Chase a pass that was headed into the net for a 2-0 advantage. Chase added an unassisted goal to make it 3-0 and he used a long ball from Joe Shaw to get by the Oak Hill defense on his way to his third goal of the game and an insurmountable 4-0 lead.

“Co-captains Jordan Nichols and Drew Payne played a great game rotating between sweeper and stopper,” said White. “Drew was able to shut down their center-forward and Jordan was able to collect any through balls and immediately move up the field to lead the attack.”

Lake Region goalie Matt Langadas earned his first shutout of the season on Tuesday making nine saves. “Matt Langadas has played great for us all season, keeping us in games with big saves,” said Coach White.

Maranacook has an impressive record and they’ve scored more than 40 goals this season while allowing just three. White noted that Maranacook is strongest in the midfield and that his Lake Region squad will need to control that midfield if they want to upset the Black Bears.

“We will need to continue to play defensively as a team; play aggressively and limit Maranacook’s time with the ball,” White said about the upcoming playoff encounter. “On offense, we need to move up the field as a team and take advantage of any chances.”