Lakota East boys soccer lost its first Greater Miami Conference (GMC) game of the season Friday, Sept. 18, falling 3-0 at Sycamore.
The shutout dropped the Thunderhawks to 5-2-3 overall and 3-1-1 in the GMC. East had entered the week with an unbeaten conference start, collecting three wins and a draw across its first four GMC matches.
The Lakota East athletics site did not include individual scoring or save details from the loss.
Sycamore had posted convincing results heading into the matchup. Senior Reis Groves scored twice in a 6-0 win over Colerain in early September, earning a spot on the Cincinnati Enquirer's athlete-of-the-week ballot. The Aviators also beat Hamilton 4-2 on Tuesday, Sept. 15.
The Thunderhawks built their conference record on a series of gutsy performances earlier in the season. East opened GMC play with a 1-0 road shutout of Middletown on Aug. 26, when junior Miles Polacheck scored the lone goal and senior goalkeeper Nick Maslin made four saves.
The signature win came against Fairfield, a 3-1 comeback after East trailed at halftime. Parker Ante scored the equalizer off a corner kick from Colton Pensinger. Polacheck then put East in front off an assist from Santi Rodriguez, and Hilary Lanjo added an insurance goal with help from Tyree Bikoko.
That momentum stalled Friday at Sycamore, but East remains in contention in the conference race with the second half of the GMC schedule ahead, according to the team's athletics site.
East has a week off from conference play before traveling to Hamilton on Thursday, Sept. 24.
