Is that you, Messi? Lighthouse wins with a super soccer star

The singular sensation of watching Erhan Meric, who led Lighthouse Christian Academy to a 6-3 victory over Pilgrim Lutheran yesterday, is that one is witnessing the sublime soccer of a type of Messi.

He has Messi's slight frame, his shyness and unselfishness. Erhan's never boisterous, not given to braggadocio.

But when the ball falls to his feet, expect to hear an exquisite symphony.

Erhan, a senior at Lighthouse, is unobtrusive on the field. He lurks in open spaces and projects the image of the most unthreatening player.

But when he carried the ball up the right and single-handedly threaded his way through three defenders to slot on goal in the early minutes of the game, he put on notification the other team -- indeed, the whole league -- that he is not a man to be underestimated.

Erhan scored three and set up one. His header off a Beckham-perfect free kick brought the fourth goal in the second half in the Glendale Sports Complex.

And the good thing about this years Saints varsity team is that Erhan is not the only star. Actually a lot of technically skilled players combined yesterday to overwhelm Pilgrim Lutheran.

“We had good passing and good pressure,” said Coach Jack Mefford. “It was an exciting start to a promising season. We have a lot of new additions who know how to play soccer from the Bowens who grew up in Africa playing soccer to Shun (Fukushige) and Aki (Akihiro Oku) who played in Japan.”

Marcus Scribner, a sophomore, proved a bunker buster on offense, putting his football physique to good use against defenders. He scored two goals.

“Marcus's two goals show how much he has matured because he struggled to finish last year,” Mefford said.

Aki, a junior, scored one, and Shun launched the goal-scoring free kick – a work of art – that connected with Meric's head and past the hapless goalie.

Meanwhile, Hosea Ashcraft performed exploits keeping the Saints net. On one one shot to the upper left corner, the short sophomore launched himself through the air and managed to push the ball just wide of the post. Hosea crashed into the post with his shoulder and back.

“If he were taller, he would be recruitable for college,” Mefford beamed .

By no means did the Lighthouse play perfect soccer. While the Saints bedeviled their opponents with intricate passing, their heavy use of the short pass is a potential weakness. They kept possession but didn't get out of the the thicket of defenders.

Also, the Saints showed a frightening lack of attack. Every ball, every run was straight towards goal – with the notable exception of Meric. Against a better team, the lack of creativity would be fatal.

The Saints were weak on winning 50-50 balls and neglectful of defensive duties in the midfield.

But players were optimistic because it is always better to criticize a winning team than explain away a loss.