Dyersville Beckman knocks off rival Marion 4-0

MARION - Dyersville Beckman senior Carter Boekholder squandered two great chances to score in the first half, but it was his goal in the 53rd minute that gave the Blazers breathing room en route to a 4-0 victory over WAMAC rival Marion on Tuesday.

The Blazers had a 1-0 lead at halftime courtesy of a free kick by Jacob Grover from the halfway line. Grover boomed the kick into the box and the Indians kind of made a mess of it.

'I was just trying to put it in the middle for somebody to make a play on,” Grover said. 'Our forward Dillon Keegan did a great job of making the goalie step out, and I think one of their guys touched it on the neck and it just rolled in.”

'We had a couple of those and our communication really broke down,” Marion Coach Tom Schulte said. 'That's something we've been working on this year with everybody talking and making sure we know who's job it is to do what. We've got some work to do for sure.”

The one goal was all Beckman could manage, but Boekholder had two breakaways, one 15 minutes in and the other at 39 minutes. All he had in front of him was keeper Will Byers, but both times the Blazer senior blew the ball well over the net.

Boekholder made amends by scoring in front of the net on a scramble that Marion couldn't clear.

'We've been working on placement in practice and it went right to my foot,” Boekholder said. 'I wasn't going to botch that again.”

After that the Blazers seemed to wear down the Indians and Billy Hoffman scored the final two goals.

'Their best defense was their possession,” Schulte said. 'They ran us out; they moved the ball; they stretched the field and they made us chase. By the time we got the ball we weren't in position to have an attack.”

Beckman (2-0) was a 1A semifinalist a year ago and is ranked second. Marion, ranked 16th in 2A, is 2-1.