By James Costello Sports Editor
LAKEVILLE — Hoping to keep a historic state tournament run alive, the Lancers instead fell 3-1 to South Bend Clay in the first round of the LaVille Boys Soccer Regional Wednesday.
Clay junior forward Clarence Jackson showcased his ball control with three straight goals for an old-fashioned hat trick, and LaVille was unable to get onto the board until the 73rd minute in the season-ending loss.

Jackson’s first goal of the evening came as he beat a pair of LaVille defenders on a run up the right wing, slashing to the center and banking a close-range chip off the crossbeam and into the back of the net in the 14th minute for the only score of the first half.
“We started of fine,” said LaVille head coach Kevin Christy, he coached the Lancers to their first-ever boys sectional championship in just his second year at the helm. “I think it took maybe halfway through the first half before we really say anything... It was a good shot; he’s a good player, Clarence Jackson. Can’t take anything away from Clay. They’re a good team. They’re better than their record shows, no question.”
Wednesday’s 3-1 regional loss to Clay echoed an earlier two-goal loss to the Colonials during regular season play, and there were similarities between the two games beyond the final margin.
Jackson entered regional with just seven goals to his credit before exploding for three goals, including a pair of bank-ins, one on his first goal of the night, and one off the far post in his final score at the game. In the Lancers’ first match-up with Clay, the majority of the scoring production came from another surprising source as Ben Burnett — who assisted on Jackson’s second goal Wednesday — netted four goals, equalling half his production for the entire year up to that point.
“The same thing with Ben Burnett,” Christy said. “He had somewhere in seven, eight goals on the year, and he had four on us in the first game.
“Our kids do know from the last game who was the guy, and they key up them, but it came down to (Jackson) had some good footwork, and we didn’t contain him.”
“We’ve been waiting for that all season long,” said Clay head coach George Lund Jr. of Jackson’s outburst at Newton Park. “He’s been very dangerous. He’s had seven goals I think during the year, but he should have more than that with the talent that he has. He makes a lot of people miss.
“It was kind of nice to see him break out a bit.”
LaVille tallied its only goal of the night halfway through the 73rd minute as senior midfielder Jacob Mangus ran up the left side of the field and drove a slow roller through two Clay defenders, and junior forward Codie Highland stepped over the ball shadowing the play inside the penalty box. The Colonials’ keeper lost track of the ball, and it trickled in off the far post as the sizeable LaVille crowd erupted in cheers.
“I’m glad that we struck back late,” Christy said. “We did not just roll over.
“I think the keeper lost it. Mangus took the shot; there was a defender on him, it got through him, got through another defender, Highland was right there I think kind of shadowing it, and there’s no way the keeper was going to see that.”
Another bright spot for the Lancers in the loss — possibly the brightest — was a 10-save performance from sophomore goalie Joey Vest. Vest, who was only tapped as starting keeper halfway through the season, made several diving saves, including four in a minute-and-a-half span at the end of the first half.
First he executed a one-handed diving parry on an Aaron Matthews shot that turned into a penalty kick for the Colonials, and then he made an outstanding diving catch on a resulting corner cross into a header. With 40 seconds on the clock, Vest saved a hard drive from Burnett and then tallied another close save on a cross into a Burnett header to keep the game close at the half.
“Joey Vest is a special talent and keeper and I’ll be making phone calls this offseason to some college coaches for his junior year to come watch him,” Christy said. “Because anybody who comes to watch him knows when he’s on, he’s on.”
The Lancers close out their season at an even 10-10 while Clay moves on to face Penn in the regional final Saturday.
“We played LaVille earlier in the ear, and I thought they played outstanding,” said Lund. “They have nothing to be ashamed of. They gave us a lot of fits.”
LaVille bids good-bye to a cast of five seniors, but with everyone else returning from this season’s groundbreaking campaign, the future looks bright for the team.
“I’m looking forward to next year, and I know there are some teams that are going to be watching us now,” said Christy. “You get this far, there’s only 64 teams left to start this week, so there are teams looking around.
“You always miss your seniors. Jacob Mangus, his leadership, you can’t replace that. I could name tham all... They’re all great kids, and it was fun to coach them this year.”
• SOUTH BEND CLAY 3, LAVILLE 1
At LaVille Boys Soccer Regional
First half
C — Clarence Jackson (unassisted), 14th minute
Second half
C — Jackson (Ben Burnett), 45th minute
C — Jackson, 51st minute
L — Jacob Mangus (unassisted), 73rd minute
Shots on goal: LaVille 5, Clay 13
Saves: LaVille 10 (Joey Vest), Clay 2 (James Pluta)
Corner kicks: LaVille 5, Clay 2
Records: Clay 8-11-1, LaVille 10-10 (final)