By Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

LUCASVILLE — It was exactly what it was supposed to be.

The matchup between the St. Joseph Flyers and Lucasville Valley Indians was a soccer showdown of the top two teams in the Southern Ohio Conference 1.

The game matched the expectations with the Indians rallying for a 2-1 in on Thursday.

St. Joseph (8-4-1, 4-2) took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Landon Rowe with 9:25 on the clock in the opening half.

Valley (6-3-1, 5-0) needed a free kick goal by Hunter Edwards to tie the game with 10:47 left in the half.

Colt Buckle scored off an assist from Chase Powell with 11:12 to play that gave the Indians the lead and their defense held off the Flyers the rest of the game.

The Flyers had 17 shots with 11 on goal, 3 corner kicks, 8 fouls and one offside penalty.

Goalkeeper Evan Balestra collected 13 saves for St. Joseph.

Valley took 27 shots with 15 on goal and had 12 foul, 4 corner kicks and 5 offside penalties.

Indians’ goalkeeper Chris Queen registered 10 saves.

The Flyers’ game against Cabell Midland, W.Va., on Saturday in the South Point Soccer Classic was postponed due to weather. They will host New Boston in an SOC game on Tuesday.