Indians outlast Tigers
Lead Summary
By
Jim Jones-
GREENFIELD — The Hillsboro Indians and McClain Tigers boys varsity soccer teams played another one of their tightly contested — and evenly played — matches again Tuesday night in Greenfield, with Hillsboro coming from behind to win the Frontier Athletic Conference match by a 3-2 score.
It was a hard-fought battle by both teams, where McClain held an early 2-1 advantage at the half.
“I thought we came out flat at the beginning and Greenfield capitalized with some deep balls, so hats off to McClain tonight,” Hillsboro head coach John Weber said after the match.
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Marshall Ward scored first for the Indians at the 38:23 mark of the opening half, giving Hillsboro the early 1-0 lead. McClain answered with a pair of goals by senior Johnny Free to take the aforementioned 2-1 advantage into the break.
“In the first half, the boys came out strong. They did very well with taking a hit early on in the game and they came back and played strong, with Johnny Free scoring two goals in the first half,” MHS head coach Nick McNeal said. “Avery Voss did very well with moving the ball down the wing, and Brock Dean is transitioning into one of the most difficult positions to play as a defensive midfielder, and he is doing a wonderful job.”
In the second half, both teams missed out on several scoring opportunities due to great goalkeeping play by both teams. Ward tied the score at 2-2 with his second goal at the 29:47 mark, and Tyler Loch scored the winning goal for Hillsboro with 11:15 remaining in the match.
“In the second half, we started passing the ball better and created some great touches, which allowed us to move the ball up the field. That gave us a lot more shots,” Weber said. “But give both of McClain’s goalkeepers credit, they played outstanding all night and really kept them in the game.
“Greenfield really came out to play, and it took us 40 minutes to realize we needed to play with them.”
McClain’s McNeal spoke about his team.
“I really feel like the majority of the games we have played we are right in there with the opposing team, and I am proud of how the boys are playing lately,” McNeal said. “I do want to give credit to many of the younger kids on my team who have been playing. Caleb Goddard and Griffin Foltz are both sophomores and playing the center back positions very well together. Braiden Bergstrom and Luke Sanchez have both been switching in and out on the left wing position, and I'm very happy with their development.
“Hunter Hice has been working up top for us as a sophomore, and he is making good improvements. Richie Lester has been a great help as well. It's great to be able to have a freshman we can put on the back line and have absolute confidence in him.”
McClain will play Jackson at home Thursday, and Hillsboro hosts Washington Thursday.
It was a hard-fought battle by both teams, where McClain held an early 2-1 advantage at the half.
“I thought we came out flat at the beginning and Greenfield capitalized with some deep balls, so hats off to McClain tonight,” Hillsboro head coach John Weber said after the match.
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Marshall Ward scored first for the Indians at the 38:23 mark of the opening half, giving Hillsboro the early 1-0 lead. McClain answered with a pair of goals by senior Johnny Free to take the aforementioned 2-1 advantage into the break.
“In the first half, the boys came out strong. They did very well with taking a hit early on in the game and they came back and played strong, with Johnny Free scoring two goals in the first half,” MHS head coach Nick McNeal said. “Avery Voss did very well with moving the ball down the wing, and Brock Dean is transitioning into one of the most difficult positions to play as a defensive midfielder, and he is doing a wonderful job.”
In the second half, both teams missed out on several scoring opportunities due to great goalkeeping play by both teams. Ward tied the score at 2-2 with his second goal at the 29:47 mark, and Tyler Loch scored the winning goal for Hillsboro with 11:15 remaining in the match.
“In the second half, we started passing the ball better and created some great touches, which allowed us to move the ball up the field. That gave us a lot more shots,” Weber said. “But give both of McClain’s goalkeepers credit, they played outstanding all night and really kept them in the game.
“Greenfield really came out to play, and it took us 40 minutes to realize we needed to play with them.”
McClain’s McNeal spoke about his team.
“I really feel like the majority of the games we have played we are right in there with the opposing team, and I am proud of how the boys are playing lately,” McNeal said. “I do want to give credit to many of the younger kids on my team who have been playing. Caleb Goddard and Griffin Foltz are both sophomores and playing the center back positions very well together. Braiden Bergstrom and Luke Sanchez have both been switching in and out on the left wing position, and I'm very happy with their development.
“Hunter Hice has been working up top for us as a sophomore, and he is making good improvements. Richie Lester has been a great help as well. It's great to be able to have a freshman we can put on the back line and have absolute confidence in him.”
McClain will play Jackson at home Thursday, and Hillsboro hosts Washington Thursday.