Indians soccer wins over Miami Trace for FAC victory
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
After a rough opening 20 minutes had by Hillsboro where they were trailing by a goal, the host Indians hunkered down and took care of business in their Frontier Athletic Conference match against the Miami Trace Panthers, eventually gaining the victory by four goals.
Hillsboro trailed by a 1-0 score when Miami Trace was the first team to put the ball into the net. From that point forward, the Indians scored six straight goals, before giving up an own goal in a 6-2 conference victory. This was the second victory in a row since resuming their season following the Highland County Fair, as HHS defeated Fayetteville, 6-1 on Saturday afternoon.
“Two wins after the fair. We’re already getting close to doubling our win total from last year with several games left to play,” HHS head coach John Weber said. “We’re playing good soccer. The first 20 minutes (on Tuesday), however, were very poor. We came out very flat, didn’t pressure the ball, didn’t create opportunities. It just was poor, the first 20 minutes.
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“After they scored on us, it opened the boys’ eyes that ‘oh, we’re in for it,’ so they started passing the ball. Our actual offensive and defensive intensity picked up tremendously and started to put balls in the back of the net.”
After trailing by a goal, the Indians tied the score when Marshall Ward sent the ball into the corner of the net at the 23:11 mark and a 1-1 score. Next in the first half for the Indians, Tyler Loch put HHS in the lead at 2-1 with 6:12 on the clock, and Cameron Reed, off a header, gave the Tribe a two-goal lead and a halftime advantage of 3-1 following a goal with 3:46 left in the half.
In the second half, Andrew Gunderman scored three straight goals for a hat trick, with the goals being scored at 36:48, 30:47 and 18:02, pushing the Indians’ advantage to 6-1. The Indians scored an own goal near the end of the match, giving MT their second goal of the match and the final 6-2 score.
“That’s great to see,” Weber said of Gunderman’s hat trick. “He has the ability to do that. He picked up the slack and put the ball in the back of the net for us. Same thing, too, with Payton Bell. Payton Bell played primarily defense to start, pushed up in the back line and ends up with three assists playing as a defender in the game. Can’t be happier than that, when your defender’s giving you three assists in a game for the win. Overall, it was a solid performance.”
Bell led the Indians with three assists, while Loch and Logan Crafton also each gained an assist. Hillsboro keeper Joe Rudy finished with 11 saves.
“Joe Rudy ended up with 11 saves. Three of them were key,” Weber said. “Three were back-to-back-to-back, when he was diving to the left. He stopped three solid shots, all in the same possession, so three of those 11 were on one possession. That was early, when it was still 1-0, so in that front period when they were creating pressure, Joe settled down and after that first goal made some critical key saves.
“Jay [Lovlie], when he came in late in the second half, did well as a sophomore coming in off the bench.”
Weber spoke about the leadership of the Indians this season.
“We’re doing great with the upperclassmen and the leadership, the senior leadership. That’s the big difference from this year to last because we actually are playing much better as a team. I can’t be more pleased,” Weber said, “Every single player’s picked up, and in comparison to last year’s games, this is night and day. Last year, we were just trying to stay alive, playing defense the majority of the game, getting countered all the time. This year, we’re the opposite. We’re the aggressor. We’re the ones creating pressure on the other teams.”
The win moves the Indians to 5-3 overall. Next is another conference match for the Indians on Thursday, Sept. 14 at Chillicothe.
Hillsboro trailed by a 1-0 score when Miami Trace was the first team to put the ball into the net. From that point forward, the Indians scored six straight goals, before giving up an own goal in a 6-2 conference victory. This was the second victory in a row since resuming their season following the Highland County Fair, as HHS defeated Fayetteville, 6-1 on Saturday afternoon.
“Two wins after the fair. We’re already getting close to doubling our win total from last year with several games left to play,” HHS head coach John Weber said. “We’re playing good soccer. The first 20 minutes (on Tuesday), however, were very poor. We came out very flat, didn’t pressure the ball, didn’t create opportunities. It just was poor, the first 20 minutes.
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“After they scored on us, it opened the boys’ eyes that ‘oh, we’re in for it,’ so they started passing the ball. Our actual offensive and defensive intensity picked up tremendously and started to put balls in the back of the net.”
After trailing by a goal, the Indians tied the score when Marshall Ward sent the ball into the corner of the net at the 23:11 mark and a 1-1 score. Next in the first half for the Indians, Tyler Loch put HHS in the lead at 2-1 with 6:12 on the clock, and Cameron Reed, off a header, gave the Tribe a two-goal lead and a halftime advantage of 3-1 following a goal with 3:46 left in the half.
In the second half, Andrew Gunderman scored three straight goals for a hat trick, with the goals being scored at 36:48, 30:47 and 18:02, pushing the Indians’ advantage to 6-1. The Indians scored an own goal near the end of the match, giving MT their second goal of the match and the final 6-2 score.
“That’s great to see,” Weber said of Gunderman’s hat trick. “He has the ability to do that. He picked up the slack and put the ball in the back of the net for us. Same thing, too, with Payton Bell. Payton Bell played primarily defense to start, pushed up in the back line and ends up with three assists playing as a defender in the game. Can’t be happier than that, when your defender’s giving you three assists in a game for the win. Overall, it was a solid performance.”
Bell led the Indians with three assists, while Loch and Logan Crafton also each gained an assist. Hillsboro keeper Joe Rudy finished with 11 saves.
“Joe Rudy ended up with 11 saves. Three of them were key,” Weber said. “Three were back-to-back-to-back, when he was diving to the left. He stopped three solid shots, all in the same possession, so three of those 11 were on one possession. That was early, when it was still 1-0, so in that front period when they were creating pressure, Joe settled down and after that first goal made some critical key saves.
“Jay [Lovlie], when he came in late in the second half, did well as a sophomore coming in off the bench.”
Weber spoke about the leadership of the Indians this season.
“We’re doing great with the upperclassmen and the leadership, the senior leadership. That’s the big difference from this year to last because we actually are playing much better as a team. I can’t be more pleased,” Weber said, “Every single player’s picked up, and in comparison to last year’s games, this is night and day. Last year, we were just trying to stay alive, playing defense the majority of the game, getting countered all the time. This year, we’re the opposite. We’re the aggressor. We’re the ones creating pressure on the other teams.”
The win moves the Indians to 5-3 overall. Next is another conference match for the Indians on Thursday, Sept. 14 at Chillicothe.