Indians, Tigers tie, 1-1
Lead Summary
By
Jim Jones-
GREENFIELD — It was senior night in Greenfield when the McClain boys varsity soccer team hosted their cross-county rivals Hillsboro, Thursday in another epic battle. This one, a defensive gem by both teams, ended in a 1-1 tie in South Central Ohio League play.
“I thought both teams played very hard tonight,” Hillsboro head coach John Weber said. “Just a hard-fought battle that we couldn’t close out. Hats off to (McClain) for tying it up there at the end.”
In the opening half, neither team was able to put points on the scoreboard due to some great defensive play by both squads and their talented keepers. Hillsboro scored their first and only goal of the night at the 31:15 mark of the second half when sophomore Andrew Gunderman found the back of the McClain net.
The score remained 1-0 until McClain senior Tyler Jackson made an unbelievable shot with a header goal with just 2:49 remaining in regulation.
Both teams fought hard down the stretch, just missing on a couple of scoring opportunities but the game ended with a 1-1 deadlock.
“It never really matters who has the better record or where the game is played when these two teams meet,” McClain head coach Jon Chamblin said. “It's always a great game and (Thursday) was no exception.
“I thought we played much better in the first half than we did in the second, but we held up well, especially defensively when we were playing a man down due to a penalty.
“We would like to have gotten the win, but we’ll take the tie thanks to that header by T.J. (Tyler Jackson) on a great play at the end of the game. Both teams played extremely well, and Hillsboro is much improved from when we played them earlier in the season, so props to them.”
McClain returns home next Thursday when they host Unioto in their final regular-season game before the tournament.
“I thought both teams played very hard tonight,” Hillsboro head coach John Weber said. “Just a hard-fought battle that we couldn’t close out. Hats off to (McClain) for tying it up there at the end.”
In the opening half, neither team was able to put points on the scoreboard due to some great defensive play by both squads and their talented keepers. Hillsboro scored their first and only goal of the night at the 31:15 mark of the second half when sophomore Andrew Gunderman found the back of the McClain net.
The score remained 1-0 until McClain senior Tyler Jackson made an unbelievable shot with a header goal with just 2:49 remaining in regulation.
Both teams fought hard down the stretch, just missing on a couple of scoring opportunities but the game ended with a 1-1 deadlock.
“It never really matters who has the better record or where the game is played when these two teams meet,” McClain head coach Jon Chamblin said. “It's always a great game and (Thursday) was no exception.
“I thought we played much better in the first half than we did in the second, but we held up well, especially defensively when we were playing a man down due to a penalty.
“We would like to have gotten the win, but we’ll take the tie thanks to that header by T.J. (Tyler Jackson) on a great play at the end of the game. Both teams played extremely well, and Hillsboro is much improved from when we played them earlier in the season, so props to them.”
McClain returns home next Thursday when they host Unioto in their final regular-season game before the tournament.