Lady Indians tie in home opener with Unioto
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
The Hillsboro Lady Indians and Unioto Lady Shermans didn’t disappoint with their intense play during their early season showdown at Hillsboro High School, Tuesday night, ending their non-conference match in a 3-3 tie.
Both teams are in the same district in Division II, and both on Monday night showed flashes of what their teams will eventually become as the season progresses, both offensively and defensively.
It didn’t take long for the Lady Indians to start applying the pressure against their non-league opponent from the Scioto Valley Conference, with Hillsboro putting pressure on UHS with a corner kick three minutes into the match.
The Lady Shermans defense held HHS from scoring at that moment, then the Lady Indians later did the same with their defense as Unioto started applying pressure offensively.
Hillsboro then broke the scoreless tie with 30:32 on the first-half clock with Lillian Van Zant kicking the ball off the keeper, who dove for the save, but on the save, it bounced past the keeper and rolled into the net for a 1-0 Lady Indians advantage.
Just over four minutes later, HHS built a two-goal lead with Callan Myers beating the defense of the Lady Shermans at the 26:25 mark of the half, taking advantage of a one-on-one opportunity against the keeper.
The two-goal lead lasted around 21 minutes for the Lady Indians, until a goal by Jayla Campbell cut the HHS lead in half, with the goal coming near the front of the goal with 5:03 left in the opening half.
The two teams continued to apply pressure on both ends of the field as the final minutes clicked away, but neither were able to add any more goals as the first-half clock expired with HHS in front, 2-1.
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The beginning of the second half belonged to Unioto with XiXi McKell tying the score at the 35:03 mark, followed by taking the lead for the first time in the match with 20:01 left on the clock following a goal from Elena Duque.
“You never want to give up a two-nil lead, and then they come back and score three unanswered goal. It is a gut-check time for you and your team in the second game of the season, and I thought our girls responded well,” HHS head coach Jeremy Ratcliff said. “The girls raised their intensity and they raised their level of play, and it was nice to see them come and get that equalizing goal.”
With the second half continuing, neither the Lady Indians or the Lady Shermans controlled possession, with both teams showing flashes of pressure against their Division II opponent.
HHS had a chance for a corner kick goal with 12:00 left in regulation, but it was a little off-target. The Lady Indians continued to apply pressure offensively, though again, the defense of the Lady Shermans wouldn’t allow HHS to get off a shot at the goal.
That was the case until there was 4:23 left in the second half, as Myers crossed the ball across the goal to teammate Hope Tira for the game-tying goal and the eventual final 3-3 score.
“Unioto is a good program. They are in our district, and they are always solid,” Ratcliff said. “We knew this game would test us, and I’m not sure if some of our inexperienced players knew what was coming at them (Tuesday), but it got kind of serious real quick and they had to come together as a unit.
“They had to come together and start working as 11 on the field. We have a lot of work to do, but games like this make you better.”
Though no more goals were scored, both teams continued their physical, postseason-like play, with Hillsboro having possession in the final minute, including a collision in the final seconds as time expired as the Lady Indians were charging towards the goal.
For the match, HHS had six shots on goal. Last season in their regular-season match (Oct. 15) at UHS, the Lady Indians and Lady Shermans tied at 1-1.
On Saturday, the Lady Indians defeated the Eastern Brown Lady Warriors by a 7-2 score to begin the 2016 season. Scoring goals for the Lady Indians were Callan Myers with four goals, along with Cadence Myers, Lillian Van Zant and Hope Tira each scoring one goal. Assists were credited to Aidan Chaney and Tira.
The tie leaves HHS at 1-0-1 overall, and they will play again on Thursday, Aug. 25 at Wilmington in their South Central Ohio League opener.
Both teams are in the same district in Division II, and both on Monday night showed flashes of what their teams will eventually become as the season progresses, both offensively and defensively.
It didn’t take long for the Lady Indians to start applying the pressure against their non-league opponent from the Scioto Valley Conference, with Hillsboro putting pressure on UHS with a corner kick three minutes into the match.
The Lady Shermans defense held HHS from scoring at that moment, then the Lady Indians later did the same with their defense as Unioto started applying pressure offensively.
Hillsboro then broke the scoreless tie with 30:32 on the first-half clock with Lillian Van Zant kicking the ball off the keeper, who dove for the save, but on the save, it bounced past the keeper and rolled into the net for a 1-0 Lady Indians advantage.
Just over four minutes later, HHS built a two-goal lead with Callan Myers beating the defense of the Lady Shermans at the 26:25 mark of the half, taking advantage of a one-on-one opportunity against the keeper.
The two-goal lead lasted around 21 minutes for the Lady Indians, until a goal by Jayla Campbell cut the HHS lead in half, with the goal coming near the front of the goal with 5:03 left in the opening half.
The two teams continued to apply pressure on both ends of the field as the final minutes clicked away, but neither were able to add any more goals as the first-half clock expired with HHS in front, 2-1.
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The beginning of the second half belonged to Unioto with XiXi McKell tying the score at the 35:03 mark, followed by taking the lead for the first time in the match with 20:01 left on the clock following a goal from Elena Duque.
“You never want to give up a two-nil lead, and then they come back and score three unanswered goal. It is a gut-check time for you and your team in the second game of the season, and I thought our girls responded well,” HHS head coach Jeremy Ratcliff said. “The girls raised their intensity and they raised their level of play, and it was nice to see them come and get that equalizing goal.”
With the second half continuing, neither the Lady Indians or the Lady Shermans controlled possession, with both teams showing flashes of pressure against their Division II opponent.
HHS had a chance for a corner kick goal with 12:00 left in regulation, but it was a little off-target. The Lady Indians continued to apply pressure offensively, though again, the defense of the Lady Shermans wouldn’t allow HHS to get off a shot at the goal.
That was the case until there was 4:23 left in the second half, as Myers crossed the ball across the goal to teammate Hope Tira for the game-tying goal and the eventual final 3-3 score.
“Unioto is a good program. They are in our district, and they are always solid,” Ratcliff said. “We knew this game would test us, and I’m not sure if some of our inexperienced players knew what was coming at them (Tuesday), but it got kind of serious real quick and they had to come together as a unit.
“They had to come together and start working as 11 on the field. We have a lot of work to do, but games like this make you better.”
Though no more goals were scored, both teams continued their physical, postseason-like play, with Hillsboro having possession in the final minute, including a collision in the final seconds as time expired as the Lady Indians were charging towards the goal.
For the match, HHS had six shots on goal. Last season in their regular-season match (Oct. 15) at UHS, the Lady Indians and Lady Shermans tied at 1-1.
On Saturday, the Lady Indians defeated the Eastern Brown Lady Warriors by a 7-2 score to begin the 2016 season. Scoring goals for the Lady Indians were Callan Myers with four goals, along with Cadence Myers, Lillian Van Zant and Hope Tira each scoring one goal. Assists were credited to Aidan Chaney and Tira.
The tie leaves HHS at 1-0-1 overall, and they will play again on Thursday, Aug. 25 at Wilmington in their South Central Ohio League opener.