Second-half surge leads McClain Tigers past Hillsboro Indians
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
HILLSBORO — The Frontier Athletic Conference match between the host Hillsboro Indians and the visiting McClain Tigers didn’t disappoint those in attendance, as it was the visiting team who had the final bit of momentum go their way with 46 seconds left in the match to score the go-ahead goal and gain the win by a 2-1 score.
McClain gained the go-ahead and game-winning goal with the aforementioned 46 seconds left on the clock off a goal by Haydon Hice, with the assist off a pass from Lyle White.
“We came out flat in the first half, and in the first half Hillsboro was the better team,” McClain head coach Nick McNeal said. “They outplayed us hands down, and our boys didn’t play the game we know how to play.
“After we had a talk and everything, we asked them ‘do you want to win?’ We came out in the second half and at times we were still a little flat, but we came alive in that last 20 minutes. We were ready to play and were on fire.”
McNeal also spoke abut the game-winning goal.
“Lyle made a fantastic pass to Haydon, and he scored the goal,” he said. “It was a great finisher and a great way to finish the game at the end. It was a big win for us, and Hillsboro is a great team. Hillsboro is such a good team, so I’m very happy with the win tonight.”
The first goal of the match was scored by Hillsboro’s Dylan Rigsby in the first half, as that was the lone goal scored in the opening 40 minutes of play and ended up being the only goal scored by the Indians.
“We played very well,” Hillsboro head coach Adam Schelling said. “We probably had 70-80 percent possession and probably outshot them at least 10-15 shots, but we just couldn’t put one in the back of the net. They got a PK, whether it was right or wrong, it was a PK, and that was tough.
“On the second goal they put it in with under a minute left, so that was tough. Our four defenders played a heck of a game. They fought for the whole game and held (McClain) out for most of the game, except for those two goals. It was a hard-fought game, and hopefully we see them (MHS) in the tournament.”
The match was tied at 1-1 in the second half with around 20 minutes left on the scoreboard as Braeden Bergstrom scored McClain’s first goal of the night on a penalty kick. The opportunity for the PK came from Lyle White being fouled in the box as he had possession of the ball.
“Lyle took the ball down in the box, kept the ball down there, got fouled and got us a PK,” McNeal said. “Braeden Bergstrom took the kick because he doesn’t miss penalty kicks.”
Also a standout for the Tigers on Thursday was their keeper Noah Reeves, who made some big-time saves at goal, including one save with around 11 minutes left in the match. Reeves dove for the ball to make the save, then keeping the score tied at 1-1.
“Noah played out of his mind,” McNeal said. “Hillsboro had some great shots, but Noah made some fantastic saves. He’s kept us in a lot of games because he’s a fantastic goal keeper.
Coach Schelling also spoke about his senior class as HHS held senior night.
“I can’t say enough about our seniors. They are a great group of guys, and I can’t say enough about them. They are unselfish, and they play together, and they fight hard,” he said.
McClain gained the go-ahead and game-winning goal with the aforementioned 46 seconds left on the clock off a goal by Haydon Hice, with the assist off a pass from Lyle White.
“We came out flat in the first half, and in the first half Hillsboro was the better team,” McClain head coach Nick McNeal said. “They outplayed us hands down, and our boys didn’t play the game we know how to play.
“After we had a talk and everything, we asked them ‘do you want to win?’ We came out in the second half and at times we were still a little flat, but we came alive in that last 20 minutes. We were ready to play and were on fire.”
McNeal also spoke abut the game-winning goal.
“Lyle made a fantastic pass to Haydon, and he scored the goal,” he said. “It was a great finisher and a great way to finish the game at the end. It was a big win for us, and Hillsboro is a great team. Hillsboro is such a good team, so I’m very happy with the win tonight.”
The first goal of the match was scored by Hillsboro’s Dylan Rigsby in the first half, as that was the lone goal scored in the opening 40 minutes of play and ended up being the only goal scored by the Indians.
“We played very well,” Hillsboro head coach Adam Schelling said. “We probably had 70-80 percent possession and probably outshot them at least 10-15 shots, but we just couldn’t put one in the back of the net. They got a PK, whether it was right or wrong, it was a PK, and that was tough.
“On the second goal they put it in with under a minute left, so that was tough. Our four defenders played a heck of a game. They fought for the whole game and held (McClain) out for most of the game, except for those two goals. It was a hard-fought game, and hopefully we see them (MHS) in the tournament.”
The match was tied at 1-1 in the second half with around 20 minutes left on the scoreboard as Braeden Bergstrom scored McClain’s first goal of the night on a penalty kick. The opportunity for the PK came from Lyle White being fouled in the box as he had possession of the ball.
“Lyle took the ball down in the box, kept the ball down there, got fouled and got us a PK,” McNeal said. “Braeden Bergstrom took the kick because he doesn’t miss penalty kicks.”
Also a standout for the Tigers on Thursday was their keeper Noah Reeves, who made some big-time saves at goal, including one save with around 11 minutes left in the match. Reeves dove for the ball to make the save, then keeping the score tied at 1-1.
“Noah played out of his mind,” McNeal said. “Hillsboro had some great shots, but Noah made some fantastic saves. He’s kept us in a lot of games because he’s a fantastic goal keeper.
Coach Schelling also spoke about his senior class as HHS held senior night.
“I can’t say enough about our seniors. They are a great group of guys, and I can’t say enough about them. They are unselfish, and they play together, and they fight hard,” he said.