Lady Tigers fall to Jackson in heartbreaker
The McClain girls soccer team suffered a hard-fought, heartbreaking 3-2 defeat to defending Frontier Athletic Conference champs Jackson Tuesday night in Greenfield.
It was a physical game where both teams had to battle not only each other, but the weather too, after a downpour came just minutes into the start, making the field extremely treacherous and forcing a delay in the action.
McClain entered the contest with an impressive 9-1-1 record, and their only loss of the season was a 1-0 defeat at Jackson earlier in the season.
“I thought we came out and started the game a little slow,” said McClain head coach Blain Bergstrom. “They scored three, and we got one.
“It just looked like we were a little sluggish, especially toward the end of the first half, and it seems like we’ve done that a little too often this year, as much as I hate to say it.”
Jackson took an early 1-0 advantage on a goal by Braelyn Brennan, but the Lady Tigers answered with a goal by Paisley Pryor at the 10:57 mark of the opening half to tie the game. But what really turned out to be the difference in the game was when the Ironladies got two quick goals by Cindy Carpenter just 30 seconds apart, which put them ahead 3-1 with just over five minutes remaining before halftime.
The Lady Tigers scored the only goal of the entire second half on Pryor’s second goal of the game, but the game ended in another exciting but disappointing one-score loss to Jackson.
“I thought we played much better in the second half,” Bergstrom said. “Paisley (Pryor) scored her second goal off a great assist by Addison (Olaker). We just couldn’t overcome that two-goal deficit, but we definitely had our chances, just couldn’t put one in.
“Defensively, I thought we played a lot stronger and much more disciplined in the second half, and that’s probably why we were still there and one goal away from tying it.”
McClain tied Miami Trace Thursday, Sept. 26 by a 1-1 score. They travel to Chillicothe next Tuesday, Oct. 1 before returning home Thursday, Oct. 3 to host Hillsboro.
Publisher's note: A free press is critical to having well-informed voters and citizens. While some news organizations opt for paid websites or costly paywalls, The Highland County Press has maintained a free newspaper and website for the last 25 years for our community. If you would like to contribute to this service, it would be greatly appreciated. Donations may be made to: The Highland County Press, P.O. Box 849, Hillsboro, Ohio 45133. Please include "for website" on the memo line.
