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Hickory High’s boys’ soccer team dominated the stat sheet during Monday night’s Western Foothills Athletic 3A Conference (WFAC) match with visiting East Lincoln. However, none of it mattered as the Mustangs withstood the Red Tornadoes’ assault much of the evening and forged a 2-2 draw.
While the Red Tornadoes remained unbeaten at 5-0-3, the tie snapped their five-game winning streak. East Lincoln went to 4-2-3 overall with both teams going to 1-0-1 in the WFAC.
Unofficially, the Red Tornadoes put 19 shots on goal to just six for East Lincoln, which went 57 minutes without putting a shot at Hickory goalkeeper Conner Mejia. But Braxton Reeves, the Mustangs keeper, was sharp all night. He made 17 saves.
“He was big time,” said Mustangs head coach Michael Arabie. “He came up big when we needed him to. He made those saves and he was there first when we needed him. He was the player of the game with his performance, to me.”
With Hickory continuing to press the action much of the evening, it also held a 9-1 advantage in corner kicks. The Red Tornadoes also held a man advantage over the final 51 minutes of the match, when East Lincoln’s Helmuth Rojas picked up his second yellow card, which prompted an automatic red card and the disqualification. Yet, the ability to finish scoring chances left goals off the scoreboard.
“I mean, the guys worked hard enough to get the result,” said Red Tornadoes coach Brian Jillings. “Just that final decision-making in our final third just whether it’s a cross or a shot. You know, wrapping our foot around for a good cross or we’re sailing in behind the touch. Unfortunately, we’ve got to work on making better decisions. The effort was clearly there.”
A freakish goal gave the Mustangs a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute. As a Mustangs play ended deep in Hickory territory with Mejia gathering the ball in order to put Hickory on the attack. As most of the players jogged towards midfield to reset, Mejia’s kick caromed off East Lincoln’s Jackson Thrap, who was still in the area and into the net for the score.
“It was kind of kick in the gut there,” Jillings said. “I thought it took us a few minutes, but then we just started going at it and we created the bulk of the chances and just couldn’t get one.”
Hickory had a series of three corner kicks in the 29th and 30th minutes, but a pair of headers on the set pieces went awry. In the 38th minute, Josue Leal’s shot from 35 yards out was deflected into the arms of Reeves, who also made a touch save on a shot by Justin Ortiz as time in the first half expired.
Part of the success of Hickory’s attack was set up by the forwards’ pursuit of Mustangs clearing passes from the back line. The relentless effort finally paid off, as Leal stole a pass from 35 yards out in the center of the pitch, worked a give-and-go with Cesar Rangel and who fed the pass to Leal as he rushed the goal and snapped a shot for the tying goal in the 58th minute.
“We kept pressing and kept pressing and finally got a reward,” Jillings said. “It was hopeful that we’d go on and get the W, but the soccer gods weren’t into that.”
Both teams had a chance at the win near the end of regulation. East Lincoln’s Blake Swanson had a long run up the left touch line and rolled a shot that clipped the hands of Mejia. The ball rolled agonizingly slow towards the right post before Mejia was able to finally grab it prior to an East Lincoln attacker reaching it.
At the other end, Ortiz’s free run and cross set up a shot for Rangel that was corralled by Reeves. In the 79th minute, Leal curled a shot from 25 yards, but into the waiting arms of Reeves.
Hickory took a 2-1 lead in the first overtime, as East Lincoln was unable to clear from the right corner. Brandon Garcia controlled the ball with a short pop up on his knee to set up his shot for the score.
However, Thrap got his second goal in the 89th minute, as a lobbed shot from the top right corner of the 18-yard box drifted off the leap of Mejia and under the crossbar.
“He’s a great forward that just knows how to make those runs,” said Arabie. “He doesn’t have an off switch. He just keeps going and going and when we send the ball, he’ll just keep running and make plays for us and it shows through the goals he got today.”
Each team had scoring chances in the second overtime, as well as a free kick set deep into the opposition’s end of the field. However, neither side was able to get a clear look at the net before time expired.
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