Hillsboro Indians defend home field against Fairfield Lions with 3 first-half goals
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
HILLSBORO — The first career head coaching win for Ben Howland in his debut season with the Hillsboro Indians came in the 2022 season opener on Friday night at Hillsboro High School. The win was a dominating effort of scoring in the first 40 minutes of action, as HHS scored all three of their goals against the visiting Fairfield Lions for what eventually was a 3-0 victory.
The Indians (1-0) scored all three of their goals inside the final 20 minutes of the first half, starting with Peyton Robinson scoring the first of his two goals in the non-conference showdown with the goal coming at the 17:03 with the goal assisted by Isaac Brandyberry.
Hillsboro’s second goal came shortly after with 11:47 left in the opening half of the season opener, as Austin Bledsoe scored a goal with the assist by Robinson for the two-goal lead over the Lions.
“We got up on (Fairfield) early, got a lot of kids in, and in the second half I thought we applied a lot of pressure, but we just didn’t score,” Howland said.
Next was the final goal of the first half and of the entire game when Robinson scored his second goal with the assist from Nick Turner with 41 seconds on the first-half clock. That goal gave the Indians a three-goal advantage.
“It was a fun night, it was a great night,” Howland said. “The kids were all playing really well. We have a good mix, and being the new coach here, it is fun to see them gel. I’m excited to see what they can do this year.
“The kids have been doing open fields, conditioning, and we went to a tournament at Wright State and did pretty well, and then we went to Little Miami and won that so it has been a great offseason. We have also played in some scrimmages, and played a good Fairland team and tied them.”
Though the second half had no goals scored, it was Hillsboro’s offense controlling most of the possession in the final 40 minutes, although the Lions did have some offensive pressure of their own. In the end, it was the Indians applying offensive pressure, but the Fairfield keeper making tough stops to keep the Indians from adding to their lead.
Howland also talked about the defense of the Indians and how they played in the first game of the ’22 season.
“Our defense is going to be good,” Howland said. “We rotate five or six, and some of those players are Carson Scott, Wesley Bailey, Keahi Mhanna, Evan Fender … they did great, and I feel really comfortable with any of them. We also had a couple freshmen come in Mathias Hostetler and Dylan Bender, and they rotated well. We also have Will Hart at keeper, and he’s a leader and great kid.”
The loss sends FHS to 0-1 overall, as they will next play again on Tuesday, Aug. 17 at home against Piketon with a 7 p.m. start in non-conference action.
“It has been a rough fall to start the season,” FHS head coach Jacob Alexander said. “We’ve been in and out of the gym, getting out on the grass — we didn’t have any scrimmages — so this is our first time being on the field as a team. We were learning in the first half, but we really want to build off that second half.
“Offensively, we aren’t there yet. We lost seven seniors, and it is one of those things where you are still trying to fill positions and seeing who works where the best. We are still learning, and we’ll get better. I have faith in the guys, and we have some good leaders.
“Zane Matthews did a good job at goal. because it could have been a lot worse, and he had some nice saves.”
Alexander also spoke about the offense of the Lions.
“Offensively we still have work to do, but we saw some good things,” Alexander said. “We have some athletes out there.”
Hillsboro will play their next game on Saturday, Aug. 20 on the road against the Eastern Warriors at 10 a.m. in non-conference play.
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The Indians (1-0) scored all three of their goals inside the final 20 minutes of the first half, starting with Peyton Robinson scoring the first of his two goals in the non-conference showdown with the goal coming at the 17:03 with the goal assisted by Isaac Brandyberry.
Hillsboro’s second goal came shortly after with 11:47 left in the opening half of the season opener, as Austin Bledsoe scored a goal with the assist by Robinson for the two-goal lead over the Lions.
“We got up on (Fairfield) early, got a lot of kids in, and in the second half I thought we applied a lot of pressure, but we just didn’t score,” Howland said.
Next was the final goal of the first half and of the entire game when Robinson scored his second goal with the assist from Nick Turner with 41 seconds on the first-half clock. That goal gave the Indians a three-goal advantage.
“It was a fun night, it was a great night,” Howland said. “The kids were all playing really well. We have a good mix, and being the new coach here, it is fun to see them gel. I’m excited to see what they can do this year.
“The kids have been doing open fields, conditioning, and we went to a tournament at Wright State and did pretty well, and then we went to Little Miami and won that so it has been a great offseason. We have also played in some scrimmages, and played a good Fairland team and tied them.”
Though the second half had no goals scored, it was Hillsboro’s offense controlling most of the possession in the final 40 minutes, although the Lions did have some offensive pressure of their own. In the end, it was the Indians applying offensive pressure, but the Fairfield keeper making tough stops to keep the Indians from adding to their lead.
Howland also talked about the defense of the Indians and how they played in the first game of the ’22 season.
“Our defense is going to be good,” Howland said. “We rotate five or six, and some of those players are Carson Scott, Wesley Bailey, Keahi Mhanna, Evan Fender … they did great, and I feel really comfortable with any of them. We also had a couple freshmen come in Mathias Hostetler and Dylan Bender, and they rotated well. We also have Will Hart at keeper, and he’s a leader and great kid.”
The loss sends FHS to 0-1 overall, as they will next play again on Tuesday, Aug. 17 at home against Piketon with a 7 p.m. start in non-conference action.
“It has been a rough fall to start the season,” FHS head coach Jacob Alexander said. “We’ve been in and out of the gym, getting out on the grass — we didn’t have any scrimmages — so this is our first time being on the field as a team. We were learning in the first half, but we really want to build off that second half.
“Offensively, we aren’t there yet. We lost seven seniors, and it is one of those things where you are still trying to fill positions and seeing who works where the best. We are still learning, and we’ll get better. I have faith in the guys, and we have some good leaders.
“Zane Matthews did a good job at goal. because it could have been a lot worse, and he had some nice saves.”
Alexander also spoke about the offense of the Lions.
“Offensively we still have work to do, but we saw some good things,” Alexander said. “We have some athletes out there.”
Hillsboro will play their next game on Saturday, Aug. 20 on the road against the Eastern Warriors at 10 a.m. in non-conference play.
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