Hillsboro shuts out McClain Tigers in boys soccer game
Lead Summary
By
Jim Jones-
The Hillsboro boys varsity soccer team traveled to Greenfield Thursday night to battle McClain, as the teams had played to a scoreless tie earlier in the season.
But on this chilly night, the team from Hillsboro prevailed by a 3-0 score in a game that was hard-fought and a mostly defensive struggle throughout.
Hillsboro scored the only goal of the opening half on a shot by Wesley Bailey at the 6:17 mark. The Indians added a pair of scores in the second period on goals by Carson Scott and Nick Turner.
Hillsboro’s Will Hardy was superb at the net, making several big saves on shots from McClain, especially down the stretch in the second half.
“Will (Hardy) is one of our senior leaders and a super warrior out there for us,” Hillsboro head coach Ben Howland said after the match. “We played to a 0-0 tie earlier in the year at our place, and I think for the most part it was another evenly played game again tonight.
“We’ve been having some trouble scoring over our last few games, but tonight our boys came together and played really well.
“We had a great week of practice, and it showed in the game here tonight,” Howland continued. “Overall, this was one of the best games that we’ve played all year. We passed the ball well, defended great, and then made a few shots.
“I told our boys that we really haven’t clicked on offense or defense, but today it all seemed to come together.”
McClain head coach Nick McNeal also spoke after the game.
“It was very frustrating to see how we came out and played tonight,” McNeal said. “I can never say that our kids don’t play hard, we just need to play better and do the right things on the field.
“We never seemed to be in the right spots all night, and we were leaving big gaps in the field and never really seemed to be on attack offensively as a team,” McNeal continued. “Our defense looked very unorganized and our spacing wasn’t there either, so positioning was something that we were really lacking tonight.”
McClain’s next game is at Fairfield on Monday night, while Hillsboro was scheduled to play at home Saturday vs. Logan Elm, then will host Ironton St. Joe on Wednesday.
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But on this chilly night, the team from Hillsboro prevailed by a 3-0 score in a game that was hard-fought and a mostly defensive struggle throughout.
Hillsboro scored the only goal of the opening half on a shot by Wesley Bailey at the 6:17 mark. The Indians added a pair of scores in the second period on goals by Carson Scott and Nick Turner.
Hillsboro’s Will Hardy was superb at the net, making several big saves on shots from McClain, especially down the stretch in the second half.
“Will (Hardy) is one of our senior leaders and a super warrior out there for us,” Hillsboro head coach Ben Howland said after the match. “We played to a 0-0 tie earlier in the year at our place, and I think for the most part it was another evenly played game again tonight.
“We’ve been having some trouble scoring over our last few games, but tonight our boys came together and played really well.
“We had a great week of practice, and it showed in the game here tonight,” Howland continued. “Overall, this was one of the best games that we’ve played all year. We passed the ball well, defended great, and then made a few shots.
“I told our boys that we really haven’t clicked on offense or defense, but today it all seemed to come together.”
McClain head coach Nick McNeal also spoke after the game.
“It was very frustrating to see how we came out and played tonight,” McNeal said. “I can never say that our kids don’t play hard, we just need to play better and do the right things on the field.
“We never seemed to be in the right spots all night, and we were leaving big gaps in the field and never really seemed to be on attack offensively as a team,” McNeal continued. “Our defense looked very unorganized and our spacing wasn’t there either, so positioning was something that we were really lacking tonight.”
McClain’s next game is at Fairfield on Monday night, while Hillsboro was scheduled to play at home Saturday vs. Logan Elm, then will host Ironton St. Joe on Wednesday.
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