Indians drop second straight league match; fall to Falcons 
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
HILLSBORO — This hasn't been the week the Hillsboro Indians had hoped for.
Entering the week, the Indians were undefeated in South Central Ohio League play, but as Thursday night's match ended with a 2-1 loss to the Clinton-Massie Falcons at Richards Memorial Field, the Indians found themselves two games out of the SCOL lead.
On Tuesday, the Indians lost 2-0 to the Washington Blue Lions, and next week, HHS will face SCOL-leading and Highland County rival McClain, who are undefeated in league play this season at 6-0-1. In their previous meeting, HHS and MHS tied 1-1 at RMF.
The loss drops HHS to 4-2-1 in the SCOL and 5-3-1 overall.
Hillsboro played strong in the first half; in fact, they led 1-0 at halftime with a goal from Jordan O'Connor at the 18:08 mark of the half. His kick was from nearly 8 yards out, landing in the right side of the net.
After the goal and from the start of the second half, the Indians didn't play the same style of soccer.
"We played well in the first half, but in the second half, we played kickball and we didn't talk like we did in the first half," Hillsboro coach John Weber said. "In the second half, we did everything we weren't supposed to do.
"Credit Clinton-Massie, they played well."
The Falcons tied the match at 1-1 with 33:52 left in the second half with Casey McCarty putting the ball in the back of the net.
Hillsboro threatened with an opportunity to score, and keeper Corey Walker made a diving save at the goal, but it wasn't enough for the Indians to keep the match tied or to take the lead.
With 22:19 left on the scoreboard clock, Massie's Paul Turner leaped into the air on a corner kick and headed the ball into the net for a 2-1 Falcon advantage, while surrounded by numerous players from both teams.
"Hillsboro is a great team, and to beat a team like them is a great feat," CM coach Matt Johannes said. "Last year we lost and tied them, and this year they beat us at our place."
Johannes said the key to the win was his team played for 80 straight minutes.
"We played 80 minutes of soccer. This was the first time we did that, and it was big for us. You can't play a team like Hillsboro and not play a complete game."
The Indians had another opportunity, this time to tie the game, but it went the way of the Falcons as the ball kicked by HHS bounced off the left goal post of the Falcons, rolling out of play.
HHS had another shot at goal with 12:30 left in the match, but CM held HHS in check for the remainder of the match.
The Indians will have to turn things around in a hurry. On Saturday, they travel to Dodsonville to face Highland County rival Lynchburg-Clay at 3 p.m. Following that game, they face the Tigers in what can be called a "must win" SCOL game for the Indians.
Since the fair break, the Indians are 1-2, defeating Madison-Plains.
"This week we've had a target on our back in the league," Weber said. "We need to step our game up. We still have the layover from fair week, and having one of our better players (Jarrod Hart) out for almost two weeks doesn't help much either.
"We have the skill level as a team, but we just need to do what we were doing before the fair … it's that simple. We aren't translating our skill levels onto the field."
The win moves CM to 6-4 overall and 4-3 in the SCOL.
BOX SCORE
CM 0 2 — 2
HHS 1 0 — 1[[In-content Ad]]
Entering the week, the Indians were undefeated in South Central Ohio League play, but as Thursday night's match ended with a 2-1 loss to the Clinton-Massie Falcons at Richards Memorial Field, the Indians found themselves two games out of the SCOL lead.
On Tuesday, the Indians lost 2-0 to the Washington Blue Lions, and next week, HHS will face SCOL-leading and Highland County rival McClain, who are undefeated in league play this season at 6-0-1. In their previous meeting, HHS and MHS tied 1-1 at RMF.
The loss drops HHS to 4-2-1 in the SCOL and 5-3-1 overall.
Hillsboro played strong in the first half; in fact, they led 1-0 at halftime with a goal from Jordan O'Connor at the 18:08 mark of the half. His kick was from nearly 8 yards out, landing in the right side of the net.
After the goal and from the start of the second half, the Indians didn't play the same style of soccer.
"We played well in the first half, but in the second half, we played kickball and we didn't talk like we did in the first half," Hillsboro coach John Weber said. "In the second half, we did everything we weren't supposed to do.
"Credit Clinton-Massie, they played well."
The Falcons tied the match at 1-1 with 33:52 left in the second half with Casey McCarty putting the ball in the back of the net.
Hillsboro threatened with an opportunity to score, and keeper Corey Walker made a diving save at the goal, but it wasn't enough for the Indians to keep the match tied or to take the lead.
With 22:19 left on the scoreboard clock, Massie's Paul Turner leaped into the air on a corner kick and headed the ball into the net for a 2-1 Falcon advantage, while surrounded by numerous players from both teams.
"Hillsboro is a great team, and to beat a team like them is a great feat," CM coach Matt Johannes said. "Last year we lost and tied them, and this year they beat us at our place."
Johannes said the key to the win was his team played for 80 straight minutes.
"We played 80 minutes of soccer. This was the first time we did that, and it was big for us. You can't play a team like Hillsboro and not play a complete game."
The Indians had another opportunity, this time to tie the game, but it went the way of the Falcons as the ball kicked by HHS bounced off the left goal post of the Falcons, rolling out of play.
HHS had another shot at goal with 12:30 left in the match, but CM held HHS in check for the remainder of the match.
The Indians will have to turn things around in a hurry. On Saturday, they travel to Dodsonville to face Highland County rival Lynchburg-Clay at 3 p.m. Following that game, they face the Tigers in what can be called a "must win" SCOL game for the Indians.
Since the fair break, the Indians are 1-2, defeating Madison-Plains.
"This week we've had a target on our back in the league," Weber said. "We need to step our game up. We still have the layover from fair week, and having one of our better players (Jarrod Hart) out for almost two weeks doesn't help much either.
"We have the skill level as a team, but we just need to do what we were doing before the fair … it's that simple. We aren't translating our skill levels onto the field."
The win moves CM to 6-4 overall and 4-3 in the SCOL.
BOX SCORE
CM 0 2 — 2
HHS 1 0 — 1[[In-content Ad]]