Indians hold on to defeat Tigers

GREENFIELD — The McClain Tigers and Hillsboro Indians boys varsity soccer teams played another one of their classic hard-fought games that went down to the wire on Thursday night at McClain field.

Hillsboro prevailed in this one, narrowly winning 3-1 in a game that was very physical and extremely exciting until the final horn sounded.

Both young goal keepers, freshman Owen Davis for Hillsboro and sophomore Zayne Knisley of McClain, each played outstanding defensive games and were mainly responsible for the low score by stopping several big shots on goal all night.

“This was a pretty exciting game tonight,” Hillsboro head coach Ben Howland said. “Greenfield played hard, and it seems like every time we play here it’s always an adventure.

“They have really improved this year, and in both games, here tonight and at Hillsboro earlier, they played us tough, so kudos to them.”

The first half was a defensive battle by both teams with neither one able to find the back of the net until Cooper Swope scored the first goal of the game for Hillsboro with just 1:29 remaining before intermission.

“It was 0-0 just before halftime and we conceded that goal with only about 90 seconds to go when we let a ball go all the way across the box from the corner, and I told my guys that was not acceptable,” McClain head coach John Gill said.

McClain tied the score at the 28:23 mark of the second half on a long shot by sophomore Brayden Shover, but it was short-lived.

The Indians regained the lead moments later on a free-kick by Swope at the 23:16 mark on a shot that was drilled and Knisley almost blocked but slid through his gloves.  

Hillsboro finished off the scoring in the game on a long shot by Ryan Howland with just 11:35 remaining giving the Indians a 3-1 advantage and one they held on to until the final horn sounded.

“Stix (Brayden Shover) hit one of this signature kicks to tie it early in the second half from about 25 or 30 yards out, and Zayne (Knisley) made a lot of big stops for us in goal tonight,” Gill said. “I thought we controlled a lot of the first half and attempted maybe 10 more shots than them, but then the second half kind of went away from us.

“I’m still really proud of my kids for the way they played, because this was probably the best 80 minutes we’ve played all season, without a doubt.”

McClain closes out the regular season with a home match Monday, Oct. 6 vs. Fairfield.