HILLSBORO – Frontier Athletic Conference varsity boys soccer teams Hillsboro and Miami Trace squared off at Hillsboro High School, Thursday, Sept. 27 as each team fought to earn the win both would fall short as the match ended in a 2-2 draw.
The Indians got off to a rough start as they spotted Miami Trace a goal less than a minute into the match as they netted an own goal to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
The remainder of the fist half was scoreless as both teams struggled to gain traction on the muddy field and the game went to halftime with the scoreboard reading 1-0 in favor of the Panthers.
Hillsboro Head Coach John Weber talked about how his team turned things around after the rocky start to the game, “After that rocky start that first minute and overall actually the first five or ten minutes. After we settled down we started playing a little bit better. We started passing the ball and moving and talking a lot better.”
“The most highly contested games on the schedule are the FAC match-ups,” Panthers head coach Josh Thoroman said regarding his team’s approach to the match. “I knew it wasn’t going to be easy at all and we just try to prepare the guys.”
The second half was a hotly-contested defensive struggle that saw both teams unable to convert when they got the ball in the box.
Quinn Conlon finally ended the Indians scoreless night with 11:36 to play as he netted a goal on a free kick to tie the match at 1-1.
The Panthers retook the lead with just over five minutes to play as Sebastian Gurruchaga sent one past the Hillsboro keeper to reestablish the lead for Miami Trace at 2-1.
Conlon came to the rescue again with 1:17 to play as he crashed the box on a free kick by Hunter Hice and sent the ball screaming over the head of the Panthers goalie to tie the game at two where it would not change as the match ended in a draw.
Weber was most pleased with the way his team fought hard for the entire game and said, “The big thing that I can tell you is that we were resilient. In years past we would have folded it up and quit after they scored that second goal in the second half.”
Hillsboro has a match-up on Tuesday with FAC leading Chillicothe on the road and the Panthers will travel to Jackson to take on the Ironmen in another FAC match.
