Big Red, Redskins battle to scoreless tie
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STEUBENVILLE -- A result is better than a loss.
The Big Red and Indian Creek boys soccer teams went into their match looking for a win, and although both teams had chances, the game ended in a scoreless tie Tuesday evening during senior night on Reno Field inside Harding Stadium.
"We created good opportunities in both halves," Big Red (1-0-2) head coach Greg Bowers said. "If we finished some of those, sometimes those lead to more goals, but we were not able to finish. That is a credit to the Indian Creek defense. They shut us down."
The Redskins also wanted to win, but they will take the tie.
"That was an 80-minute war," Indian Creek (0-0-2) head coach Chuck Brettell said. "It was a war. I told the kids last night that they needed to focus for 80 minutes and not 79. We needed to focus for 80 minutes tonight. This has been a house of horrors for us. To leave here I like this, I have no complaints. Starting with this one, we have eight games in 17 days. What a game."
Big Red had the better of the play, but the hosts were unable to get a shot into the back of the net. Big Red out-shot the Redskins, 15-7.
Big Red goalie J.P. Walsh stopped all five shots on goal he faced. Indian Creek goalie Trevor Francis finished with 12 saves.
"My keeper was unbelievable for us," Brettell said. "This was only his second game. He's a sophomore. He was unbelievable. It was a good night. I would have loved to have gotten the win, but I'll take it."
Big Red's offensive pressure forced Indian Creek into taking 13 goal kicks, while Big Red took five. Big Red took two corner kicks, and Indian Creek took one.
"We knew they were going to put (Elijah) Llewellyn up top," Bowers said. "We knew they were going to pack it in. We knew they were going to directly push it up to him. Our defense did a great job knowing where he was. We lost him once, and we were fortunate he did not score. We did a tremendous job on defense."
Big Red had some good chances late in the match, but they were unable to get a shot past Francis.
"It is a mental thing right now," Bowers said about his team having a difficult time finishing. "We have some young players. We just cannot connect that last pass. We are going to keep working on it. We like the improve we have shown. We just have to be more consistent."
Indian Creek opened the season with a 2-2 tie against Catholic Central on Aug. 21 at Kettlewell Stadium.
"This has never happened before," Brettell said. "We are 0-0-2, and we opened with Catholic Central and Big Red. That's great. Now, we play Cambridge Thursday. This is huge for us. This gives us so much confidence. This is no easy game."
Both teams battled until the final whistle blew and the horn sounded.
"It was a fairly clean game," Brettell said. "I was impressed with how the kids were able to control themselves. There were no reds. They did a good job of controlling themselves out there. There was some pushing and shoving, and I'm sure there was some chattering going on, but I saw guys helping each other up. I was impressed.
Prior to the start of the game, Big Red honored its five seniors -- Andrew Neely, Cole McCullough, Mike Rook, Josh Lahr and Esteban Serna.
"Our seniors have been great for the program," Bowers said. "They have all contributed. They are all multiple varsity letterwinners. They are great kids. They are great in the classroom. They have been great leaders for us this season."
UP NEXT
Indian Creek: Travels to Cambridge at 6 p.m. Thursday.
Steubenville: Travels to Oak Glen at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.