Weir storms back to tie Big Red
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TEUBENVILLE -- A tie can feel like a win, or it can feel like a loss.
Trailing Big Red by two goals with less than 10 minutes left in the match, Weir recorded a pair of goals less than six minutes apart to battle back, and the match ended in a 3-3 tie Wednesday night on Reno Saccoccia Field inside Harding Stadium.
The Red Riders scored all three of their goals in the second half.
The tie felt a bit like a win to Weir.
“Being down 3-1, yeah, it does feel better than if you were up 3-1,” Weir (3-6-3) head coach Jeremy Angelo said. “We were able to get those two goals. It was a good game. It was back and forth. They scored and they got another one. Then, we were able to score a goal. We kept pressing. We kept attacking. It was back and forth.
“The game got a little testy. It was physical. Both teams had a player get a yellow card. It was a battle like a boys game. It was definitely entertaining game. There is no doubt about that, especially in the second half.”
Big Red was on the other side of things.
“This tie feels like a loss,” Big Red (7-3-3) head coach Annie Cutri said. “Having a 2-0 lead is the most dangerous lead to have at halftime. We told the girls they have to continue to play like they did in the first half.
“Obviously, Weir was able to adjust. They moved No. 1 (Liv Baker) to the other side. It took our defense longer to adjust, and they were able to score three goals.”
Baker recorded all three goals for the Red Riders, while Sarah Stewart tallied an assist.
“We gave up two goals in less than six minutes,” Cutri said. “Our girls struggle with once something bad happens they get down a little bit. They struggle to bounce back. They have to have that mental toughness to stay the course. They have to figure that out.”
Rayna Hoover made 10 saves in goal for the visitors.
Libby Saccoccia collected two goals to lead the way offensively for the hosts, while Anastasia Crisante tallied a goal and an assist. Also, Raegan Hayes recorded an assist.
Adelaide Shaw made 10 saves for the home team.
“They move around,” Angelo said about Big Red. “They like to play quick. They try not to have three, four or five touches. They build from the back. They play with pace.”
The match was scoreless for nearly 22 minutes before Crisante scored on a shot into the lower corner of the net giving Big Red a 1-0 lead.
The score remained 1-0 for almost 12 minutes until Saccoccia scored for the first time off an assist by Crisante giving Big Red a 2-0 advantage with 6:17 left to play in the first half.
Weir came out strong to start the second half as Baker netted her first goal 3 minutes and 15 seconds into the second half pulling the Red Riders to within 2-1.
Weir did not keep the momentum for long as the girls in black answered right back when Saccoccia scored for the second time giving Big Red a 3-1 advantage with 33:26 left to play.
“We were able to string some passes together,” Cutri said. “It was beautiful. We haven’t seen that in a while. They were having fun.
“Once something goes wrong, however, we lose our focus. We were able to connect some passes together in the second half but not as many as we did in the first half.”
Down 3-1, Baker collected her second goal of the night to pull the Red Riders to back within a goal at 3-2 with 9:56 left on the clock.
Big Red pushed forward trying to score another goal, but the Red Riders were able to launch a counterattack, and Baker capitalized for her third goal of the match tying the score at 3 with 4:13 still showing on the scoreboard clock.
“We just kept playing,” Angelo said. “In the last four or five games, we have played better in the 15-20 minutes. We have controlled the ball. We have attacked. This was another game where we did that. Baker kept coming and coming and coming. Their defense got tired, and she was able to get through a couple of times.
“We put the pressure on, and Big Red did the same thing. Both teams earned their goals. There were no bad goals. Both teams fought for all six goals. There were combo plays. Both teams built up. The last five games we have been playing much better.”
Both teams tried to break the tie in the final minutes, but neither was able to get another shot into the back of the net.
“In this game, we did not have our starting goalie (Elexis Martin), and we did not have one of our starting defenders – Jaleyss Scales. We played without our central defense.”
Weir is scheduled to play University at 11 a.m. Saturday on the road.
Big Red is slated to play Catholic Central at 4 p.m. Saturday in the ninth annual “Together We Care” Soccer Cancer Benefit at Harding Stadium.
“It’s a big game,” Cutri said. “It is the city rivalry. It is for the city title. We have to be ready to play.”