Huskies, Crusaders battle to tie in ‘Friday Night Futbol’
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CADIZ -- The ‘Friday Night Futbol’ match up between Harrison Central and Catholic Central provided a thrilling start to the local high school soccer season.
The Huskies, who seemed to have more chances and possession, especially in the first half, seemed to be in the driver’s seat with a goal in the final 15 minutes to break a scoreless deadlock.
The Crusaders, however, showed their resilience and pushed back, tying the game with just over five minutes to play, forcing a 1-1 draw at Wagner Field.
“We came close to getting a win, it was a battle,” Harrison Central head coach Derek Gramling said. “I don’t think it’s a bad result, Steubenville Catholic Central is always a very tough team. It’s a disappointing to end in a tie, but overall I thought we played pretty well.”
The Huskies started the game with a couple of early chances and kept the ball at the Central end of the field for most of the opening 20 minutes. Central made a push through the middle of the first half, but the Huskies again came on the attack the later portion of the half, the best chance of the game to that point coming in the final minute before the break when a free kick went off the crossbar.
The Huskies again had some solid looks early in the second half, though Central’s counters got stronger as the game went and the Crusaders had some chances of their own, including earning three corner kicks in a two-minute span.
After another big Central push, though, the Huskies broke the other way and Noah Thaxton raced down the sideline with the ball and got off the cleanest shot of the game, firing a hard shot into the twine with 14:17 left to play, giving the hosts a 1-0 lead.
“We had our chances,” Gramling said. “I thought we had the better of the chances. It was a good game, they’re a good team and who knows, we might see them again in the playoffs at the end of the season.”
Undeterred, however, the Crusaders did not quit and started to make a push for the equalizer. The Crusaders had a solid chance less than a minute after the Harrison Central goal and kept pushing.
Ultimately, the continued attack led to a golden opportunity when the Huskies committed a foul in the box with 5:18 to play.
Central’s Tommy Symington took the penalty kick and fired a shot into the net, tying the game.
“I told our guys we were playing a good team and we were going to have to work extremely hard,” Catholic Central head coach Steve Kopcha said. “Our guys battling and the goal was a result of the hard work. We got a penalty off a hard-working play and were able to take advantage.
“We knew it was going to be a tight game, it’s always been a tight game throughout the years. We knew it would be a battle. They have a lot of speed and put pressure on us.”
The Huskies had a strong push looking to get the goal back, a shot just missing with with 4:30 to play and then back-to-back corner kicks with under three to play before a big save by Central keeper Joseph Vranish in the final two minutes.
The push, though, did not result in a goal and the deadlock remained, putting a tie on the both teams’ records to start the season.
“It’s a good early sign that our guys kept battling and responded appropriately after getting behind,” Kopcha added.
UP NEXT
Catholic Central: Is back on the road on Monday visiting St. Clairsville.
Harrison Central: Is back at home on Thursday to host Minerva.