Hawks dominate on field and on scoreboard
24-3.
How many times have soccer coaches lamented the fact that they outshot a team 24-3, only to get beat on some fluke shot, or to have to gut their way through a 1-0 win?
Just ask Scott Bodiker, Hiland’s soccer coach, who has said for years that soccer can be a very strange, almost unfair game.
On Saturday, Oct. 29, at Jackson High School in the District final contest featuring Hiland and Wheelersburg (15-3-1), Hiland outshot the Pirates 24-3.
But unlike those maddening games where a team dominates and gets a major scare, this one was all Hiland, the Hawks recording a 5-0 win that was not even that close.
At least for the last 43 minutes.
Hiland took advantage of its superior skills and speed to dominate play from the whistle. The first 20 minutes featured an onslaught on Wheelersburg’s defense and goalie Alex Dalton. When Grant Stutzman hit a cross in the face of the goal that eluded Dalton, Luke Burch was right there to drive it in for a 1-0 lead.
After that, the Hawks kept pressing, firing off shot after shot, getting a huge number of corners, creating great scoring opportunities off of headers and set plays, and yet the score remained 1-0 despite Hiland’s utter and complete dominance.
Finally, with less than seven minutes to play in the half, Hiland got its insurance goal.
Stutzman scorched a shot which was deflected back out in front of the goal. Alec Mast swooped in, driving home a left-footer into the lower left side of the net, to stake the Hawks to a 2-0 lead.
“I think getting us that 2-0 lead was a real key in the game,” said Bodiker. “This season we have put a lot of pressure on teams but we just haven’t put that finishing touch on it and let teams hang around. We had dominated play and yet we were at a point where if they score, it’s all tied up again. It wasn’t necessarily a thing of beauty. They misplayed it and Alec came in and finished it coolly, but he put himself in the right place at the right time and took advantage.”
The Hawks would keep on taking advantage.
Four minutes after making it 2-0, Stutzman hit a 22-foot line drive that blurred past several defenders, glanced off a Pirates defender and found the back of the net.
The 3-0 lead at the half turned into a 4-0 lead one minute into the second half, Stutzman getting tripped up in the box, creating a penalty kick for the Hawks.
Defender Neil Mast calmly poked in an easy kick past the left post, out of the reach of a diving Dalton, to make it 4-0.
Hiland continued to dominate play throughout the second half, and in the 65th minute, Cameron Miller made a superb lead pass to Burch, who took it in stride and knocked home a beauty to round out the scoring.
Defensively, the Hawks totally shut down the Pirates, and in particular high-scoring forward Braxton Jarvis, who had collected more than 40 goals this season, more than two per game.
“We just tried to keep an eye on him and know where he was on the field at all times,” said Neil Mast of Jarvis. “We knew he was a big part of their offense, and that he was a good player, but we didn’t do a lot out of the ordinary.
The strategy worked, with Jarvis getting only one shot on goal.
And when the Pirates did forge any kind of threat, Hiland keeper Dylan Kaufman was there to make sure that the zero remained on the Wheelersburg side of the scoreboard, making a couple of athletic plays to fend off possible threats.
The effort on both sides of the ball was relentless from a Hiland standpoint, the Hawks looking great in all phases from whistle to whistle.
It was almost as though the Hawks couldn’t wait to get on a field that wasn’t totally muddy slop and play soccer the way it was meant to be played.
“We played with a lot of energy tonight,” said Hiland coach Scott Bodiker. “It was one of our best 80 minute efforts of the season.
“Because of the weather, we really haven’t played competitive for three weeks, if you don’t count the Sectional game that wasn’t much of a game,” said Bodiker. “I think the guys came out very focused on what they needed to do, and we went out and played hard. We had a great intensity today.
“I think having Grant back really sparks us. He brings so much energy when he is out there. I think that rubs off on everyone.”
The victory leads the Hawks (13-4-0) to a point which they have circled on their calendar since before the season began. Now on the slate in the Regional semi-final will be Worthington Christian, the state’s Div. III number one ranked team, which has been a thorn in the side of the Hawks for a decade at the Regional competition level.
Last season saw the Hawks’ year end at the hands of the Warriors, Worthington Christian eking out a 2-1 victory that saw Hiland knocking on the door late, but unable to secure the game-tying goal.
“All season we have wanted to earn another shot at Worthington Christian, now we have our chance,” said Bodiker. “I know our guys will be fired up on Tuesday and ready to give it our best shot.”
How many times have soccer coaches lamented the fact that they outshot a team 24-3, only to get beat on some fluke shot, or to have to gut their way through a 1-0 win?
Just ask Scott Bodiker, Hiland’s soccer coach, who has said for years that soccer can be a very strange, almost unfair game.
On Saturday, Oct. 29, at Jackson High School in the District final contest featuring Hiland and Wheelersburg (15-3-1), Hiland outshot the Pirates 24-3.
But unlike those maddening games where a team dominates and gets a major scare, this one was all Hiland, the Hawks recording a 5-0 win that was not even that close.
At least for the last 43 minutes.
Hiland took advantage of its superior skills and speed to dominate play from the whistle. The first 20 minutes featured an onslaught on Wheelersburg’s defense and goalie Alex Dalton. When Grant Stutzman hit a cross in the face of the goal that eluded Dalton, Luke Burch was right there to drive it in for a 1-0 lead.
After that, the Hawks kept pressing, firing off shot after shot, getting a huge number of corners, creating great scoring opportunities off of headers and set plays, and yet the score remained 1-0 despite Hiland’s utter and complete dominance.
Finally, with less than seven minutes to play in the half, Hiland got its insurance goal.
Stutzman scorched a shot which was deflected back out in front of the goal. Alec Mast swooped in, driving home a left-footer into the lower left side of the net, to stake the Hawks to a 2-0 lead.
“I think getting us that 2-0 lead was a real key in the game,” said Bodiker. “This season we have put a lot of pressure on teams but we just haven’t put that finishing touch on it and let teams hang around. We had dominated play and yet we were at a point where if they score, it’s all tied up again. It wasn’t necessarily a thing of beauty. They misplayed it and Alec came in and finished it coolly, but he put himself in the right place at the right time and took advantage.”
The Hawks would keep on taking advantage.
Four minutes after making it 2-0, Stutzman hit a 22-foot line drive that blurred past several defenders, glanced off a Pirates defender and found the back of the net.
The 3-0 lead at the half turned into a 4-0 lead one minute into the second half, Stutzman getting tripped up in the box, creating a penalty kick for the Hawks.
Defender Neil Mast calmly poked in an easy kick past the left post, out of the reach of a diving Dalton, to make it 4-0.
Hiland continued to dominate play throughout the second half, and in the 65th minute, Cameron Miller made a superb lead pass to Burch, who took it in stride and knocked home a beauty to round out the scoring.
Defensively, the Hawks totally shut down the Pirates, and in particular high-scoring forward Braxton Jarvis, who had collected more than 40 goals this season, more than two per game.
“We just tried to keep an eye on him and know where he was on the field at all times,” said Neil Mast of Jarvis. “We knew he was a big part of their offense, and that he was a good player, but we didn’t do a lot out of the ordinary.
The strategy worked, with Jarvis getting only one shot on goal.
And when the Pirates did forge any kind of threat, Hiland keeper Dylan Kaufman was there to make sure that the zero remained on the Wheelersburg side of the scoreboard, making a couple of athletic plays to fend off possible threats.
The effort on both sides of the ball was relentless from a Hiland standpoint, the Hawks looking great in all phases from whistle to whistle.
It was almost as though the Hawks couldn’t wait to get on a field that wasn’t totally muddy slop and play soccer the way it was meant to be played.
“We played with a lot of energy tonight,” said Hiland coach Scott Bodiker. “It was one of our best 80 minute efforts of the season.
“Because of the weather, we really haven’t played competitive for three weeks, if you don’t count the Sectional game that wasn’t much of a game,” said Bodiker. “I think the guys came out very focused on what they needed to do, and we went out and played hard. We had a great intensity today.
“I think having Grant back really sparks us. He brings so much energy when he is out there. I think that rubs off on everyone.”
The victory leads the Hawks (13-4-0) to a point which they have circled on their calendar since before the season began. Now on the slate in the Regional semi-final will be Worthington Christian, the state’s Div. III number one ranked team, which has been a thorn in the side of the Hawks for a decade at the Regional competition level.
Last season saw the Hawks’ year end at the hands of the Warriors, Worthington Christian eking out a 2-1 victory that saw Hiland knocking on the door late, but unable to secure the game-tying goal.
“All season we have wanted to earn another shot at Worthington Christian, now we have our chance,” said Bodiker. “I know our guys will be fired up on Tuesday and ready to give it our best shot.”
Published: October 29, 2011
