River Valley digs deep, answers Highland's early second half goal to win MOAC soccer match
SPARTA —River Valley boys soccer coach Joel Richards saw the hint of a difference in his squad Monday night.
"Earlier in the season we would give up a goal and give up a lead, and we would kind of break down a bit. Tonight we dug deep," Richards said.
Ahead 2-1 at halftime during a Mid Ohio Athletic Conference match at Highland, the Scots tied it up 20 seconds into the second half on a Zane Sheets breakaway.
Instead of wilting or even getting sideways for a stretch, the Vikings came away with a 5-3 victory.
"We came together as a group," RV junior Hudson Pollock said. "We worked back as a team. We normally aren’t very good at that, but tonight I thought we were good about that."
Check out another soccer gallery: PHOTOS: Pleasant meets Highland in boys soccer
Set play key for RV
Roughly five minutes after Highland knotted the match, Pollock put the Vikings on top 3-2 finishing up a free kick set piece. Then with under 10 minutes left, Ian Burns wheeled around in the box and right-footed a ball by the keeper to make it 4-2.
"At halftime, I covered one thing. I said on our corners and our free kicks up close — all of our set pieces — they are not covering anybody outside the box," Richards said. "I don’t want everybody to crash; I want to leave somebody back and Ian Burns did exactly that."
More soccer photos: River Valley boys blank Marion Harding in soccer opener
Scots try to rally
A little over two minutes after the Vikes went up 4-2, Sheets scored off a free kick. The Scots tried to rally by putting the pressure on the RV defense in the final minutes, but it was River Valley that struck when Christian Knight scored with seven seconds left.
For Highland, it was the first loss of the season in the MOAC, going to 5-5 overall and 3-1 in the league.
"Satchel has this program going in the right direction," Richards said of his Highland counterpart. "I know a bunch of these kids through club and playing indoor (soccer). Zane Sheets is, if not the best, one of the best players in the league man-for-man. That’s why I hugged him at the end because he was so, so good."
For River Valley, it was its fifth win in its last six matches as they are now 8-4-1 overall and 3-1 in the MOAC and closing in on the school record of 12 wins in a season.
"Considering it’s their first league loss, it’s pretty big," Pollock said of beating the Scots. "They haven’t played Ontario or Clear Fork yet."
Game balls
Pollock posted two goals, while Briley Beckley, Burns and Knight also scored goals for the Vikings with Gabe Douce adding two assists along with one each from Beckley and Knight. J.R. Bates saved nine shots for RV, and defenseman Noah Williams headed away a shot on goal by Highland by backing up Bates in what Richards said was "the save of the year."
Up next
River Valley will face Galion in what is dubbed the Iberia Cup, the mid-point village between the two school districts on Ohio 309. Besides being a league match, it will be special in another way. The two will play Sunday at 11 a.m. at Lower.com Field, which is in downtown Columbus and is the home of the Crew.
Highland will host Crestview on Wednesday.
rmccurdy@gannett.com
419-610-0998
Twitter @McMotorsport
Instagram @rob_mccurdy_star
This article originally appeared on Marion Star: River Valley answers at Highland in MOAC boys soccer action
