Highland soccer loses to Mascoutah at home, battles Mater Dei to 1-1 tie
On Tuesday, Sept. 13, the Highland soccer team hosted Mississippi Valley Conference rival Maascoutah and played solid ball control but failed finish timely scoring chances.
The end result was a 3-0 loss to the Indians at Highland High School.
It was an encouraging yet frustrating night for HHS, which slipped to 1-6-2 with the loss.
“It was 3-0, but it felt like we were playing a little better than in past weeks,” Highland coach Jay Robertson said. “I felt we had a little bit more control of the ball as far as moving it around and keeping it a little more on the possession side for us. You never want to be on the other side of that 3-0 loss, but I do think we saw some (offensive) improvements on the field.”
Mascoutah (6-4) scored its first goal about 20 minutes into the first half and then added a second goal at the 30-minute mark of the half to take a 2-0 lead into the halftime break.
Halfway into the second half, Mascoutah picked up its final goal of the night off a head ball to go to a 3-0 lead.
“It wasn’t right near the goal, but a little bit past to the right of the PK spot and it was back against the grain and the kid hit a good shot,” Robertson said. “Our kid actually got to it where he thought he had saved it off the line and then the AR (alternate ref) said it was in, so it was a pretty close call, but the call didn’t go our way on that one.”
Gavin Huff, Connor Randel, and Chase Rottmann each scored a goal to pace the Indians. Nathan Hippard tallied a pair of assists for Mascoutah.
Despite the loss, Robertson believes, as the Bulldogs get players such as leading scorer Jacob Oliver back from a recent injury and continue to improve their ball possession with more players getting increased scoring chances, HHS can turn things around in the scoring department soon.
“We’re missing our leading scorer right now, but there some other guy that are getting some opportunities. I think it’s just as simple as us finishing when we’re getting those spots in the offensive third (of the field),” Robertson said. “We’re getting some good looks here the last few games and right now the focus is just going to be on finding the back of the net.”
Bulldogs battle Mater Dei to tie
A busy second week of September began on a promising note for HHS with a challenging test at Breese Mater Dei.
After 80 grueling minutes of play, the Bulldogs settled for a 1-1 tie with the host Knights.
Luke Morris gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead with a goal just before halftime as Logan Mollet assisted on the tally.
In the second half, Mater Dei drew even on a goal by Karan D’Souza, forcing a 1-1 deadlock.
Julio Palma assisted on D’Souza’s goal. Both teams locked down defensively as Highland goalie Cole Ellis and Mater Dei keeper Reid Innes kept their goals clean for the rest of regulation time.
This story was originally published September 14, 2022 at 4:29 PM.