John Bruce, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
KINNKINNICK — In their return to the Division II Soccer Tournament, the Zane Trace Pioneers had to battle two opponents, a game McClain Tigers squad and the elements.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
On Monday, the Pioneers (14-4) walked off the pitch with two victories and advanced to Wednesday’s sectional title game with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over McClain.
“Our wings played well and the way we play out wide, we just pass it to Brock [Jarrell]. He comes in [to get possession] and it just goes from there,” ZT’s Ivan Chavez said. “Most of the time, we go wide and it just goes from there.”
With a massive wind gusting to their backs, the Pioneers managed to get out to a quick start with Chavez scoring his 25th goal of the season at the 29:13 mark in the opening half. Chavez appeared to play a cross that caught up in the wind and forced a misplay by the Tigers’ goalkeeper.
Less than ten minutes later, Chavez connected with Rece Allen on a more traditional score.
Chavez took a feed along the left wing and beat a defender, leading to a low cross in the middle of the box, where Allen would hammer the pass into the back of the net for his 24th goal of the year with 21:20 to play.
While the Pioneers wouldn’t score again for the remainder of the first half, they dominated possession and the attack to keep the Tigers (7-9-2) at bay.
Ivan and his brother, Marco, along with Allen, took advantage of the wind to push against the backline of McClain, outshooting the Tigers by a 13-3 count in the half. The defense of Jordan Harrington, Landon Robinson, Gavyn Allen and Chase Skaggs did an outstanding job of turning away the Tigers’ attack of Haydon Hice, Westley Smith and Creed Davis throughout the first stanza.
PHOTOS: Images from Zane Trace’s win over McClain
When the teams switched sides, it didn’t initially appear to make much of a difference as the Pioneers kept the attack going early in the half. That attack led to another score, this one coming from the penalty spot, where Harrington made it 3-0 with 35:51 left in the contest.
“I was comfortable [taking the PK],” Harrington said. “It helps that I took a deep breath before I took it. I just stepped up and finished.”
The penalty was awarded following a cross from Ivan Chavez, which was knocked down by an outstretched arm of a Tiger defender. Harrington, a junior defender, calmly stepped to the spot and scored his ninth goal of the season.
It appeared that the game was all but over, but nobody told the McClain Tigers their season was finished.
Less than forty seconds later, senior captain Haydon Hice sliced through the Pioneers’ defense and powered in a right-footed shot from the wing for his 12th goal this fall, cutting the lead to 3-1 and giving the Tigers some much-needed life.
With momentum and the wind at their backs, the Tigers’ attack began to pick up immensely, but the shot attempts still weren’t coming. The Pioneers’ defense made several stellar plays to clear the ball away before shots could be attempted, but one of those clearances led to a McClain corner kick, which is where the Tigers used the wind to their advantage to get a little closer.
Hice sent the corner high into the air, where it found senior defender Emerson Yates, who was able to get just enough of it to cross the goal line and cut the Pioneers’ once healthy lead to 3-2 with 22:32 to play.
“The second half was hard,” Harrington said. “We had to read the ball and give [McClain] space, let their runs come through and watch it. In the first half, the wind was for us and we could play through balls over their heads.”
The young Pioneers didn’t falter over the final minutes of the contest, not allowing another shot on goal while also pressing the ball forward and getting numerous chances, which nearly all went high or wide. The final shot total favored the Pioneers by a count of 27-8, with the shots on goal also favoring the Pioneers by a 15-2 margin — McClain’s junior goalkeeper Ethan Hill tallied 13 saves.
“We just need to keep our composure for sure and take a deep breath before we shoot,” Chavez said. “We have to focus on finishing instead of just ripping [shots].”
With the win, the Pioneers advance to a Division II sectional final at Gallia Academy. That match is scheduled for 6 p.m., Wednesday. The Blue Devils, a No. 2 seed, dominated New Lexington by a count of 15-0 on Monday.
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