Derrick Webb, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
KINNIKINNICK — While Lucas Hanes inched towards a county-wide scoring mark on Monday evening, the Unioto Shermans used his two-goal performance to stay in the win column.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
Hanes netted his 116th and 117th career goals, tying Unioto assistant coach Tyler Bryant’s Ross County scoring record, while leading Unioto (6-2) to a 3-1 win over Zane Trace.
The victory marked the Tanks’ sixth straight win in the Ross County Cup rivalry as they now have a 17-8 advantage in the cup’s series.
“This is big-time for a couple of reasons,” Unioto coach Freddy Cortez said. “First of all, it’s the crosstown rivalry. We always want to beat [Zane Trace], no matter what. Secondly, we needed to find a way to get on track and stay on track. We lost to Athens [on Sept. 5] and we’ve got minds that could either be defeated or minds that will forget about it and move on. We showed that mentally, we’re still in, we’re still there and the end goal is still intact.”
Hanes and his running mate, Kamden Smith, carried the offensive load. However, there was also a familiar name carrying the brunt of the defensive efforts.
There were multiple times where Zane Trace (4-1) seemed to be working towards getting a great look at the goal. But in most of those instances, before the Pioneers could put a shot on frame, Cameron Thompson stepped in to put a halt to the scoring threat.
PHOTOS: Images from Unioto’s win over Zane Trace
“It was a great game,” Cortez said. “[Zane Trace] did a really good job of being consistent up top and passing. They got in our midfield a little bit. But luckily, we have a guy in Cameron, who I consider to be the best defender in the state of Ohio. He gives us so much flexibility in the back and without him, it causes a lot of concern.”
The entirety of the first 40 minutes was spent feeling each other out.
The Shermans did manage to put six shots on target, compared to ZT’s one, but Pioneer goalkeeper Judah Hanks didn’t let any touch netting.
That changed less than three minutes into the second half when Hanes broke loose, beating two defenders to the ball before giving Unioto a 1-0 lead.
That advantage swelled to 2-0 at the 19:26 mark when Hanes found Smith for a goal just in front of the net. Then, with 12:31 remaining, Smith returned the favor, feeding Hanes an assist for his second goal of the night and the 117th of his career.
“One thing that they’ve done a lot better this year is the unselfishness of who gets the ball,” Cortez said. “A lot of times at this level, kids want to score and they want their name in the paper. I’ve been preaching to these guys that I don’t care who scores. I just want to win. At the end of the day, it does us no good if Kamden scores four goals and we lose. So it’s about unselfishness and that’s from the top down.”
Zane Trace finally graced the scoreboard with 10:12 left, getting a goal from Brock Jarrell to cap the night’s scoring.
After suffering their first loss, the Pioneers will now look towards a matchup with Alexander on Thursday. Meanwhile, Unioto will now host Warren the same evening — before matchups with Marietta and Fairfield Union.
“What I’m looking for against Warren, and that’s who I’m focused on, Warren, is more consistency up top and in the midfield,” Cortez said. “Can we control the middle of the field? Can we control pace? Can we dictate how we want to play? If we can force Warren to play to our standard, we’re going to be in a really good position to win that game.”
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