×

Newton Falls tops Harding in boys soccer, 2-1

By ERIC MURRAY

Tribune Chronicle

NEWTON FALLS – The Newton Falls Tigers had an unexpected boys soccer victory over the Warren G. Harding Raiders, 2-1, on Tuesday night. The Tigers, who are the smallest team in the All-American Conference, led 2-0 late in the game, and nearly shut out the Raiders until the final seconds.

One of the biggest surprises in Newton Falls’ win was the amount of speed and athleticism the team showed throughout the game, as they frequently outhustled Harding to the ball.

Newton Falls’ Evan Purnell said, “Yeah, we caught them (Harding) off guard. They were just frustrated, they were just down on themselves. We were just quicker to the ball.”

Early on, the teams went back and forth, in what Newton Falls coach Michael Ragan described as a “feeling out period.” However, the Tigers finally struck when Brendan Martinez-Sweeney drilled a shot from long range, which deflected off of the top post above the goalie. Purnell was there to put the ball in the net, giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead, 22 minutes into the game.

“I just saw (that) it (the ball) went up and somehow ricocheted off (the post) and I was there to clean it up,” Purnell said. “It was a good goal.”

Newton Falls had six first-half saves, as Harding had plenty of scoring opportunities, but couldn’t quite find a way to get the ball in the net.

In the second half, the Tigers were able to maintain control of the ball, and about halfway through the half, a shot deflected off of the Harding goalie, and was knocked in by Cameron Hankins. That put the Tigers ahead, 2-0, and proved to be the decisive goal.

The Raiders’ (4-6) Michael Jordan scored Harding’s only goal with just eight seconds left, allowing them to avoid the shutout.

“In the beginning we had a lot of possession and I thought we had control of the play,” Raiders coach Tilden Tatabe said. “But once they got that one counter, I think we just fell apart. We didn’t play well today at all, after that. A lot of guys going at each other, negative attitudes, I think that reflected in our play.”

As for Newton Falls (3-4-2) the surprise win may lead to even more success as the season wears on. Ragan said that his team has started slow in each of the past three seasons. However, Ragan noted that the Tigers eventually went on a nine-game unbeaten streak late last season.

“We’re just a little team in Newton Falls. We practice hard and we have some great athletes, we try real hard and we work on certain things,” Ragan said. “Some of the kids were really, really flying tonight. I told the guys before the game, ‘They (Harding) are coming here to beat us.’

“They got off the bus to beat us, and they came off the bus to beat us bad. We played very tough and I was very proud of the guys.”

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
     

Starting at $4.85/week.

Subscribe Today