It might look like some sort of Kung-Fu fighting, but it’s just Peebles sophomore Waylen Lloyd (5) battling with Minford’s Sam Tieman (10) in action from Saturday’s Division III district championship game in Waverly. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
In his final soccer game as a Peebles Indians, senior Ethan Pierce (33) fights for possession with a Minford opponent in their Oct. 30 district championship showdown. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
#1 seed vs. #13 seed. Sounds like a mismatch in any sport but that is not always the case in the Southeast District where the seedings are sometimes head-scratchers. The Peebles Indians boys soccer squad came into tournament play as a #13 seed, but defied the odds with three consecutive shutout wins that propelled them into their first district championship game since 2012.
Waiting for the Indians on Saturday, October 30 on the beautiful turf of Waverly’s Raidiger Field were the deserving #1 seed, the Minford Falcons, who came into the district title match with a record of 17-1-0, but the Tribe was not impressed. coming into the contest at 11-5-2. Coach Stone Crothers, who was a member of the 2012 Indians, and his upset-minded squad put up a valiant fight and certainly put a major scare into the favored Falcons, leading at halftime but saw the one-seed score three goals in the second half, including the game-winner with just 2:45 to play. That late goal earned Minford a Division III district crown and sent them on into regional play as the Indians dealt with an extremely disappointing end to their season.
“I’m super proud of this team,” said Coach Crothers after the tough loss. “For about 70 minutes of the game we either had the lead or were tied and I thought we had it for awhile but Minford is a really good team, they’re not the #1 seed for no reason. The work ethic we’ve put in this season and the transformation from a team that went 3-12 last year to 11 wins this season and district runners-up, it’s been unbelievable.”
“I give all the credit to these boys because no one expected us to be playing here today. Soccer is a fickle sport, all it takes sometime it just takes that one goal and we almost saw that today. These guys played their hearts out and on another day maybe we keep the lead and move on but when your luck’s out, your luck’s out.”
The first half of Saturday’s match up was a defensive struggle, mostly played on Minford’s offensive end, but with the Peebles defense allowing very few clean shots on goal. The game’s first real scoring chance came for the Falcons at the 21-minute mark when a free kick clanged off the to post and a rebound attempt was off the mark also. Defense again dominated for the next 17 minutes until the upstart Indians lit up the scoreboard first.
A through ball from Peebles’ Mason Sims found its way to the Minford keeper, who couldn’t control it, leaving the Indians’ Evan Day with a clear shot on the goal and Day made the most of the opportunity, booting it home to give the Indians a 1-0 lead that held up into the halftime intermission.
The Indians held on to their slim advantage until the 23:51 mark of the second half when Minford’s Aidan Slusher found the top left shelf of the goal, getting one past Peebles keeper Zane Porter to tie the score at 1 with the first goal Peebles had given up in over 300 minutes of play.
The Falcons turned up the pressure and that resulted in a go-ahead goal just four minutes after their tying score. With 19:05 left in the game, Minford’s Sam Tieman slipped one past Porter short side with an assist from teammate Walker McHenry to give the Falcons a 2-1 advantage.
Undaunted, the scrappy Indians continued to battle and were able to tie the score at the 13:11 mark, thanks to their dynamic scoring duo of Cory Reed and Mason Sims. Reed made the well-placed crossing pass and Sims put it in the net to tie the game at 2 apiece.
The game remained deadlocked as the clock continued to wind down, headed for a possible overtime period to decide the district title, but the Falcons had other ideas. With just 2:45 to play, Minford’s Dylan Brooks, with the left foot, managed to get one past Porter into the right corner of the goal to give his team the late lead.
For the final 2:45, the Falcons went into time-killing mode and it worked to perfection as the Indians were unable to get the ball far enough into their end to get off any possible game-tying shots. When the clock reached zeroes, it was Minford celebrating a district championship, squeaking by with the 3-2 victory.
The good news for Peebles fans is that nearly the entire team returns next season to make another possible postseason run. The Indians lose just two seniors, Ethan Pierce and Trenten Woodruff.
“Ethan and Trent were two great players, two starters most of the season, Trenten couldn’t play today because of an injury but we will be bringing back everyone else and we have a good freshman class coming up so next year looks bright. We’ll get back here but not as a 13 seed. ,” said Coach Crothers.
