Ravens soccer uses strong second half to power past Danville
Hillcrest Ravens 5, Danville 1
Playing on consecutive nights, the Ravens struggled through the first half before taking control of the match in the second half for the 5-1 win over the Danville Bears. The first half the Ravens played a lot of defense as the Bears controlled possession, won balls and strung numerous passes together. The Hillcrest backline led by Grant Bender along with Mason Bender, Seth Ours, Andrew Starr and Bryce Bailey played well and along with goalie Aiden Krabill kept Danville from capitalizing on their possession. That changed when Danville was given a penalty kick with nine minutes left in the half. Danville converted the penalty for the 1-0 halftime lead.
After halftime adjustments, the Ravens improved their play in the second half doing a better job of maintaining possession and creating offensive chances. Fifteen minutes into the half, Jorge Canchola gathered the ball at midfield and hit Diego Ramos on a pass allowing Ramos to get off a shot which found the upper 90 of the goal to even the score.
The Ravens continued to apply pressure hoping to find the winning goal. With fifteen minutes left on the clock, Micah Gerber intercepted a pass near midfield and got the ball to Jesse Blossom. Blossom beat two Danville defenders as he drove towards the goal and sent the ball to the far post for the 2-1 lead. Minutes later, Ramos was pulled down in the penalty box, earning a penalty kick. Canchola calmly converted the penalty kick to make it 3-1.
The next goal came as Collin Miller beat his defender down the wing, then put a beautiful crossing ball into the box where Gerber redirected the ball into the net to make it 4-1. Grant Bender finished the scoring with less than a minute showing on the clock after he intercepted a ball at midfield, beat a defender, then sent a long shot by the goalie.
Aiden Krabill recorded five saves making several spectacular dives to keep the Danville scoreless in the second half.
Hillcrest moves to 3-1 in conference play and 4-3 overall. The Ravens return to action Monday at Columbus.