Boys Soccer Recap
Photo Credit: The News
Hillcrest Soccer 4/25/2025
Hillcrest 1, Danville, 1
The Hillcrest Ravens experienced all the frustrations and emotions the game of soccer sometimes possesses in a 1-1 draw with the Danville Bears.
Going into the wind the first half proved to not be a problem for the Ravens who quickly established control and maintained much of the possession during the first half. The midfielders led by Seth Ours, Mason Bender and Jesse Blossom along with Kale Bailey, Isaac Beachy and Angel Sambrano did an excellent job of controlling the midfield and pushing the ball forward where Micah Gerber and Mason Helmuth did their best to put the ball on goal only to be denied by the posts or the crossbar. The back line of Isaac Birky, Bryce Bailey and Lincoln Miller limited the majority of runs. With two minutes left in the half, the Danville goalie grabbed the ball and made use of the wind to create a quick counterattack catching the Ravens out of possession and scoring to take the 1-0 lead at halftime.
The second half was much the same as Danville moved some of their better players to the back to try to limit any offensive the Ravens might muster. The shooting frustrations continued as open shots ricocheted off the posts, crossbar or found their way to the goalie. A shift in formations led to more chances but the struggles to finish remained. The Ravens kept working With under two minutes left, Isaac Birky tracked down a ball and sent it to the middle where Ours pushed it out wide to Rowan Miller, Miller crossed the ball across the face of the goal where Micah Gerber headed the ball back across the goal where Mason Helmuth out jumpedthe defenders to knock the ball down and into the goal to level the score at 1-1. Goalie Kyle Neuschwander recorded two saves.
The Ravens are now 3-2-1 overall and 1-1-1 in conference play. The pace picks up next week as the Ravens host Wapello, Monday and Sigourney-Keota Tuesday, before traveling to Muscatine, Thursday to take on the Columbus Wildcats.
Hillcrest Soccer 4.28.2025
Hillcrest 10 – Wapello 0
On a dark and stormy night the Ravens made quick work of Wapello scoring three times in the first nine minutes then adding three more goals to end the half 6-0. With the wind at their backs Wapello pushed forward once, resulting in a penalty kick. Goalie Kyle Neuschwander had his eyes on the ball as it came towards the goal but it went wide of the goal.
In the second half Wapello had an own goal off an Isaac Beachy shot . The Ravens finished the game with 22 minutes showing on the clock as Bryce Bailey moved up from his normal defensive role to score the final goal.
Mason Helmuth led the way with 3 goals and 1 assist, Micah Gerber had 2 goals, Mason Bender and Seth Ours each had 1 goal and 2 assists, Gibson Scott and Bryce Bailey each had one goal. Isaac Beachy had 3 assists and Becket Slaubaugh had 1 assist.
The team played well including numerous young players who saw their first extensive varsity action
The Ravens move to 4-2-1 overall and 2-1-1 in conference play. The Ravens host Sigourney Keota Tuesday evening with the game time at approximately 6:00 pm. The eight seniors on the team will be recognized after the varsity match.
In JV action the Ravens won 2-0 on goals from Danny Meyer and Gibson Scott. Both goals were assisted by Charlie Hughes.
