Ravens Roll Past Hawks in First Round Victory

Hillcrest 5, Mid-Prairie 1

After a slow start in the rainy weather, the Ravens had five different players score goals to advance past the first round of tournament play, beating  Mid-Prairie 5-1. The first half was a defensive struggle as both teams struggled to generate offense and maintain possession in the wet conditions. The Ravens’ back line of Bryce Bailey, Isaac Birky, and Lincoln Mille,r along with Jesse Blossom and Kale Bailey, stood strong in the wet and rainy conditions, limiting Mid-Prairie’s chances throughout the match. While the Ravens created chances, it wasn’t until 3 minutes left in the half that Mason Helmuth converted a Mason Bender assist for the 1-0 halftime lead. 

Mid-Prairie tied the game 2 minutes into the 2nd half on a shot from 25-30 yards out, but the Ravens responded 6 minutes later when Helmuth sent a ball to Micah Gerber, who rocketed the ball into the goal. A few minutes later, Gerber sent a ball to the far post where Angel Sambrano dove to knock the ball past the goalie and across the white line. The scoring continued when Gerber sent a pass wide to Helmuth, who one-touched a cross into the box where Mason Bender was waiting to head the ball into the goal. Andrew Kaufman finished the scoring when he received a pass from Isaac Beachy and sent it past the diving goalie. 

Throughout the game the midfield unit led by Seth Ours along with Isaac Beachy, Micah Gerber, Jesse Blossom and Kale Bailey along with Angel Sambrano, Danny Meyer and Beckett Slaubaugh did an excellent job of beating Mid-Prairie to the ball and winning the fifty-fifty challenges. Coming off the bench Gibson Scott and Charlie Hughes provided a spark up front. Kyle Neuschwander recorded four saves in the wet conditions. 

Hillcrest travels to Chariton next Tuesday in the second round of substate play.