Hillcrest Drops Pair Against Ranked Competition

Hillcrest 1- West Central Valley 4
West Central Valley
A young Ravens team took part in a round-robin tournament with West Central Valley and Pella Christian Saturday, after a fourth team dropped out at the last minute.  Playing against two of the better teams in class 1A, the Ravens learned a lot as they came away with two losses.

In the first match the Ravens took on a talented WCV team that had yet to lose and had only given up one goal. The WCV Wildcats provided evidence of their goal scoring average of over 6 goals a game, scoring ten minutes into the match and again near the midpoint of the half. Otherwise the Ravens defense held strong, led by LIncoln Miller, Simon Willems, Beckett Miiller  Beckett Slaubaugh, and Isaac Birky who moved back to counter the Wildcats speed. While pushing forward trying to deny the ball to the speedy Wildcats, Simon Willems intercepted a ball near the midfield and lofted a shot over the goalies head and into the net for a halftime score of 2-1.  

The Wildcats came out strong in the second half. Taking advantage of the wind at their backs and a Ravens injury, The Wildcats scored twice in the first five minutes of the second half for the final 4-1 score.  Garrett Bontrager had 11 crucial saves in goal. 

Hillcrest 0 Pella Christian 2
Pella Christian
The Ravens next faced the Pella Christian Eagles about 40 minutes after finishing their first game of the day. Because of an injury, and moving Beckett Miiller into the goalie position, the starting lineup needed to be altered. Brenden Neuschwander and Abe Widmer moved into the lineup for their first varsity starts and proved up to the challenge. Along with Miller, Willems Slaubaugh, and Birky the back line held strong, limiting Pella Christians chances during the first half. The wind made the conditions difficult but the guys adjusted, creating a few chances while limiting the Eagles chances for a 0-0 halftime score. 

In the second half Pella Christian took advantage of the increasing winds, scoring once on a long throw-in and getting the second on a long shot from midfield. Jaxson Brokaw and Angel Sambrano worked hard to create chances on the offensive end but the stout Pella Christian defense made it difficult. Beckett Miiller had 8 saves to keep the score close. 

After the day’s games the Ravens dropped to 1-5 overall and 1-0 in conference play. The Ravens travel to Burlington Notre Dame Tuesday and host their first home game of the season Friday against WACO.