Wildcats, Pioneers tie 1-1

If fourth-ranked Hixson had played the first half of its District 6-A/AA soccer match against East Ridge like it did the second, the Wildcats might have won by a comfortable margin Thursday.

The same could have been said for the Pioneers if they played their second half like the first.

The teams' bad halves combined with their good ones for a 1-1 tie at Camp Jordan. East Ridge (5-4-2) now has a 4-1-1 district mark by handing the Wildcats their first non-loss of the season. Hixson (10-0-1) is 3-0-1 in the league.

"We played good in the first half, but they played well in the second," East Ridge coach Jeremy McIntyre said, calling the Pioneers' first half "the best" he had seen them play.

"We were hitting our through balls and connecting on the things we had worked on," McIntyre said.

East Ridge took the lead 12 minutes into the game when Heath Williams sent a ball ahead to Chase Steele, and the speedy forward finished off a shot for a 1-0 advantage. The Pioneers then had some other chances, but opportunities by Amel Sahbaz, as well as a couple of solid crosses by Josh Francisco, were turned away by the Hixson defense.

The Wildcats' best chance in the first half came when a lead pass from Kevin Carrillo to Sikhou Sy was chipped over the goal.

"I was very disappointed in our team in the first half," Hixson coach Jeff Dean said. "We were a little too relaxed and not prepared, and they handed it to us.

"We played better in the second half. If we could put two halves together, we would be good."

Hixson controlled most of the second half, scoring 13 minutes in when Sy finished off a diving header on a nice cross from Jacob Barber.

In the remaining time, both teams had opportunities. The Wildcats had a flurry of chances, including a Sy goal waved off for an offside call. The Pioneers had a similar fate, as Steele was called offside on a potential goal.

"In the second half, they just came out harder than us," McIntyre said. "I think we were kind of sitting on a 1-0 lead, and they came out and played harder than us.

"I thought we had a couple of good opportunities, and they had some opportunities. It was a typical Hixson-East Ridge matchup. We match up well with each other. It was an awesome game."