Cleveland edges Owls 1-0 in 5-AAA soccer

Cleveland's Grant Taylor, right, tries to get the ball around Ooltewah's Armando Ramirez during their prep baseball game Tuesday, April 21, 2015, at Ooltewah High School in Ooltewah, Tenn.
Cleveland's Grant Taylor, right, tries to get the ball around Ooltewah's Armando Ramirez during their prep baseball game Tuesday, April 21, 2015, at Ooltewah High School in Ooltewah, Tenn.

After several games were rained out last week, Cleveland and Ooltewah matched up in District 5-AAA soccer Tuesday night. After patiently attacking and applying pressure, Cleveland broke through in the second half to hand the Owls a 1-0 home loss.

Both teams had unblemished district records heading into the match.

The Blue Raiders controlled the pace early, creating a plethora of chances in the first half, although most sailed wide of the goal. The Owls created two dangerous chances of their own, with crosses that trickled across the face of the goal before being cleared.

"Frustrating," Owls coach Rick Adolph said of the loss. "We created the chances we needed, but that's the cruelty of the game. I think we came out a little slow and didn't really connect in the first half."

Cleveland fired away four shots on goal before the break, but Joey Sealor did not let anything through. Sealor's diving effort with under two minutes to go preserved the 0-0 tie going into halftime.

The Owls created the first opportunity of the second half but failed to close, opening the door for the Raiders' Chris Pistrang. Jonathan Collins played a ball through from the midfield, and Pistrang raced ahead of defenders to gain control and volley it into the right side of the net.

"At halftime we talked about doing everything we wanted to do and just needing a finish," said Raiders coach John Brose. "Chris did that for us. I think we showed a lot of toughness and won a lot of 50-50 balls. That helps us control the game and possess the ball."

From the sideline, Adolph urged his team to play more quickly to create chances. The Owls' best opportunity came at the 16:30 mark, when Ian Wolfe shook a defender and the keeper heading toward the goal.

He tried to slide one in, but Delwin Lopez sprinted in to knock it away inches from the open net.

"It's a game of inches," Adolph said. "We started playing well and really pushing it. I'm really proud of our effort tonight. The guys fight and do what I ask."

Zach Martin preserved the clean slate for the Raiders, knocking away two other Owls opportunities in the late stages of the game.

"One thing we talked about is that we hadn't really put a full 80 minutes together," Brose said. "We played a good half here, a good half there, but hadn't put a full game together yet, and we did that tonight."

Contact Idris Garcia at sports@timesfreepress.com.

Upcoming Events