Hixson edges East Ridge Pioneers on penalty kicks

Assorted Sports Equipment on Black
Assorted Sports Equipment on Black

East Ridge and Hixson dueled all the way to penalty kicks in their District 6-A/AA soccer matchup Tuesday, with the host Wildcats beating the Pioneers 4-2 from the penalty spot following a 1-1 match.

The tight contest is a familiar result for the longtime rivals, and neither of their veteran coaches was surprised to see it come down to the wire.

"These teams have played a lot, and the intensity level is always high," Hixson coach Jeff Dean said. "In this game, both teams can panic at times because we know who we're playing and we want to get the win."

For East Ridge, it's been a grind to start a week packed full of games because of rainouts that have been rescheduled. It was their second game of the week with two more to go.

"Last night we played Howard, and it was a very emotional game. Tonight was an emotional game," Pioneers coach Jeremy McIntyre said. "It was two good teams, and there was great hustle out of both teams."

Hixson was first on the board, with an early goal from Cergio Maldonado. Jovanny Vargas tapped the ball in to Maldonado, who struck the ball low along the grass and got a friendly deflection to throw the keeper off.

Though the Wildcats claimed the lead, it seemed to be East Ridge that started to build momentum as the half went on. The Pioneers were comfortable in possessing the ball and weren't shy about taking looks at the goal from long range.

A free kick with 16:10 to play in the first half struck the post and turned into a corner kick for East Ridge. Coy Vandergriff took the ensuing corner and was able to wrap it around the left post for the equalizer. The teams would stay tied at one goal apiece until penalty kicks.

"I think our defense played solid tonight," McIntyre said. "They're really strong up front and we were able to stay with them. We had our chances both ways, and it was good experience going all the way to PK, so I like that. It was definitely a learning game for us."

Both teams came out strong in penalties, with each hitting the first two. The Wildcats netted the third and kept the lead as one sailed high for the Pioneers. Vargas put the pressure on by scoring the fourth, and Hixson keeper Danny Payton sealed the win with a save.

"We've worked on those a lot," Dean said of penalty kicks. "We've had time to figure out who's going to take them, and we've spent some practices just on penalty kicks, just like we'll probably spend one on passing tomorrow. I think this was a big eye opener for us. We were a different team than we were against CSAS when we were moving the ball and passing more. Hopefully we play better soccer Thursday."

Maldonado, John Tran and Aaron Duke made the other PKs for Hixson, and Payton added five saves in regulation. Joel Matias and Rivaldo Boc Bamaca netted the two PKs for East Ridge.

Contact Idris Garcia at sports@timesfreepress.com

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