So far, East Hamilton's mix of youth and a tough schedule has not produced the best results on the soccer field, but the Hurricanes showed Cleveland it is not because of a lack of effort, as the Blue Raiders barely escaped with a 1-1 draw Tuesday night.
East Hamilton held tough on its home field and put pressure on Cleveland early with physical play.
"They played hard and played like a team and gave a very quality opponent a run for their money," Hurricanes coach Patrick Daverson said. "They came out excited. It's been a rough start to our season against a lot of quality teams. The ball hasn't bounced our way, and I think they were tired of losing."
East Hamilton controlled the pace to start the nondistrict game, spending a lot of time in the attacking half of the field before Cleveland started to settle in and build its attack. The Blue Raiders seized control and fired two rockets at East Hamilton keeper Bobby Porter, including a skillful volley attempt by Javier Pineda.
Porter was able to handle the shots and his defense seemed to be in the way of every potential cross Cleveland tried to lob into the box. With 15 minutes to go in the first half, East Hamilton hopped back in the driver's seat.
Cleveland's keeper could not secure a cross in the box, and Vandrele Wilson was there for the finish. Wilson is more accustomed to rebounds on the basketball court, but the senior corralled one on the pitch for his first soccer goal, which gave East Hamilton a 1-0 lead into halftime.
"We didn't play well in the first half," Cleveland coach John Brose said. "We acted like we didn't want to be here. Hats off to East Hamilton: They wanted it more in the first half. Hopefully it's a good learning experience for our guys that they can't just come in and waltz through a game. They have to be prepared for 80 minutes."
Cleveland picked up the intensity in the second half and matched East Hamilton's physicality. The Blue Raiders' newfound urgency led to a barrage of scoring opportunities, but their shots were sprayed high and wide.
Cleveland caught a break coming out of a brief injury stoppage when the ensuing free kick bounced off of a Hurricane's head, which led to an own goal. Cleveland continued peppering shots toward the opposing goal but was held without an offensive score.
"We were better in the second half but still weren't sharp," Brose said. "You're going to have nights like that when the ball doesn't find the back of the net. We created plenty of opportunities. Winning is a mentality, and we have to find ways to win even when we're not playing well, so I think that's the biggest take-away from tonight."
Parker did his part in keeping the potent Blue Raiders out of the net, grabbing seven saves in support of a stingy back line which continued to cut off passing and shooting lanes for Cleveland.
"The back line is starting to come together," Daverson said. "The whole team is young and we've worked hard on our defensive shape, and guys are learning to be in the right spots."
Cleveland keeper Juan Flores had four saves in helping the Blue Raiders preserve the draw.
Contact Idris Garcia at sports@timesfreepress.com.