Hixson fans have come to expect more from a Wildcats soccer team that entered Tuesday’s Region 3-A/AA semifinal with a 17-1-1 record.
They were, though, no more disappointed than Wildcats coach Jeff Dean when their team went to halftime with a meager 1-0 lead over visiting McMinn Central.
“We got a speech at halftime that motivated us,” said Hixson forward Sikhou Sy.
Dean’s boot-camp-style speech provided the necessary impetus for the Wildcats to post a 3-0 victory.
“There was some frustration in it, but guys — these guys, at least — you have to get their attention and sometimes you holler,” Dean said. “You learn which ones to holler at and which ones to pat on the back.”
There was no back-patting at halftime.
Sy scored the Wildcats’ first goal, but it didn’t come until the 21-minute mark, and Dean felt the 1-0 halftime advantage should have been more. Much more.
“We were pushing but we weren’t connecting,” Sy agreed.
“We have several guys who are good with their feet, but they sometimes forget about playing basic soccer,” Dean said. “I told them we had to get back to basic, simple soccer.”
The Wildcats, who got beat on almost every first-half exchange among the midfielders, turned it up in the final 30 minutes. That included Nau Alvarez.
Alvarez, the District 6-A/AA MVP who has been favoring an ankle injury, was virtually invisible in the first half after an outstanding performance last week against East Ridge.
“I told him that this is the time of year that you play through injuries,” Dean said. “He didn’t play well (in the first half), but in the second half he played through it and played better.”
While Sy’s goal would have been enough, Hixson turned up the pressure and Jonathan Martinez scored the Wildcats’ second goal barely more than six minutes into the second half. David Parras scored the team’s third unassisted goal three minutes later.
“We played harder as a team. We got back to basics,” Dean said.
The victory allowed Hixson to advance to Thursday’s Region 3-AA final at 7 p.m.
According to Dean, a former Wildcat who is in his second year of rebuilding the program, the match Thursday will be Hixson’s first region final since the early 1990s. The Wildcats won a state championship in 1988.