MCHS Soccer Aces drop first game of the year to Mt. Vernon, IN:
From Coach Ed Berberich:
The MCHS soccer Aces opened up Big 8 play Tuesday night with a home loss to Mt Vernon 2 - 3. Rayce Loudermilk gave Mt Carmel the early lead with a goal in the 9th minute on an assist from Brady Decker. Beau Stipp added to the Aces lead when he scored 4 minutes later on an assist from Jarrett West. Mt Vernon cut the difference to 1 when they converted on a penalty kick in the 26th minute & that score held going in to halftime. The Wildcats tied the match up in the 54th minute & then scored the winning goal with 12 minutes left. A late altercation after a Mt Vernon foul resulted in a player from each team being sent off, making it a 10 v 10 match for the final 7 minutes. The Aces took 11 shots in the match, 9 on frame, & created 4 additional scoring chances. They also had 2 interceptions, goalkeeper Tye Kanipe had 11 saves. Mt Vernon took 19 shots, 14 on frame.
As the stats show, we were outshot in this one, which was the first time that's happened this year. We also possessed the ball much less than the other team, which is another first on the season. We were short a few players in this one which had an impact for sure, but bottom line, we weren't quite ready for the defensive pressure that Mt Vernon put on us. Because of that we really didn't play as well as I think we're capable of, as we had way too many times where we panicked with the ball when under pressure and just resorted to kicking it upfield. That said, with about 10 minutes still left in the first half we were already starting to see the effects of the short bench & the extreme heat on the players out there, so we were happy that the guys were able to fight through that like they did, giving themselves a chance to tie it up & maybe win it up to the least second of the game. In the long run, even though we didn't get the end result we would've preferred, it was good for us to have an intense game like this to see where we're at and hopefully convince us to turn up our intensity in practice moving forward. If we do, it should carry over to the matches and then we'll be better able to handle the other team's pressure & do more constructive things with the ball as a team.
The loss brings the Aces record to 4 - 1 (0 - 1) on the year. Their next match is another home game Thursday September 6th at 5:00 pm against the other Mt Vernon, from Illinois.
PHOTO COUNRTESY OF CHRISTY MCPHERSON