From Coach Ed Berberich: The Soccer Aces hosted the Richland County Tigers on Thursday night, losing 1-7. The Aces took the lead in the 20th minute when Zac Horton took a shot that the Tiger's goalie was unable to control, and Kadin Melahn finished off the rebound with a header. The Tigers would tie the match up in the 25th minute, and then take a 2-1 lead in the 31st minute. They would add one more goal with just under 5 minutes left in the half to take a 3-1 lead into the break. That score remained until the visitors were able to score in the 46th and 61st minutes to put the match out of reach. They would add 2 goals in the last 7 minutes. For the match the Aces took 7 shots, 6 on frame, had 3 chances created and 4 interceptions. Eli Baker had 13 saves in goal, and Ezio Bisogni had 1. The Tigers took 20 shots for the game, with 11 on frame.
Richland County is a good team, they're certainly ahead of where we are at the moment but we were able to hang in there for a large portion of the game until we started to wear down late. We were missing 5 starters for most of this game so to play well enough to hang around, and even lead briefly, was a good feeling for the team. We've still got things to work on but we're continuing to make improvements in these last few games which is encouraging. Earlier in the season, if we had played a game under the same conditions, it would have gone quite differently so the guys are taking steps forward. We're obviously not yet where we want to be, but we're proud of the guys for continuing to work through it all and improve.
The Aces next play Pinckneyville at home on Thursday October 1st at 6:00 pm.