St. A Plays To 2-2 Tie With Pana In Soccer

PANA -- Effingham St. Anthony High School headed to Pana Saturday and came away with a 2-2 tie.

"Coming into the game we had already been training hard for Pana and knew it would be a game that wouldn't come easy," said St. Anthony Coach Eric Morales. "Pana has had an exceptional year and they have played some amazing games leading toward this game.

"At the start of the game, the Panthers came out on all cylinders, attacking us with all they had. Our defense was ready, stopping all attempts and holding them to only four shots on goal the entire half. The first half of the game was back and forth until the last 10 minutes of the game. Ryan Kruger broke loose off the dribble and blasted a shot that found the back of the net, putting us up 1-0 right before the half.

"In the second half we came out a bit sluggish, allowing Jake McLeod to take the ball in and put a goal to tie the score just at the start of the second half. But minutes later, Chandler Martelli had a throw in to barely find the head of Ryan Kruger who flicked the ball right into the goal and we went up 2-1.

"Pana continued to attack the defense over and over. Finally with three minutes left in the game, Jake again was able to break through the defense off the dribble and poke another goal in to tie the game at 2-2. Ryan made a last minute attempt to put a goal in as he bounced a shot off the crossbar."

St. Anthony's 13 game winning streak came to an end.

"Pana came to play today and was ready for what was dealt," said Morales. "Hats off to the Panthers for handling the game well. We definitely look forward to seeing them again. I am very proud of our soccer team, they have worked hard for what they have gotten. Today we played good competition and they adjusted well and came out with the tie."

St. Anthony now improves to 13-1-1 on the season and meets Arthur/Lovington Tuesday.

The St.Anthony junior varsity came home with the win, beating Pana 1-0, with a goal from Nick Goeckner.