St. Anthony Wins, EHS Falls In Soccer

Effingham St. Anthony played host to Harrisburg and picked up a 4-2 soccer win Thursday.

"In the first half we look a lot of good shots but couldn't put it in the net," said St. Anthony Coach Martin Reyes. "With 10 minutes left in the second half, Harrisburg counter-attacked and took the lead 1-0.

"At halftime, we made some formation changes and they paid off. Three minutes into the half, Luke Swingler scored his first goal after an assist from Reilly Ashton who scored our second goal on an individual effort. Seven minutes later, with 19 minutes left in the half, Luke found the net again after Grace Hakman fought for the ball and put it in front of the net. Two minutes later, Luke scored his hat-trick from a long pass from Jack Elder.

"With three minutes left, Harrisburg scored its second goal from a counter attack.

"We started a little slow and playing as individuals. We are also missing some key players like Wade Lawrence and Luke Swingler because of injury. We made some adjustments during halftime and some players stepped up. Reilly and Jack took control of the mid-field and Trey Brummer and Grace Hakman worked the wings. Grace has really grown into the position. She is great at defense and in developing into our offensive weapon."

Ashton had one goal, one assist and seven shots on goal. Swingler had three goals and eight shots on goal. Elder had one assist and three shots on goal, Hakman one assist and two shots on goal and Ivan Dong three saves.

At Mount Zion

Effingham High School fell to Apollo Conference opponent Mount Zion, 4-3 Thursday.

"We played well this game but the first half was sloppy for us," said EHS Coach Weston Peno. "With our third game this week, and all against solid teams, we were feeling the effects.

"With the first half being a back and forth sort of pace, we tied them 2-2. Entering the second half, momentum was ours and we cleaned up our game quite a bit. Mount Zion responded with a goal, however, and through clean passing and tight defense, we answered.

"The game was tight the rest of the way. We seemed to begin to control the ball much better but they were able to turn the tables on us quickly. With less than a minute left, they put forth a ball in the goal and we were on crunch time. We had a couple looks right off the bat, but once they possessed the ball, that was it for the game."

Osvaldo Angel scored two goals for the Hearts while Bryan Angel had one goal. Brandon Duncan had 20 saves.

"Just when I think Brandon has played the best he possibly can, he steps up and shows me he can do more," said Peno. "His season so far has been unreal. I am very proud of our team despite these recent losses, and we will continue to grow and get better. I look forward to reporting more positive scores in the future.

"The junior varsity game was rough. We only had nine players who were able to take the field tonight due to injuries and illness. We got shut out 5-0, but they played their hearts out and gave amazing effort no matter the situation."