Heading into the last half of the season, on Sept. 12, the Titan men’s soccer team hosted the Washington Hatchets at The Fort.
As kickoff started, the Titans moved the ball down the field. Senior Lucian Wicker had several good looks but could not connect with the goal.
“We had many good shots that could’ve gone in,” Wicker said. “They had a very strong goalie and will be hard to get past for the next time that we will see them in Sectional.”
As the game went on, Wicker, senior Jeffmar Navidad and junior Jonah Loveless took many more shots, but several hit the top crossbar and bounced out. Towards the end of the first half, the Hatchets were able to score, getting past sophomore Landon Elpers.
“There were many chances that we had with many good shots that were taken,” said Andrew Dunkel, the new head coach of Titan men’s soccer. “It was very tough getting past their goalie, who had one of his best games of his career. We couldn’t stop them that well on the defensive side, which is one objective that we are going to have to work on.”
During the second half, the Hatchets were able to score a second time, making the score 2-0. Nearing the end of the game, the Titans were able to take the ball down the field and take another shot, but it was blocked by the goalie. He booted the ball over half the field, and the Hatchets were able to score their third point.
“I think that we could have won the game if we played a little smarter,” Wicker said. “We have been playing pretty well throughout the past few games but still not what we are capable of playing. We just have to be more ready for our next few games to have a shot at Sectional.”
At the close of the second half, Washington took the win with a final score of 4-1, taking the Titans to a season record of 4-6-1.
With the postseason on its way, Dunkel knows there are things on which the guys need to work.
“My guys played pretty well for the most part,” he said. “There are many techniques that we need to improve before we head into the postseason if we want a shot at winning Sectional.”
The boys are back in action on Tuesday, hosting Tell City on their senior night.
