It took all 80, and then some Tuesday night at Mediapolis in the three vs six seed game in the quarterfinals of the Southeast Iowa Superconference Tournament, but it was just enough time for the Highland Huskies to rally past the Hillcrest Academy Ravens into the semifinals with a 3-2 win in PKs. The first half belonged to the Ravens. Hillcrest built a 2-0 lead at intermission on the strength of first half goals from Micah Gerber, his 11th and Mason Bender his seventh and a pair of assists from Seth Ours, his team-leading eighth and ninth. Backs to the wall, the Dogs responded.
The Huskies cut the lead in half in the 49th minute when Angel Avendano drove a ball to the back of the net, his second goal of the season, to make it 2-1. In the final minute of regulation, Highland found the equalizer, when Jose Ramirez beat the Hillcrest defense for his ninth goal of the year. In penalty kicks, Highland made three of their four to win, with Diaz, Jaydee Macareno and Ramirez all connecting on their kicks. Hillcrest got PK conversions from Gerber and Isaac Beachy. Raven keeper Kyle Neuschwander stopped one Highland kick. Following the match, the Highland trio of Diaz, Macareno and Ramirez talked with KCII Sports about the comeback, PKs and win.
Ramirez said, “(On the tying goal), I saw the ball come straight at my feet and I was like ‘I have to score a big one!’ so I hit it as hard as I could, made sure I curved the ball, it was ecstatic! (On the PK) I have been playing for years, so like I said, it’s all in your mind. You just have to play calm and you’re going to score that. There’s a lot of pride in this win. Highland hasn’t made it this far lately so it feels nice.”
Diaz remarked, “(On Ramirez’ goal) It was a beautiful goal! (On the PK) My mind was clear, I was just singing a song in my head, looking for where I should shoot. (This win) feels like sunshine and rainbows!”
Macareno added, “(On Ramirez’ goal) Goosebumps! That’s all I can say! All I got were goosebumps. (On the PK), I had to make it! I couldn’t fail my team. I had to make it. This just feels awesome, we’re going to go far in this tournament.”
Hillcrest won shots on goal 13-9 and had 12 corner kicks to Highland’s seven. Neuschwander made five saves in goal, Ayden Havel stopped 19 shots for Highland on the back line. The win moves the Huskies to 7-5-2 on the year as they advance into the Superconference Tournament semifinals Friday at Central Lee against Mediapolis who was a 3-0 winner over WACO. The loss drops Hillcrest to 7-4-2 as they get ready for a first round district rivalry match next week with Mid-Prairie.