SIGOURNEY

Highland soccer has been on a roll as of late. 

After dropping their first two games of the season the Huskies had a chance to make it three wins in a row when they went on the road to battle the Sigourney Savages and they did just that. 

Overcoming a first half deficit, Highland stormed back with two scores to take the lead and defeat Sigourney, 2-1, on April 12. 

Highland has shown a resilience factor during their winning streak, and it has been pivotal to their success, with this being the second consecutive game where they erased a deficit to emerge victorious.

“We showed some maturity and some composure. It’s another game where we went down just like [against Columbus] and we fought our way back,” Highland coach Dylan Stewart said about his team. “I’m excited that we can at least fight back in those tough games. We’re never out of the game and that makes me feel a little bit more confident as a coach.”

In front of their home crowd the Savages struck first with a goal from freshman Ayden Galindo, the first score of his high school career. Sigourney held their 1-0 lead until the half ended.

In the second half Highland needed someone to step up on offense and Jared Diaz was up for the challenge. Nine minutes into the half Diaz scored the game tying goal but he was not done yet. 

With about 20 minutes left in the game the ball went over the Sigourney goalkeeper and Diaz was fast enough to reach the ball first and delivered what ended up being the game winning strike.  

“That’s just the type of player he is,” coach Stewart said about Diaz. “He wants to win, and he has the ability to take over in moments. And he absolutely did that today, I’m just excited that he’s on our team.”

Scoring a game high two goals in the win Diaz is now up to five goals on the year with junior Logan McFarland leading the team with seven goals. 

Having reached three wins on the season Highland has now won their most games since 2016, a season where they also recorded three wins. 

“It comes down to the kids. We have a special group that has committed a lot of time,” coach Stewart said about Highland soccer’s recent success. 

“I don’t think a lot of people have noticed we were in the gym all summer, all winter, and it’s showing. I think the kids are starting to believe that and there’s some positive energy every time we step on the field.”

Mediapolis 9, Highland 2

Suffering their first loss in the month of April, the Huskies fell to the Mediapolis Bulldogs last Monday. 

This was a home game for the Huskies and the visiting Bulldogs scored five goals in the first half to take a commanding lead. Mediapolis then added to their lead, scoring the first two goals in the second half. 

Facing a 7-0 deficit, Highland avoided the shutout when junior forward Jared Diaz sent the ball into the back of the net to give the Huskies their first score. After the Bulldogs scored two more goals, Diaz scored the last goal of the game to arrive at the final score of 9-2 in Mediapolis’ favor. 

This is the second consecutive game Diaz has scored multiple goals with his season total now matching the team high (7) along with Logan McFarland. 

Up next for Highland (3-3) is a road game against WACO (3-2) on April 18 and then a home game against Central Lee (0-2) on April 22.