On a day where rain threatened to drop, but held back for the entirety of the game, Hillcrest would play in its second game in two days when they battled the WACO Warriors in Kalona on May 5. 

In a close affair between two Southeast Iowa Super Conference teams, the Warriors were the ones to leave the field with great jubilance, beating the Ravens, 1-0. This is Hillcrest’s third consecutive loss.    

With this win, WACO improves its conference record to 2-5 and its overall record jumps to 3-7. For Hillcrest this loss brings its final conference record to 3-5 and its overall record now sits at 4-5.  

This game marks the third time this season in which the Ravens went scoreless in a match and the second time in which they lost a game this year with a final score of 1-0. 

Hillcrest was aggressive on offense in the first half, controlling the ball and attacking the WACO goal with great tenacity. The Ravens would finish the first half with 20 shots on goal, but the Warriors’ goalkeeper, Colton Leichty, proved to be an insurmountable defensive wall. 

Proving the pressure for Hillcrest was sophomore Phoenix Anderson. Anderson would finish the first half with three shots on goal. His first shot on goal, a strong shot coming in with about 20 minutes left in the half, was the one that had the best chance at getting into the net.

While the Warriors did not have many chances to score they made the most of a golden opportunity that came with under 12 minutes left in the first half.

After a long pass, WACO freshman, Tristan Luitjens, would kick the ball over the Hillcrest goalkeeper, sophomore, Kyle Neuschwander, and it would settle into the net. With this being the only goal scored this would prove to be the game winner.  

WACO would enter the second half with a lead and they shifted its gameplan to more of a defensive approach, dropping back with more people playing defense to stifle the potential chance of a Hillcrest equalizer.

The second half was more of the same for WACO goalkeeper Leichty, shutting down all of Hillcrest’s attempts to score. Hillcrest senior, Grant Bender, freshman, Owen Scott, and Anderson would all finish the half with shots on goal. Bender and Andreson would finish the game with six shots on goal and Scott would follow with five of his own. 

As the time finally expired, the Warriors would experience its third win of the season and it would also end the six game losing streak they were on. 

After the game the Hillcrest seniors of its soccer, golf, and track/field teams were honored. Among those honored by the Ravens were: Grant Bender, Isaac Lybeck, Mariam Sow, Jace Rempel, Luke Schrock, and Josiah Beachy.

Burlington Notre Dame 5, Hillcrest 1

Hillcrest traveled to Burlington to face off against Southeast Iowa Super Conference opposition, the Burlington Notre Dame Nikes, on May 4. The conference leading Nikes defeated Hillcrest, 5-1.   

This win keeps the three-time defending SEISC champions’, Burlington Notre Dame, conference record perfect, 7-0. The last time the Nikes lost a conference game was against the Ravens in 2018. Also, their overall record on the year improved to 7-4.

With a mind on defense against a team that has outscored opponents this season, 26-18, the Ravens kept the Nikes scoreless for a while, but eventually the Notre Dame offense would be too much for Hillcrest to handle. Notre Dame would score twice in the first half to go into halftime with a 2-0 lead. 

Adding three more goals in the second half the Nikes would push its lead to 5-0. The leading scorer for Notre Dame, senior, Hunter Lillie, scored two goals, senior Alexander AbouAssaly scored one, and senior, Wyatt Pearson, would also score a single goal. 

Even with the game out of reach the Ravens still showed no quit. Sophomore, Phoenix Anderson, made a pass to senior, Grant Bender, and he was able to get past the Notre Dame defense to score Hillcrest’s lone goal of the game. This goal gives Bender six on the season, the team high. 

Up next Hillcrest (4-5) will finish its regular season with a home game against the Washington Demons (8-4) on May 11. The Ravens also played the Demons for its regular season finale last season, with the Demons defeating the Ravens, 1-0 on May 16, 2022.