ALBURNETT

Time was running out and Highland, trailing on the road, was in danger of being shut out for their third consecutive game but the offensive efforts of Jared Diaz broke through when they needed it the most.

With under nine minutes left, Diaz scored an equalizer to secure a 1-1 draw for the Highland Huskies (6-4-1) against the Cedar Valley Christian Huskies (4-5-2) last Friday. 

“Not our best, certainly not our worst,” Highland coach Dylan Stewart said after Highland battled CVC to a tie. “We got a couple injuries that are starting to stack up. We were fighting a lot of adversity tonight and I thought in the second half we did a lot better once we calmed down.”

This Huskies on Huskies matchup held no score for the majority of the first half. With about seven minutes left in the half, CVC ended the offensive drought to take a 1-0 lead.

“They were a lot more aggressive than I expected them to be,” coach Stewart said about CVC. “We played pretty aggressive, and they kind of caught us on a couple counter attacks there.”

The second half followed a similar script to the first, with defense dominating until a goal broke out with less than nine minutes remaining.

Diaz, assisted by fellow senior Logan McFarland, scored his team leading 12th goal of the season to tie the game. His goal galvanized the team on offense, as they attacked with fever in hopes of a comeback victory but time ran out to give Highland its first tie of the season. 

“That’s really Jared in a nutshell. He’s a gamer. He’s gonna stick his nose in there, and he’s gonna do everything he can to elevate this team, and he certainly did that today,” coach Stewart said. “The team’s definitely going to feed off that energy. Wish we could have had a ball or two bounce our way towards the end. But, good way to end, so we’ll take it.”

Highland goalkeeper Ayden Havel tallied 18 saves in the tie. Through 12 the senior has amassed 113 saves.

Burlington Notre Dame 3, Highland 0

One day prior to facing Cedar Valley Christian on the road, Highland was shut out in a home conference contest against No. 4 Burlington Notre Dame (8-1).

The Nikes, winners of eight straight, scored twice in the first half and added one more issuance goal in the second half.

While the Huskies recorded five shots on goal (two from Jose Ramirez and one each from Jared Diaz, Hunter Seibel, and Jack Krotz) they were held scoreless for their second straight game.

Goalkeeper Ayden Havel recorded 16 saves for Highland in the loss.

Up next for Highland (6-4-1) is a home conference matchup against Danville (2-5-1) on May 8.