In what was its second home game of the season the Ravens found themselves in a battle of attrition against the Central Lee Hawks. This was a closely contested game that saw both teams tied, 1-1, after regulation and two overtime periods of ten minutes expired. 

The seemingly endless clash between two teams vying desperately for a hard fought victory would go to penalty kicks. When it was all said and done it was Hillcrest who conquered Central Lee, winning 6-5 on PKs. The official score would be 2-1 in the Ravens favor and the win kept Hillcrest perfect on the season, 3-0.

After 12 minutes of play Central Lee would score the only goal in the first half, giving them a 1-0 lead at the half. 

With around 24 minutes remaining in the second half Hillcrest freshman Rowan Miller made a great pass to fellow freshman teammate Owen Scott and he was able to get past a Central Lee defender to tie the game at 1-1. 

“I think it bounced off the goalie then I kneed it in, I was just trying to be positive, telling myself I was going to make it.,” Scott told KCII after the game. “Just have that mentality.”

As the 80 minutes of regulation time came to an end the game would stay all knotted up at one a piece and overtime would commence. Sudden death overtime would end if either team scored a goal, also known as the golden goal, but no goal would appear after 20 minutes of OT.

It came down to a penalty shoot out with each team kicking five penalty kicks. After five kicks from both teams it was another tie with each team scoring on four out of five PKs. Hillcrest senior Grant Bender, sophomore Micah Gerber, sophomore Jesse Blossom, and sophomore Seth Ours were the Ravens who made the PKs. 

The game would now come down to each team kicking a PK with the hopes of the other team not being able to score after them. The sixth kicker for Hillcrest was Scott and he was able to score yet again, but it was matched by Central Lee. 

Stepping forth as the Raven’s seventh kicker was freshman Lincoln Miller and his kick was able to get past the goalie. Central Lee’s seventh kicker was not able to match Miller’s kick, kicking the ball over the crossbar, giving the Ravens a win after  two and a half hours of play. 

“Honestly, I just said a little prayer. It’s all about mental toughness,” Lincoln Miller told KCII about his game winning kick. “You’ve got to think that you’re going to make it. I was just looking forward to going back and celebrating with my teammates.”

Columbus 1, Hillcrest 0

Only two days removed from its penalty shootout victory over Central Lee, the Ravens traveled to Columbus Junctions on a cold windy afternoon to face off against the Columbus Wildcats on April 20. 

Hillcrest’s three game winning streak would come to an end against the Wildcats. Columbus gave the Ravens its first loss of the season with a final score of 1-0.

The first half had the Ravens going into the wind and it took awhile for them to find an offensive rhythm. 

Defense was the name of the game in the first half, but after a foul with 20:59 left in the first half in the penalty box Hillcrest was granted a penalty kick. Senior Grant Bender would be the one to shoot the PK, but his low kick to the right would be blocked by the Wildcats’ goalkeeper.

Another opportunity for Hillcrest to score would come with 11:45 left in the first quarter on a corner kick. Sophomore Jesse Blossom sent the kick in from the corner and Bender attempted a header into the goal but it was just a bit off, resulting in the ball going out of bounds. 

Both teams would enter the second half with goose eggs on the scoreboard. The tie would finally be broken with about 15 minutes left in the game courtesy of a Wildcat goal.  

With the ball in the penalty box area the Ravens could not clear the ball, resulting in too many chances for the Wildcats to score and this would lead to Columbus junior Fernando Erazo scoring in what ended up being the game winner. 

With about five minutes left in regulation Hillcrest gave it their all on the offensive end to find an equalizer with shots on goal by Micah Gerber and Isaac Lybeck, but the game would come to a close, 1-0 in Columbus’ favor. 

Danville 2, Hillcrest 1

On a cold and windy day that saw many players wearing gloves and stocking caps Hillcrest stayed home to host the Danville Bears on April 21. By scoring two goals in the second half he Bears were able to complete a come from behind victory over the Ravens, 2-1. 

This was a second straight loss for Hillcrest after starting the season with three consecutive wins, bringing the Ravens to 3-2 on the season. 

Despite frigid weather conditions the Ravens started the game off hot, scoring a goal within the first 30 seconds of regulation. Sophomore Micah Gerber quickly scored the first goal of the game and he was assisted by a great pass from freshman Owen Scott. 

Unfortunately for the Ravens they could not sustain the momentum the goal gave them and they would go scoreless for the rest of the game. 

There was a pause for an injury during the first half after Hillcrest Phoenix Anderson collided legs with a Danville defender. In obvious pain Anderson had to be assisted off the field, but he was able to re-enter the game in the second half. 

After about 20 minutes of play in the second half the score still held at 1-0, but after Gerber was fouled in the penalty box Hillcrest was awarded a penalty kick, a chance to build on its lead. Senior Grant Bender would be the one to take the PK, but his kick was blocked by the Bear’s goalkeeper.

 With about 12 minutes left in regulation the Bears would finally find an answer on offense and score a goal to knot up the score at 1-1. Not satisfied with just tying the game Danville would score again with about three minutes remaining off of a powerful high kick that went through Hillcrest goalkeeper Kyle Neuschwander’s hands. 

Fighting back with strong intent to re-tie the game, Hillcrest made a great effort with under two minutes left, but Danville was able to stand firm on defense and clear the ball whenever the Ravens threatened.

Hillcrest ended the game with eight shots on goal and GK Neuschwander made eight saves in total. 

Coming up for Hillcrest (4-2) will be staying home to host Mediapolis (6-1) in a conference matchup on May 2.