Rivalry game tie works just fine for Hiland and WHHS

There’s only one thing soccer coaches hate as much as losing, and that’s tying.

However, when the Hiland Lady Hawks paid a visit to the Lady Knights of West Holmes on Tuesday, Oct. 8, a fantastic defensive effort that ended in a 1-1 tie may have been exactly what the doctor ordered for both teams as they prepare for what they hope will be strong tournament runs.

“Ties are the worst,” Hiland head coach Conner Lee said. “OK, they’re a little bit better than losing.”

This contest was a battle between the 20s with very few shots on goals as each team plays nearly flawless on the defensive side of the pitch.

For two teams that share the same shiny outlook in making a lengthy tournament run, these two programs have arrived at the end of the regular season in very different ways.

Lee’s team currently is 8-4-4 and is seeded second in the Division V East District.

According to Lee, they have won the games they should have, although he said four ties are easy to view as games they could have won.

This game was great for his team because they had the challenge of facing high-scoring Charli Murphy and company. Lee said he knew coming in this one was going to be a challenge.

“These are exactly the types of games you want to have late in the year in preparing for tournament play,” Lee said. “It’s everything you could ask for in a big challenge.”

Lee said he believes his team is peaking at the proper time and playing its best soccer down the stretch.

The team has shown a tendency to move the ball and stay in formation well while playing strong defense, and the Lady Hawks have been healthy and rolling all season.

Meanwhile, the Lady Knights stand at 4-8-3, and while their record may not be great, everything is beginning to come together perfectly at the end of the regular season for a team that entered the season with huge aspirations.

However, Bruce Murphy’s crew has faced some devastating injuries throughout the season that have limited the team’s success. The biggest was the loss of Charli Murphy to a hip injury that saw her miss almost the entire regular season. There are other key losses including a late injury to star Katherine Kaster, but as of this night, everyone was back and all of the pieces are now in place.

“It feels good for all of us to have everyone back on the pitch and playing together like we first imagined the team would look like this fall,” coach Murphy said. “We still have plenty of places we can improve, but the girls are getting pretty good at what I’m trying to instill in the program.”

He said seeing his team fight back after falling behind and playing great defense was a good sign of things to come, and after the Lady Knights have faced so much adversity this season, Murphy said there is one key factor that makes him believe they can now make the run they felt was there all along.

“We have faced some pretty major hurdles, but the girls have remained positive all season,” Murphy said. “We’re getting everyone back and healthy, and our chemistry is coming together.”

Murphy’s Lady Knights poise a huge hurdle for any team, even as the No. 8 seed in the Div. IV East District.

“Anyone who overlooks that team and takes it for granted because of the record is in for trouble,” Lee said of the Lady Knights. “Bruce has done a terrific job of continuing the success (former head coach Schuyler Snyder) has built. They’re dangerous.”

Murphy said the fight and attitude are in place, and he too believes this team has potential to make some noise in tournament play.

He said this contest with Hiland was exactly what he hoped it would be in preparing for the second season.

“I love playing strong, well-coached teams who play the game the right way. It’s the only way to get better,” Murphy said.

So while ties are not agreeable to coaches and teams, on this night it was exactly what both head coaches had hoped to get out of the effort, aside from not leaving the pitch with a win.