By Michael D. Doyle
For The Herald Bulletin
ANDERSON, Ind. —
Tuesday’s soccer match between Anderson and Liberty Christian at Anderson High School may have ended in a scoreless tie, but Indians’ coach Chris Spolyar found plenty to be excited about.
His team, which carried a 1-2 record into the game, battled city rival Liberty for the entire 80 minutes, and while there were missed opportunities on both sides, Spolyar was pleased with the outcome.
“It was definitely a city rivalry game,” he said. “Well played on both sides. It’s nice to see the game played with this kind of quality.”
The Lions came up empty on several scoring chances in the second half, mostly thanks to Anderson goalkeeper Cyle Carlson. Carlson made an aggressive save at the 28-minute mark, coming out of his goal to stop Andrew Winters on a sharply-angled shot down the right side.
With 40 seconds remaining in the game, Liberty flurried near the Anderson goal. Carlson came up big again with two saves, including a deflection on Marissa Goodwin‘s shot at what first appeared to be a wide-open net.
“Those two saves from Carlson were huge,” Spolyar said.
Lions coach Steve Dragash thought his team was not as sharp as they had been after starting the season with five straight wins.
“We were a little off,” he said. “Just a little off-target with some shots. Our passes weren’t as crisp. But that’s just the way this game is sometimes.”
Anderson’s best scoring chance came when Marc Andrew-Hills received a pass down the left side with 16 minutes remaining. Hills streaked down the sideline, curling in towards the left corner, but his chest-high kick was stopped by Liberty keeper Daniel Pleninger.
Several minutes later, another chance by Jared Gray on a corner kick missed just outside the post.
Pleninger finished the game with five saves, while Carlson had four. Both teams managed eight shots on goal.
Anderson had lost its previous game to Yorktown, a team that Liberty had beaten already. Spolyar would not call the game a moral victory but conceded that the performance was an encouraging sign of growth for his squad.
“We’re getting better every game,” he said. “The team you see today was not the same team that lost to Yorktown, and they’re not the same team we’re going to take to sectionals, because we‘re continuing to improve. We’re happy with the outcome today but not satisfied.”
