Huron boys score late to force 3-3 tie with PC

PORT CLINTON – Fans of Huron's and Port Clinton's boys soccer teams arrived at Tru-Lay Stadium on Wednesday hoping for an early-season win. In the end, neither crowd got what it wanted. Instead it was a thrilling match for both sides as Huron tied it up with less than two minutes to play, ending the wild SBC Bay contest in a 3-3 draw. "Super exciting," Huron head coach Matt Asher said. "But not exactly where we wanted to be. We wanted to win." Huron has been used to winning this year, coming into the match with a 5-0 record. Port Clinton (1-1), on the other hand, started its season just over a week ago, but looked just as dialed in as the division-leading Tigers. "We've been working hard all preseason and it's showing, slowly but surely," Port Clinton coach Paco Romero said. The progress showed early in the ninth minute of the first half as junior striker Landon Witte put PC on the board 1-0 with a powerful shot from the slot. Huron, a team known for fast-paced offense, did not disappoint as it ramped up the pace. But the Tigers ran into a problem: Connor Earnest. Earnest, the Port Clinton goalkeeper, did his best impersonation of a brick wall in the first half, earning 11 saves in all different fashions against a merciless Tiger attack. There was a long strike in the 29th minute by Connor Schaeffer that forced Earnest to elevate. The sophomore netminder leaped to bat down the ball with his fingertips, just barely reaching it and preserving the lead. Then there was a Luke Rager throw into a gaggle of players in front of the PC net. Huron's Max Waziniak emerged from the scrum and shot just a few feet from the goal, but there was Earnest again, diving in the perfect spot and preserving the lead with 13 minutes in the half. "Port Clinton's goalkeeper was fantastic," Asher said. Perhaps the most impressive play for the goalie was a few minutes later on a corner kick. The ball landed in the precise spot where a number of Huron heads were prepared to finish it, but Earnest and his neon-green uniform came out of nowhere, batting the ball down and again countering a great opportunity. "His positioning all season has been great," Romero said. "And he's just a sophomore." As the half winded down, it looked like the score would stay at 1-0, until Cam Manner responded with 30 seconds to go. Manner, also the varsity football kicker, showed off his sturdy leg with a booming kick 15 yards out that Earnest could not contend with, tying it at 1 apiece going into halftime. "That goal was super important," Asher said. "It gives you a sense of relief when you tell the boys at halftime 'It's a 0-0 game go win the half.'" The second half upped the theatrics for both squads with more lead changes. First, Huron stepped into the driver's seat with a Jared Lenczyk goal to go up 2-1. This time, Rager's long throw landed in Lenczyk's lap, where he was able to easily convert for the lead with 30 minutes to play. The Tigers continued to dominate time of possession until a goal kick by Earnest flipped the field and gave Port Clinton room to operate. Christian Kolodziejczyk juked out of the way of a couple Huron defenders and found open room to convert, knotting it at 2 with 24 minutes to play. PC got another opportunity with eight minutes to go, as senior forward Logan Dale got possession past midfield. He faced four white jersey defenders, but in the slot to his right ran Witte, who scored the first goal of the afternoon. Dale delivered a pinpoint pass as Witte sent the ball right of the keeper for his second goal of the night. "He's excited when he gets in the box and wants to light it up," Romero said of Witte. "We've told him it's not about lighting it up, it's about putting it in the net and today he did that." With only minutes to play, it seemed like all Port Clinton as the Tigers frantically moved to create a chance amidst a rowdy Redskins crowd. "The blood pressure was running high," Asher said. Since 2015, Port Clinton and Huron had met 11 times, with Huron winning all 11 by a combined score of 70-4. This meant a little more to PC than any regular SBC match. But as the final minutes dwindled, the Tigers kept pushing. Huron got a corner kick, sending Chris Heidl over for the biggest play of the game. He delivered it right into the forehead of Evan Pickett, who towered over the Port Clinton defense and headed in straight into twine. Tie game. "Happy that the boys never gave up," Asher said. "A loss is a lot worse than a tie." As the final seconds counted down, it was clear that neither team would come out as victors, but both walked away with something to build on. It was Port Clinton that came out strong with the early goal, then the impressive goaltending by Earnest. The Redskins set their standards early in their season with a statement performance. "Our boys came out and played their hearts out tonight," Romero said. "They showed what we are capable of." Huron, meanwhile, overcame a deficit with eight minutes to play to pull out a draw. Asher, who has 149 wins for his career, will have to wait for number 150, but liked his team's spirit on Wednesday. "As a coach and a teacher you want your boys to become men," Asher said. "That's the type of grit I would expect of a man." PC girls cruise Port Clinton's girls defeated Huron 5-1 in the nightcap. Gladys Wiechman fed Jade Mitchell on a breakaway to get the scoring started. Then Wiechman took a pass from Morgan Delhees to go up 2-0. Huron responded before the second half with a free kick goal from Breella Rogers. Wiechman collected her second goal and second assist in the second half. She netted one on a free kick, then dished a pass to Amelia Finn who finished it off. Wiechman is now PC's career assist leader with 27. Finn had another goal, the final one of the contest, off an assist from Delhees.