By Spencer Spilman
It was a cold, nasty night for soccer, but the Lehman Lobos and Hays Rebels battled through the weather Tuesday night.
Both teams had their fair share of chances to score several goals, but in the end each team was only able to put up one goal apiece and ended the game in a 1-1 tie.
Lehman had the majority of chances in the first half but couldn’t put the ball in the net. Lobos’ Jorge Balderas hit the cross-bar on a shot, but that was their best chance.
Hays had the majority of the scoring chances in the second half, but they also struggled to put the ball in the net. Hays head coach Jason Burnett told his team to keep fighting until the final whistle.
“We just made a few adjustments, and I told them it was all about playing 40 more minutes and trying to finish,” he said.
It looked like Lehman would be the first to score in minute 53 when Rene Torres took a shot towards the far post. However, the ball hit the inside of the post and bounced out of harm’s way.
The first goal came from the Rebels with just over 15 minutes to play. Logan Lakos sent a high lob towards the box from almost 30 yards out and it was perfect distance. The ball floated right over the goalie’s head and into the net to break the tie and give Hays the 1-0 lead.
“It was go big or go home. I just tried to take advantage of the minutes I got to play tonight and I took the shot,” said Lakos.
Lehman bounced back just six minutes later. After the ball bounced around, it found the feet of Balderas and he put a seemingly harmless ball towards the net. The ball happened to find the corner of the net to tie the game.
Lehman coach Bob Baker and his team have been in the situation a few times this season.
“We are used to battling back from a goal down this year so it’s nothing new,” said Baker.
