Clippers knock off Hawks in OT

It was a ranked showdown in Wellman on Monday afternoon, and for the Mid-Prairie boys? soccer team, it was a big test.

The Hawks, who entered the season ranked No. 6 in Class 1A, hosted Clear Creek-Amana, ranked No. 7 in Class 2A, and forced overtime in the first game of the season.

With 14.7 seconds left in the first overtime period, Clear Creek got a breakaway opportunity, and Jon Jacobson beat Mid-Prairie goalie Nathan Reed for a goal, giving the Hawks an early-season loss.

Reed, a sophomore, had five saves in the game, most of them coming in the second half when Clear Creek had multiple sustained attacks, and Mid-Prairie head coach Pat Cady had a simple message to his young goalie.

?What I?m telling him is, ?Yeah, you gave up a goal, but you have 10 guys in front of you that let the goal come to you,?? Cady said. ?So there?s 10 other people that failed. Unfortunately, he?s the last line. It?s the first game of the year, and he?ll build on it. His releases are beautiful, and he has a great leg on him. The components are all there for him, he just needs some games.?

The Hawks, who finished as state runners-up last season, are tasked with replacing 11 seniors who played extensive minutes, and taking a ranked team from a class above them to overtime isn?t discouraging to the Mid-Prairie head coach.

?I don?t want anyone to panic, because that was the No. 7 ranked team in 2A that we took to overtime, and they have 15 seniors on the team,? Cady said. ?The talent is here, we just have to play some minutes and put it together.?

Mid-Prairie opened the game controlling the pace, and then the Hawks caught a break when the Clear Creek goalie misplayed a ball off his hands at the 21-minute mark of the game.

Hawk senior Jordan Ulin capitalized on the opportunity of an open net and put the Hawks in front 1-0.

?That looked like a routinely fielded ball for the goalie, but perhaps they play on turf all the time, so he isn?t used to seeing it bounce like that,? Cady said. ?Just put the ball in play and it will create some opportunities.?

That lead would hold until the 53rd minute of the game, when CCA sophomore Wyatt Sedlacek hit a left-to-right shot from about 20 yards out to tie the game up.

?There was nothing anyone could have done on that goal they scored,? Cady said. ?That was a beautiful shot. We had it defended well, he just put a great shot on and there was nothing we could do.?

The Hawks and Clippers played to a draw through the rest of regulation and for the first nine minutes of overtime, until Jacobson?s goal went in with 14.7 seconds left on the clock.

After the game, Cady said he wants his offense to get more opportunities on net.

?I would have liked to see a few more shots taken,? Cady said. ?We were looking for that perfect shot, but sometimes a guy is going to have to use his left foot. It might not be the best-looking shot on goal, but when you put the ball in the box, good things will happen.?

Mid-Prairie will now prepare for a road test against West Liberty, ranked No. 4 in Class 1A, on Thursday afternoon.