Panthers sneak out win over Demons

As the clock wound down on Monday afternoon, every play became more and more important.

Tied at 2, Washington and Mt. Pleasant were looking for someone to emerge as a hero, and with 1:30 to play, multiple athletes had their chances.

In a flurry of action, the Panthers went on the attack, looking to generate pressure on the Washington defense, when a foul was called inside the box, earning the Panthers a penalty shot.

Cade Warner, who had already scored in the contest, lined up to take his crack at becoming the hero, but was denied by Washington keeper Thomas Zimmer, in a hero moment of his own.

However, with everyone crashing toward the net, the ball found the foot of Ryan Hutchinson, who connected on his second goal of the day for the Panthers, and this one proved to be the game-winner, giving Mt. Pleasant a 3-2 victory over Washington.

?We were slow to the ball,? Washington boys? soccer head coach Sally Hart said. ?We?ve talked about it most of the season and we have four days to practice it until our next game at Keokuk. We need to be the first ones out of the gate, and it was nice to have the lead at halftime, but we might have given ourselves  too much of a cushion. I?d rather have a two-goal cushion. We didn?t have that.?

The loss dropped Washington to 2-5 on the season, and 0-3 in conference play.

With a close ending to the game, the Demons aren?t going to quickly forget this game, especially when they travel to Mt. Pleasant on May 12.

?We are beyond excited (to play them again),? Washington keeper Thomas Zimmer said. ?I know we can beat them, and I think we are a lot more physical than they are. I can?t wait to play them next time, and I honestly think we are going to win.?

Mt. Pleasant got the scoring started early in the game, with Warner notching a long, 20-yard goal across the field to put his team on top, but Washington was quick to respond

Julio Salgado Hernandez connected on a goal of his own less than a minute later to equalize the game.

One minute later, Washington?s Kyle Anderson gave the Demons a lead, connecting on his own deflected ball to make it a 2-1 first-half lead.

?It was great, because you can see the communication increase (with everyone back),? Hart said. ?We are still trying to figure out our rotation a little bit, because we haven?t had a full team all season.?

Mt. Pleasant didn?t waste time equalizing in the second half, with Hutchinson hitting his own goal to make it 2-2.

After that, the teams went into a stalemate, with both squads missing opportunities when they came, and a stronger defensive effort.

After some physical plays, the Panthers drew the penalty kick late in the contest, which proved to be the difference, giving them the win.

?We did exceptionally well on our defense,? Zimmer said. ?We sometimes have trouble in the first half because we aren?t clicking on all cylinders. We played great both halves and that showed in this game.?

The Demons will have a couple of days off until they travel to face Keokuk on Saturday.