WATERLOO, IA – No. 11-rated Indian Hills came into Tuesday night's ICCAC match with Hawkeye riding high. An unblemished record and a fresh new ranking that put the club on the cusp on the NJCAA Top 10 had the Warriors in prime position to surely take care of business against the 1-2 RedTails, right?
Ninety minutes of soccer later, IHCC was headed out of Waterloo's Cedar Valley Soccer Complex without a victory in tow, and although it wasn't a loss, it wasn't what the Warriors had come for either.
A 1-1 draw left Indian Hills at 4-0-1 overall and 3-0-1 in league play and left IHCC Head Coach Anthony Longo lamenting what could, or should have been.
"I was pleased with about ninety percent of our game," Longo said. "Offensively we moved the ball well and created plenty of opportunities. We were in control for a lot of the game. The last ten percent was executing and finishing those chances. Today, we were not good enough in that area."
The Warriors picked up their one and only goal in the first half as a K.J. Schmidt run and cross found Bailey Wiemann for the score to make it 1-0, IHCC. Wiemann and Schmidt are now the team co-leaders in goals this season with four each.
The Indian Hills defense was stout yet again as the Warrior D had only surrendered a single goal in four contests coming in. While the RedTails would eventually punch one in at the 77th minute on a Lexi Wagner unassisted goal to tie it up, it wasn't the IHCC backline that Longo was concerned with.
"In games like this, it's crucial that we get that second goal to put the game out of reach," Longo said. "We couldn't get that done today. Minus the one slip-up, we had a great performance defensively. When goals aren't coming for us, we have to limit the other team offensively. I think our backline did their job in that area."
After regulation, two extra stanzas found neither team able to break the deadlock, and the tie was settled for by both units.
"Overall, what we try to do offensively as a team is working," Longo admitted. "The most important thing is being able to create chances. We are doing that and we can continue to build on it. The next step is finish off those chances, and we will get to work to improve in that area."
The Warriors next opportunity to improve on finishing is Saturday in an ICCAC road showdown with N0. 5-rated Iowa Western (4-0). Game time from Reiver Sports Complex is 3 p.m.
Scoring Summary
Period Team Time Play V-H
1st IH 13:15 Bailey Wiemann (from K.J. Schmidt) 1-0
1st HCC 77:27 Lexi Wagner (unassisted) 1-1