OTTUMWA, IA – Missed opportunities.
They'll drive coaches crazy, and first year IHCC Men's Soccer Coach James Ross is no different.
His Warriors failed on a couple of first half chances to seize control of their season opener with Southeastern, and as a result, IHCC had to battle back twice to force two extra periods which ultimately ended in a 2-2 draw Wednesday afternoon at IHCC Field.
Sophomore Rui Tsubakihara couldn't capitalize on the Warriors' first scoring opportunity at IHCC Field since Oct. 30, 2019 just six minutes the into the contest when the Japan native tried to chip a shot over the SCC keeper, but it fell harmlessly over the crossbar.
"I drill the guys constantly to finish low because the goalie is already standing up," Ross lamented. "Instead we try chipping it and it goes over the goal. If we score there, we're rolling."
Ross and the Warriors would hit the halftime break deadlocked in a scoreless tie, but another scoring opportunity passed IHCC by with just 30 ticks left on the clock before intermission.
"Right before the half there, I've got my best finisher on the team in Takumi Semba in a 1-on-1 opportunity, but didn't finish there either," Ross said. "We just made a lot of mistakes. Our midfielders gave up the ball too much by trying to dribble instead of passing and letting the ball do the work. The ball does not have lungs, humans do. We passed it directly to the other team way too often."
As much as the Warriors were struggling, the Blackhawks were having troubles of their own, but Ross knew his squad was on the verge of falling behind.
"We didn't deal well with long balls out to the back of our defense," Ross explained. "SCC got chances based off our mistakes because we were poor on winning first and second balls out of the air, which set them up to attack us in dangerous spots on the field."
The Blackhawks finally broke the scoring drought in the 68th minute as Blake Barklay beat Andrea De Marnis to put the visitors up 1-0.
The Warriors continued to battle and just seven minutes later, IHCC drew even as Shogo Koike converted a corner kick from Denis German Barcojo to make it 1-1.
A controversial call let set up SCC for a penalty kick with just six minutes left in regulation and the Blackhawks' Daichi Marishita delivered the go-ahead, putting IHCC precariously close to a season-opening loss.
"On the positive side, I liked how our guys kept coming back after being down 1-0 and 2-1," Ross said.
About the time the Warrior fell behind for the second time, Ross inserted Remerdie Ndiang and and the Kirksville, Missouri product paid instant dividends with the tying goal with just three minutes left on the clock.
"I tell my guys to be ready when you're number is called, and Remy changed the game instantly after only being on the pitch for a few minutes," Ross said.
The clock would expire at the end of regulation and again after two extra periods with neither team finding the back of the net again.
"I'm going to have to toughen my guys up," Ross concluded. "It's just the start of the season, but this won't be the last team that will play us this way."
Indian Hills (0-0-1) will host Scott Community College (0-0) on Wednesday at 1 p.m. at IHCC Field.
Scoring Summary
Period Time Team Play V-H
1st 68:00 SCC Blake Barklay 1-0
1st 75:00 IH Shogo Koike (from Denis German Barcojo) 1-1
1st 84:00 SCC Daichi Marishita (penalty kick) 2-1
2nd 87:00 IH Remerdie Ndiang (unassisted) 2-2