MOUNT VERNON — Big Walnut proved to be a tough nut to crack for the Mount Vernon High School boys soccer team on Tuesday night. The Yellow Jackets eventually managed to do so, and pulled off a 1-0 victory in the final minutes of the match.
The Jackets scored with 5:09 left in the game, and the defense held the Eagles scoreless giving the Jackets a strong Ohio Capital Conference win over a power player in the Big Walnut squad.
The first half was a see-saw match, with each team taking turns going on the offensive. Neither team scored, and the match was knotted at zero heading into the second half. The second frame saw the Jackets (9-3-1, 4-1 OCC) come out with more aggression, and ultimately securing the win on a Dan Israel header.
Israel ripped a shot that drilled the post, causing the Big Walnut (6-3-3, 3-2 OCC) goal keeper to be left out of position for the ricochet, which Israel took full advantage of as he headed the ball into the back of the net.
“It was awesome [to get the goal],” said Israel. “I was really scared when I hit the post, but when I saw it come back I was able to head it right into the goal. It was just awesome. This was a conference game, and we need to win the rest of them to have a chance to win the conference. This was an especially great win.”
“I’ll tell you what, Dan Israel is one of those guys that is always around the goal when he needs to be,” said Mount Vernon head coach Scott Dapprich. “He fought for the goal, and put his head on it and put it in the back of the net. That was one of the sweetest goals. I can’t say enough about Dan stepping up.”
The game was an intense matchup, and had the teams and the fans holding their breath. Both teams were extremely fast, and very crisp, despite the colder temperatures. Each team also had its mind on what could be possible if it pulled out the win.
“That game was extremely exciting,” said Dapprich. “I knew before we even stepped onto the field tonight that it was going to be one of those games that the guys would remember because of how good it was going to be. I told the guys that it was going to be a battle, both ways.
“Luckily for us, we did a great job marking up some of their guys up front and their outside midfielders,” Dapprich continued. “I am very proud of our defense, those guys work extremely well together. Big Walnut is a team that never quits. I tip my hat to them, they are an extremely good team.”
The win was huge to the Jackets’ chance at the conference title. Both the Jackets and the Eagles had one conference loss coming into Tuesday’s match, and another loss would make things extremely difficult to get into the hunt.
The winner came out locked into a tie for second place in the league, depending on the outcome of the Delaware/New Albany game. Having a serious shot at a conference title was all the motivation Mount Vernon needed to step up and defeat an excellent opponent.
“What was fun to see tonight with our guys was the different levels of play that kept progressing throughout the game,” said Dapprich. “From the league standpoint, this gets us really excited. We are in the hunt. We are knocking on the door. We are waiting for that door to open and we are going to enter in. This is one of those games for the memory book.”
In junior varsity action, the Yellow Jackets remained unbeaten on the year, defeating Big Walnut, 4-0. The Jackets (12-0) were led by Brandon McQuigg who scored two goals on the evening. Chris Israel and Travis Kiger each scored a goal, while Chris Ingersol added an assist. Chris Omahan and Will Teeter shared the shutout in goal.
The Jackets travel to Newark on Thursday before another big conference game versus New Albany on Tuesday. Junior varsity action gets under way at 5:30 p.m. at Newark with varsity play following.