Gregory's late saves preserve substate 6 win for Hawks

All about the angles

I just put myself in good enough of an angle, so it creates a smallest angle as possible. I like to push them outside and if they do get off a shot, I’m in a good place to block it.”

Hunter Gregory, Central Lee Hawks' goalie

DONNELLSON – Central Lee keeper Hunter Gregory has been playing soccer for less than two years, but his instincts for the ball on Monday night were something a seasoned player would admire.
Gregory fought off a flurry of shots on goal in the final two minutes to help the Hawks to a 2-1 win over Hillcrest Academy in the first round of Class 1A District 6 Substate soccer action.
The win avenges a 2-1 loss on April 18 that the Ravens won in a penalty kick session, and it sets up a Monday, May 21 matchup at Pella against No. 14 Pella Christian.
The Eagles are 6-8 on the year but own a win over Class 1A No. 3 Des Moines Christian back on April 10. The Eagles have also played nine of their 14 games on the turf at Pella Christian High School.
But the Hawks are looking for the upset after getting a win over a Hillcrest team that Central Lee Head Coach Justin Schau said was a better team than the version that beat the Hawks in April.
Dante Merschman scored both goals for the Hawks, the first at 22:49 on a combination assist from Ayden Krehbiel and Landan Lowenberg. Merschman took a ball on a pass across the middle and fired in a shot from the line into the left side of the net.
He would score again less than two minutes later on another assist from Lowenberg and Landon Crank to make it 2-0.
“Our mindset was just to come in and dominate. We took them all the way to PKs up there and we didn’t want to do that tonight,” Merschman said.
“We wanted to make it home in regular time. We switched up our lineup and were focing on playing our wings and hoping to stretch them out a bit, and then go back to the center.”
He said the Hawks will be the underdog on Monday.
“They’re good and they’ll always be a powerhouse, but we got to go up there with the mindset that you never know what happens. We have to think we can win and then you never know what happens.”
Hillcrest would counter quickly with a goal from sophomore midfielder Jesse Blossom who scored from a scrum in the front of Gregory just :35 seconds after the Hawks’ goal.
That would be all the scoring in the affair that eliminated the Ravens from the post-season.
Gregory, who said he’s trying to become the best keeper the Hawks have had, said he tells himself to be the best player on the field.
“This whole season has been a blur for me because I’m a brand new keeper. I tell myself that I’m the best player out here and I may not be, but when I think that way, I play that way. It’s a mental test for me,” Gregory said.
When the Ravens were firing at Gregory in the waning moments of the match, he said his mindset was just to put himself in the best place to try and make a play.
“I just put myself in good enough of an angle, so it creates a smallest angle as possible. I like to push them outside and if they do get off a shot, I’m in a good place to block it.”
Freshman Colton Taft gave Gregory a little breathing room late when he snapped off a kick save on a Raven shot out of a corner kick with 1:56 left in the game. After the save and a clear, Hillcrest would push the ball back up but wouldn’t get off another shot on goal before the Hawks cleared to their end of the field.
Gregory had eight saves on the night.
Schau said Gregory shows great athleticism down the stretch when he dived to get the first save in the last-minute flurry of shots. The junior then bounced to his feet and was able to slide over to block the next shot on goal off the rebound of his first save. The Hawks were able to clear it out of the box following the second save.
“That comes down to him making the first good save and being alert enough to get back to his feet where he could recover and make the second save instead of staying on the ground,” Schau said.
Playing on turn on Monday isn’t something that concerns Schau.
“It’ll be a faster game, and this is a quality team we’re playing. We’ll go up there and play the best soccer we can, and I’ll say honestly that we didn’t play our best soccer tonight,” he said.
“We still had the effort, though, and that’s a product of being young. We get lost in the hype and then end up just kicking the ball.”
Schau moved Landon Crank around on defense to provide a bit of a mixup for the Ravens to look at, but it was working so he didn’t change it back. Then the defense stepped up and shut down Hillcrest the rest of the way,
“The football analogy of bend don’t break came into effect. We were bending pretty hard, but we were able to win the second balls,” Schaus said.
The game Monday in Pella will start at 7:30 p.m.
The Central Lee girls kick off post-season play Wednesday at Mid-Prairie.