The last three times Schuylkill Haven and Nativity met on the soccer pitch, the Hurricanes outscored the Hilltoppers by 16 goals and took all three games.
So there was no hiding the importance of the 1-1 draw between the sides in Tuesday’s Schuylkill League Division II game atop Lawton’s Hill.
“This is definitely the greatest result we’ve had all season,” Nativity keeper Eric Nelson said. “It’s given us a lot of confidence that we can tie a team like Schuylkill Haven and we’re excited to keep going on.”
The draw keeps Schuylkill Haven (9-3-1, 6-0-1 D-II) atop the Division II standings, one game ahead of Nativity (7-2-1, 5-1-1). It puts more distance between the Hilltoppers and third- and fourth-place teams Williams Valley and Tri-Valley.
“None of the players on this team here have ever done anything but lose to Haven,” first-year Nativity coach Matt Hamilton said.
Last season, the Hurricanes took two 7-1 wins from the Hilltoppers. Earlier this season, they beat Nativity 4-0 at Rotary Field.
“To come out and throw that (4-0 loss) away and play this game like they did with these guys today was just phenomenal,” Hamilton added. “The hard work is paying off.”
Nelson made a game-saving stop on Haven’s Cole Handling in the 16th minute of extra time after a cross floated in from the left wing and forced the junior keeper out to the edge of the 6-yard box.
Handling’s angle was cut down by Nelson before he was able to get away a good shot.
“They put a floated ball through and one of their strikers had a run through and I just wanted to get out there and make myself as big as possible to block the net,” Nelson said.
Nelson’s counterpart, Haven’s Brad Fryer, also made some shining saves to keep the game level.
Hilltoppers leading scorer Cristian Vazquez arced a shot from the right corner that forced Fryer to backpedal and jump to grab the ball before it slid under the crossbar. He made a similar save on a free kick three minutes into extra time.
“I just tried to stay back and time it and jump when I had to and make the save,” Fryer said. ... “We played them already this year and I knew they would try to shoot from distance, so I stayed back as much as I could.”
The only ball to get past Fryer was a penalty kick by Cullen Hoppel in the 32nd minute that tied the game at 1.
Dawson Evitts struck first for Haven in the 6th minute when he stepped in front of a clearance and curled a shot outside to the upper-left corner.
Other than those two plays, defenders from both sides stepped up to cut out runs and cleared their lines well.
Nativity centerback Yu Yamahara and midfielder Hoppel swept away countless Haven scoring chances. The same was done by Hurricane centerback Luis Taylor.
The pace was such, however, that any unlucky bounce could have proven costly, perhaps ruining what seemed to be the fairest outcome for both squads.
“Give credit to Nativity, they hustled to every ball,” Schuylkill Haven coach Vanco Georgevic said. “Are we lucky to escape with a point? Maybe. But I think they feel the same way. Either one of us would’ve been happy with a win, but I think the draw is the best decision that could happen for this game.”
The Hurricanes were playing without seniors Kristian Svenson and Tyler Yeakel. The area’s third-leading scorer with 12 goals and eight assists, Yeakel will miss the rest of the season due to a knee injury.
They hope to get Svenson back soon.
“Offensively, we will probably struggle for a few games until we get the right combination up front,” Georgevic said.
It has been the opposite for Nativity, which was a bit of a mystery coming into the season.
Now there is no mystery. The Hilltoppers currently occupy a league playoff spot and Tuesday they showed why.
“They looked around and saw the talent that we had and said we can challenge here,” Hamilton said. “There’s no reason we have to assume we’re going to lose to Schuylkill Haven, assume Tri-Valley is going to have a good team and beat us.
“They bought into their own talent, knowing they had to work hard. But they knew if they did work hard, they’d get results like this.”
Game Summary
Sch. Haven (9-3-1, 6-0-1) 1 0 0 0 — 1 Nativity (7-2-1, 5-1-1) 1 0 0 0 — 1
SH —Evitts, 6th minute
Nat —Hoppel (PK), 32nd minute
Shots on goal: Schuylkill Haven 5, Nativity 11. Corner kicks: Schuylkill Haven 0, Nativity 2. Saves: Schuylkill Haven (Fryer) 10, Nativity (Nelson) 4.
JV Score: Schuylkill Haven 1-0