The boy’s soccer team pray before their game.

The Pioneers played their 7th conference game against the Huntsville Eagles on Monday, April 18th . This game was a big one for the Pioneers. The Pioneers were without senior starter center middle Jared Rabb due to a bruised rib. The Pioneers were struggling with the Eagles in the first half, but were able to get some shots of their own that were close to going in the goal. It was an intense battle between both teams. The Pioneers had a lot of opportunities to score but couldn’t connect with the goal. It was a tough half for the Pioneers; with about 10 minutes left in the first half, the Eagles were able to score off of a free kick that went right through the hands of junior goalie Kelsey James.

Heading into halftime the Pioneers knew they needed to get it together for the second half. The Pioneers were down 1-0 and were not ready to give up just yet. The beginning of the second half started and it was already getting really aggressive on both ends of the field. The Eagles were able to put another goal in within 7 minutes from the start of the second half. The Pioneers never gave up and were determined to win this battle. There was a foul called on a play which gave the Pioneers about a 25-yard free kick. Junior right wing Braxton Gunneman was able to “bend the ball like Beckham” right past the goalie into the goal. The Pioneers were still down 2-1 and were not ready to give up. About 8 minutes after Gunneman’s goal, the Pioneers were able to get a penalty kick. The penalty kick was taken by sophomore forward Kevin Ochoa, which was beautifully placed right in the goal. The Pioneers were ready to get another goal after Ochoa’s goal. With about 10 minutes left in the game, the Eagles were able to kick a laser shot from about 27 yards out that bounced off senior defender Austin Fowler and went right past James for another Eagle’s goal.

The Pioneers froze with shock. They knew they definitely needed a goal now. The Pioneers were able to get shots off, but the shots were able not go in for the Pioneers. The final buzzer went off and the Pioneers lost 3-2.

“We just couldn’t get stuff done tonight, but what I love about this team is we never gave up during the game. We were so close to winning this game. This is why we play the game because we love the sport of soccer. I hope we can still play as a team and finish this season strong,” said Gunneman after the lost.

The Pioneers are now 3-4 in conference. They will be needing some help from the lower bottom half of the conference and also need to win all of their conference game to still have a chance to be in the state tournament. There next conference game is Friday, April 22nd.

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