BOYS SOCCER: Cleveland 1, Wilson 1 (10/16/12)

Cleveland 1, Wilson 1

The Cleveland Warriors (3-3-4) took on their main PIL 5A rivals, the Wilson Trojans (4-5-2), on Tuesday night at Cleveland Field. The winner would most likely end up on top of the PIL for the season.

Cleveland started out strong, controlling the ball at midfield most of the first 10 minutes of the match. Cleveland's first scoring chance came in the 8th minute, when junior Mudy Abdikadir had a close-in shot off a feed from junior Adrien Baures, forcing a diving save by Wilson's keeper, senior Levi Weiss. 

Wilson's first shot came in the 10th minute, when senior Austin Andrews hit a strong outside shot over the bar off a rebound from a long free kick. After a long period of mostly midfield play, Senior Nick Van Marter hit an outside shot just right of the Wilson goal in the 20th minute. Junior Daniel Merchant just missed connecting with Adrien Baures, who got behind the defense in the box in the 22nd minute.

Senior Adam Leclair got behind the Cleveland defense 26 minutes in, but junior keeper Hubie Charman made the stop on the low shot. Shortly after, a Wilson corner kick led to a shot that Van Marter bicycle kicked off the line to save a goal. In the ensuing scramble, Charman made another fine save, knocking a Wilson shot over the crossbar. 

The ensuing corner kick led to a free kick for Cleveland, taken by Charman. He bounced a long kick into the box, where Junior Mo Abdikadir ran the ball down. Mo's pass struck the Wilson defender's extended hand, and a PK was called. Nick Van Marter converted the kick at 28:00 into the game, and the Warriors led 1-0. 

Cleveland had two more scoring chances before the half, one on a feed from Junior Max Warmington that almost found Mudy Abdikadir in the box, and the second on an aggressive steal by junior Braxton Griffith, leading to a left-footed shot on goal in the 39th minute. 

Wilson's LeClair had a header shot over the bar off a throw in early in the second half, and Van Marter hit a left-footed blast over the bar in the 46th minute. Barues also got a shot on goal from a free kick in the 53rd minute of play. 

Wilson scored their only goal in the 56th minute on a deceptive shot from Cole Conklin that crossed from the left side of the box and slipped inside the right post. 

Cleveland almost went ahead again in the 63rd minute, when Daniel Merchant sent Senior Collin Faunt on a breakaway down the right side. Faunt hit a solid shot that bounced off the outside of the right post. 

In about the 67th minute, Mo Abdikadir showed impressive speed in beating Wilson senior Ryan Kirk to the ball down the right sideline. After his cross came back to him, Kirk took Mo down at the ankle on a late tackle, leading to a red card for Kirk. 

The Warriors played a man up for the rest of the game, and controlled the ball most of the way. They had shots from Braxton Griffith and Daniel Merchant that roused the crowd, but were not able to put it in the back of the net. The match ended 1-1, and the Warriors move to 3-3-5. 

Cleveland's next match is Thursday night against Grant, which is always a fun and exciting contest, and it's Senior Night into the bargain. There should be a good crowd to see if the Warriors can match one of the top 6A teams at 7 PM at Cleveland Field. 

Video highlights available on i-High at http://bit.ly/QxgPxc