Boys soccer: Highland's conference hopes still in play after tie with Roosevelt

GRANGER TWP. — The Highland boys soccer team can still reach its goal of going undefeated in the Suburban League American Conference, but the Hornets will have at least one tie on their ledger. That happened Tuesday, as a tough and fast Roosevelt team tied a tough and fast Highland squad 1-1. "We came into the season with high expectations of winning every game in the Suburban League," Hornets midfielder Max Gargano said. "The tie is not what we wanted, for sure. "I'm proud of our defense for sticking in there, but we probably had a few chances we should have put in, so I wouldn't say I'm particularly happy with the result." Highland's best chance late came when Evangelos Verginis chased down a long through ball from Grady Wuchter. After speeding past a Rough Riders defender, Verginis got to the ball just outside the box as Roosevelt keeper Alexios Avouris was coming off his line. Verginis attempted to hit a shot over the top, but the ball blasted off the chest of Avouris with 1:30 to play. Avouris also was able to save a soft rebound attempt to preserve the tie. "I saw him come out and thought I'd try to get it over him," Verginis said. "I didn't get it high enough. My focus kind of faded the last few seconds." Highland didn't have a shot on goal for nearly 30 minutes at the outset, but when the Hornets finally got one they made it pay off. Jonah Kowza scooted a short pass to Gargano in front of the goal, and Gargano found the lower right corner of the net with a shot many fans originally thought went just wide right. That gave Highland, which trailed 3-0 in shots on goal to that point, a 1-0 lead with 10:13 left in a fast-paced first half that featured a lot of action but not a lot of legitimate offensive opportunities. "We had a good combination play up the middle," Gargano said. "Jonah beat his guy and got the ball through. I just tried to take my touch and get it in." Prior to Gargano's goal, Highland's best chances came on a 40-yard free kick by Landon Kuzma that sailed just over the crossbar and a 25-yarder by Kowza that did the same. The Rough Riders put three shots on frame in the first 16 minutes of the game, but Josh Gaydos saved them all before giving way to Jack Petersen in the second half. After Roosevelt's solid start, a Highland defense that included Kuzma, Alex Hedden, Hoyt Pylypiak, Devon Kolda and Henry Sauer tightened and held the Rough Riders without a shot on goal the rest of the first half. That changed when Roosevelt's Isan Roberts poked home a goal to tie the game with 30:12 to play, the score coming after Petersen saved a shot from close range immediately before the rebound. "We stood up pretty well," Kuzma said. "We shut them down. No. 12 (Roberts) was closed down after that." Like Gargano, Kuzma wasn't thrilled with the tie, but neither was he downcast. "It's not upsetting," he said. "We still played our hardest, but we just couldn't finish." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on X. Highland 1, Roosevelt 1 ROOSEVELT 0 1 — 1 HIGHLAND 1 0 — 1 First H — Max Gargano (Jonah Kowza), 10:13. Second R — Isan Roberts, 30:12. Shots on goal — Roosevelt 6, Highland 6. Corner kicks — Roosevelt 0, Highland 2. Saves — Alexios Avouris (R) 5, Josh Gaydos (H) 3, Jack Petersen (H) 2. Records — Roosevelt (3-4-2, 2-0-1), Highland (7-0-2, 3-0-1). Junior varsity — Roosevelt 2, Highland 0.