On Wednesday night, the Marion Giants battled for 80 minutes against an excellent Hamilton Southeastern squad, which came into Dick Lootens Stadium with 10 wins and one loss.
After the first 60 minutes, Marion trailed by one goal after a perfect header from Jeremiah Watts, but an HSE tally just 1:34 later took the wind out of the Giants’ sails.
The Royals took control the rest of the way, ending the evening with three unanswered tallies to hand the Giants a 7-3 loss.
Despite the defeat, Marion Head Coach Jorge Berry was thrilled with how his group played against a talented and well-coached group.
“It was great. As a coach, you cannot be frustrated with the effort that we displayed,” Marion Head Coach Jorge Berry said. “We’ve still got guys who are inexperienced in the back, and that second chance goal with 22 minutes left mentally drained us, without question.”
The Royals struck early, scoring their first goal just 1:28 into the match, but a successful Giant counterattack led to the equalizer, courtesy of Alex Powell, which tied the game at one goal apiece.
Despite a relentless HSE attack, Marion’s young back line, led by Tyson Johnson, stood tall, making the Royals earn every one of their scoring opportunities. While the final score was lopsided, it was not indicative of the group’s progress since the beginning of the season.
“Tyson has been invaluable,” Berry said. “He just does everything we ask. As a coach, that’s all you can ask your players to do.”
With 13:43 remaining the first half, HSE’s Harsahil Gandham broke the tie, before scoring his second goal 10 minutes later, but the Giants kept fighting. With 16 seconds left to play in the first half, Johnson was fouled hard in the box, and Kyle Coryea converted the ensuing penalty kick to make it a 3-2 game at halftime.
HSE increased their advantage back to two goals early in the second half, courtesy of Isa Sayeed, but after that, Marion began to push offensively, putting consistent pressure on the Royals’ defense.
That offensive push led to Marion’s best tally of the night. On a throw-in with 23:40 remaining, Coryea’s throw found the head of Watts, who punched it beyond the outstretched arms of HSE goalkeeper Charlie Woodring and into the back of the net, cutting the Royals’ lead to 4-3.
Since joining the team midway through the season after missing the first few games due to academic ineligibility, Watts has provided the Giants with speed, offensive ability, and scoring depth up front.
“He has really picked up our play,” Berry said. “We have confidence in him, and he can play. Hopefully, he’ll keep getting better and we’ll keep getting better.”
The Royals, however, quickly regained the momentum shortly after as Sayeed scored off a rebound to give HSE a two-goal lead once again. The Royals were not threatened again, and eventually pulled away for the victory. Both Sayeed and Gandham finished with hat tricks.
In the face of an unrelenting attack, Malik Smith stood tall in net for the Giants, collecting 15 saves in the match.
