It was a cool September evening with your Millers taking on the Cardinals of Southport at beautiful Hallmark Orthodontics Soccer Complex. It was a special evening for a young Miller by the name of Sam Henderson. He was an honorary Miller for a Day. He was able to lead the team out for starting lineups, give a pregame speech, and was even named man of the match at the conclusion of the game. Well done Sam!
In the first half, your Millers controlled much of the possession but had no goals to show for it. However, they were able to break through in the last 2 minutes of the half in a big way. First, junior Blake Horn was able to take a free kick on the left flank. He lofted a great ball to the back post, where senior Ashton Craig was able to rise up and head home the first goal of the game. On the ensuing kick off, the Millers won possession and marched down the field. Senior Max Reason was able to draw a free kick about 30 yards from goal. He called his own number and took the impending free kick. He curled it around the wall and into the back of the net to double the lead and go into halftime up 2-0
The second half saw more sustained pressure by the Millers. Many players had impacts on the game with chances to score. Freshmen Ben Hewitt had several shots saved by the Southport keeper. Sophomore Max Tucker had a shot rattle the crossbar. Junior Korey Klimek had great runs up the right flank. However, it was Ashton Craig who again got a tally on the score sheet. Sophomore Brady Frayer hit Craig with a nice pass. Craig was able to beat a defender and find the back of the net with about 12 minutes to go in the game. The score ended 3-0. A big part of the clean sheet was senior goalkeeper Dugan Webster, who was getting his first career varsity start. Webster had several quality saves to keep the Cardinals off the scoresheet.
The Millers resume play next week with 2 HCC matches @ Zionsville and then at home vs. Hamilton Southeastern. The Thursday game against HSE is a community night. Any youth club player wearing their jersey will get in for free. Looking forward to next week’s matches.