SPRINGFIELD — The Frontier boys soccer team battled to a 1-1 tie against the Springfield Central Golden Eagles on Thursday evening at Fred Berte Field. The two teams last played on Sept. 9, with Central defeating Frontier, 1-0.
After an early Central goal, Frontier responded late on a tuck from Max Millette to knot the game at 1-1. The score would remain there the rest of the way, as the Red Hawks earned a draw, increasing its point streak to seven straight games.
It did not take long for the Golden Eagles (6-2-4) to find the back of the net. Less than three minutes into the game, senior Jayden Rodriquez, clawed his way through the defense to give Central a 1-0 lead early.
“It’s a fluke in a lot of ways for us,” Frontier head coach Evan Horton said.
With the majority of the game still to be played, Horton stressed to his team the importance of sticking to their gameplan.
“We have 78 minutes left in this game, let’s let it go,” Horton said on his message to the team after allowing a quick goal.
The first half was filled with constant pressure by both teams, as the sounds of cleats connecting with shin guards did not allow either team to gain consistent momentum. The Red Hawks had three corner-kick opportunities in the first half, but failed to capitalize going into halftime. After being in this situation once before, Horton and the Red Hawks knew the uphill battle they would have to overcome.
“Let’s just get one, and we’ll see what happens from there,” said Horton regarding his emphasis to the squad.
During the halftime huddle, Millette (a senior midfielder) and the Red Hawks remained composed.
“Early in the season we would have been down, the vibes were positive even though we were down,” Millette said.
After playing the majority of the second half on their side of the field, the Red Hawks offense began to click. By applying consistent pressure to the Golden Eagles defensive line, the Red Hawks had a pass slide across the goal, but were not able to add the finishing touch. With the crowd coming alive with Frontier’s offense, Central head coach Mike Carney called a timeout to switch up the gameplan.
“I shifted to a more defensive stance so we would not give up corner kicks,” Carney said. “We tried to avoid free kicks.”
With the scoreboard showing less than five minutes remaining, senior midfielder Gus Radner connected his laces to the ball and sent a corner kick into a nest of clashing uniforms. Using his height to his advantage, Millette used his head to strike the ball into the top right corner of the net, tying the game in the final moments.
Not only was the equalizer a crucial game-saving score for Millette, but also a redeeming moment for the goalscorer. In their previous matchup, Millette had the exact same opportunity, and Central goalie Carl Belony punched a game-tying ball away from the net.
“I know it’s been coming, but it feels good to get one today,” Millette said. “We practice corner kicks and free kicks all the time. We’ve had a bunch of dangerous opportunities this year that we haven’t put away, but we are starting to.”
“That was the hardest worked goal we have had all year,” added Horton.
Millette credits the match to the resilience and chemistry of the Red Hawks roster. With seven seniors, much of the team has been playing together from an early age.
“The chemistry is unmatched for us,” Millette said. “I know I can talk to them, I know I can yell at them and they aren’t going to get down. They are going to trust me and I am going to trust them.”
Millette’s strike counted as his second of the season, while Radner notched his team-leading sixth assist. Keeper Jake Cusson’s six saves on the day brought his season total to 52 for Frontier.
Frontier (8-2-4) will look to make it eight consecutive games without a loss when it meets Agawam (2-4-5) next Thursday at 4 p.m.