Most local high school soccer teams have scrimmaged a bit, and the Highland Fighting Scots have scrimmaged often, having played three matches already, fighting to a 1-2 scrimmage mark to prepare for season game play.
The Scots began their scrimmage season with a 3-2 win over Liberty Union on Aug. 10, were edged by Hamilton Township 2-1 on Aug. 12 and lost to Upper Sandusky 3-2 on Aug. 16.
In the scrimmage opener for Highland, the Scots played their starters and took a 3-1 lead over the Liberty Union Lions to end the first half. The Highland boys outplayed a young Liberty Union squad in the first, getting goals from Zane Sheets, Dylan Thomas and Cody Thomas. The Lions tallied the only second-half goal against a variety of Scots players, and Highland played five freshmen to gain valuable game experience.
The Hamilton Township Rangers visited Fishburn Family Field, and the visitors scored the only goal in the first half to assume a 1-0 lead. The match was even until Hamilton put one in the net about midway through the first half off a corner kick. The teams traded a few chances and took the halftime break with the score remaining 1-0, Rangers.
The Scots pressured with ball control in the second half, playing the ball more on the ground to counteract Hamilton’s height advantage. The strategy paid off with some legitimate chances to level the score, but a few nice saves and two shots off the crossbar kept the Scots off the board. The Scots found the back of the net with about 19 minutes left when Thomas played a spot-on direct kick to Sheets, who hammered it home for the equalizer. The home side and the visitors had some chances but the visiting Rangers broke the tie with about eight minutes left on nice give and go through ball that beat the Highland defense. The Scots turned up the pressure over the balance of the contest but were held scoreless. Scots’ goalie Ben Evans turned away 13 shots.
Highland scored early, and the Upper Sandusky Rams scored late to defeat the Scots, 3-2. The Scots scored twice in the first half to take a 2-0 lead, getting goal No. 1 on a restart ball from Thomas to Sheets who put home a solid header, and the second on a crisp long pass from Andrew Greenhalge to Sheets, who finished this one with his foot. The Rams put three unanswered goals in the net in the second half to secure the scrimmage win. Highland finished off the scrimmage season getting the entire squad ample playing time on the field.
