The Chillicothe Hornets soccer team entered their conference matchup in St. Joseph against Benton at 3-2 on the season, both squads came into the contest 1-0 in the MEC.
Benton had the better scoring chances through the first 20 minutes, but the Hornets broke through 23 minutes into the game, after some quick combination to release pressure down the right side, Josh Ojeaga played a through ball to Mason Walter, who slipped by a pair of defenders then cut the ball inside on his left foot and blasted a shot into the top near post corner for the first goal of the game.
Just six minutes later in the 29th minute, the Hornets were awarded their first corner kick of the game, and executed it perfectly. Coy Jones put a the cross right into the top of the 6 yard box and it was headed home by Landen Longo to double the Chillicothe lead. The Hornets held on to the 2-0 advantage into the halftime break.
Just 7 minutes into the 2nd half, Benton’s Mason Mears committed a foul in midfield, he was not happy with the call and received a yellow card for dissent. Mears then reacted to the yellow card, and was immediately shown a 2nd one, resulting in a red card and the Cardinal were forced to play a man down the remainder of the game.
Inversely, the red card invigorated Benton’s attack and less than two minutes later the ball fell to Cardinal’s sophomore star, Dexter Morrison right at the top of the box. Morrison’s shot, low and to the left found the back of the net, pulling Benton within one goal.
Even with just 10 players on the field, Benton continued to press for the equalizer, but the midfield and defense for Chillicothe did an excellent job preventing quality looks, and keeping possession when they could. Not to be outdone by Benton’s sophomore Morrison, Chillicothe’s sophomore Mason Walter was masterful in the midfield, and the back line of Ryan Schuler, Lake Englert, Jace Collins and Urijah Hunt held resolutely. Goalkeeper Jesse Hughes commanded the box and came up with some critical saves as the Hornets hung on for a 2-1 win.
Chillicothe improves to 4-2 on the season and up to 2-0 in the Midland Empire Conference. The Hornets will have another conference game Thursday when they host Excelsior Springs.