By SCOTT NOVAK

Niles Daily Star

After spotting visiting Battle Creek Harper Creek a goal Thursday night in a Big 16 Conference crossover soccer match, Niles rallied back for a pair of first half scores to earn a 2-1 victory.

Jake Andrews put the visitors on the scoreboard first in the 17th minute.

The Vikings (8-3-2) knotted the score two minutes later when Cole Krassow chipped the ball over the head of Harper Creek’s goalkeeper.

The game-winner came in the 35th minute when Derrick Nzabakira took a cross from Cicone Palmore and beat the keeper.

“That’s what we want to do right there,” Niles coach Jerry Holtgren said of the winning goal. “We ran it out wide and kind of spread their defense out.”

Both teams had several solid scoring chances, but were turned aside by better defense and goalkeeping.

Harper Creek held a 13-12 advantage in shots on goal with both teams coming up with eight saves.

Niles’ Ryan Casey and Derek Arguello again split time in the crease for the Vikings.

“For the first 20 minutes today we ran a different line,” Holtgren said. “We had some players that hadn’t been stepping up, communicating and doing the things they needed to do. So today we started a whole new line and ran that for about the first 20 minutes. That played into our chemistry. We never were able to put a whole lot together.”

Niles also won the junior varsity match over the Beavers.

The Vikings got two goals from Oliver Rodriguez and a goal from Stuart Coulston in their 3-0 win.

Harper Creek…1

Niles…2

Halftime score

Niles 2, Harper Creek 1

First half

HC – Jake Andrews 17th minute

N – Cole Krassow 19th minute

N – Derrick Nzabakira 35th minute (Cicone Palmore assist)

Shots on goal

Harper Creek 13

Niles 12

Saves

Harper Creek 8

Niles 8 (Ryan Casey, Derek Arguello)

Brandywine’s Jacob Wieger scored both goals as the Bobcats played to a 2-2 draw with Buchanan Thursday night. (Daily Star Photo/TOM NYHUIS)

Brandywine at Buchanan

By TOM NYHUIS

Niles Daily Star

BUCHANAN — Buchanan senior’s played their final regular season home game on Thursday afternoon hosting Brandywine in a Lakeland Conference varsity soccer showdown.

Throw out the window any thoughts that one team would have an advantage over the other because when these two teams come together neither team is willing to leave in defeat.

It will be a fight to the end.

Thursday’s action was no different with the Bobcats supported by a roster loaded with 10 seniors, while the Bucks are limited to four.

Brandywine came in for the road game riding a five-game winning streak, where the Bucks had lost their last four and has had only one win in their last six games.

Thursday each team came out hungry for the win on the hot and windy fall day. In the end it would be the two teams having to settle for a hard fought 2-2 tie.

Buchanan came out with a quick goal in the second minute of action as Buchanan senior Ryan Catalano stuffed the ball in the net past Bobcat keeper Jason Andrews.

Throughout the first half, with the wind at their backs, the Bucks controlled the play taking the 1-0 lead into the 39th minute.

“We came into this game just thinking if we step up our game play the way we know we can anything could happen,” Buchanan coach Brian Pruett said. “We fought hard and no matter when we play Brandywine no matter how much talent they have or we have it’s an even game. It always comes out a close game as both teams step it up. It is tough on the seniors with the tie on the last home game but with the young talent that we had in there to play as hard as those young guys did and come away with a tie it is hard to walk away with a tie but it is a positive direction for our team heading into conference tournament play and districts knowing we could play Brandywine at least two more times.”

With just under 50 seconds remaining in the opening half, Brandywine’s leading scorer, Jacob Wieger, slipped one past Buchanan keeper Steve VanAlstine to knot the score at one.

In the second half it was the Bobcats taking control of the action limiting the Buck’s opportunities early in the half until the 50th minute when Buchanan senior Dylan Arnold nailed a shot from the top of the box get the ball past Andrews for a 2-1 lead with 9:32 to play.

Brandywine stayed persistent continuing to attack the the Buchanan defense and it paid off with another goal by Wieger three minutes later to even the score his 16th of the season.

“Ties are often funny but I felt really good about it because we played a really good second half,” Brandywine coach Evan Winkler said. “I thought we controlled a lot of the second half, more then the first. We had more opportunities and more shots.

“Soccer is a crazy sport where some days you don’t get all the goals to go in that you want. You get a lot of shots and chances they just don’t go in. I was proud of how we moved the ball and how we battled back both time being down a goal two times. We didn’t quit. That was a big game and we haven’t been in games like that before,”  he added.

The Bucks finished a flurry of shots by the Bucks’ senior forwards of Catalano and Arnold at Andrews, but he was able to hold his ground and make the saves as the final seconds came off the clock.

Brandywine…2

Buchanan…2

Halftime score

Brandywine 1, Buchanan 1

First half

Buchanan Goal: Ryan Catalano, Assist-Josh Johnson

Brandywine Goal : Jacob Wieger

Second half

Buchanan Goal: Dylan Arnold

Brandywine Goal: Wieger

Shots on goal

Buchanan 19

Brandywine 14

Saves

Buchanan 6

Brandywine 10

Varsity records

Brandywine 7-4-1, 2-2-1 Lakeland; Buchanan 3-8-2, 1-1-2 Lakeland