Pioneers battle Riverdale to tie

The Pioneer soccer team had to settle for a tie Tuesday night, as they battled Riverdale to a 1-1 deadlock in District 7-AAA action at WCHS.

“I really feel like we dominated the whole game,” said WCHS coach Charlie Hardee, whose team dropped to 2-1-1 in district play. “They had some runs, but we covered up defensively, and we possessed the ball.

“The ballgame was ours to win, we just didn’t put it in the net. We didn’t shoot, and we did we just stood there and didn’t go after the ball. We didn’t attack the goal, and that was the difference between a win and a tie.”

After a scoreless first half, Riverdale put in a header off a corner kick just 38 seconds into the second period. Warren County kept battling, however, and scored the game-tying goal on an indirect kick from Ben Gretzinger with 29 minutes to play.

With the game winding down both teams began attacking more vigorously, and Riverdale had a few chances to pull back ahead in the final moments of the contest. But their closest effort rang off the left goalpost, and Pioneer keeper Jonathan Bratcher, who finished with five saves, turned away any other potential Warrior goals.

“Bratcher did a good job tonight, and he’s done a good job all year,” Hardee said. “Our defense has been shaky at times this season, but they stepped up and played well tonight.

“Riverdale’s a good team, but I really felt like we could’ve beaten them. We possessed the ball the way we wanted to, but just didn’t attack the goal, and we didn’t finish.”

The Pioneers were scheduled to take on Cookeville Friday night, and host McGavock Saturday afternoon for their final home game of the season.