Amherst and Vermilion tie again in 2018

Clutch scoring from Amherst spoiled senior night at Vermilion as the Comets ended things with a tie to end the regular season in an out of conference showdown.

Coming back from a 2-0 deficit, Vermilion scored three unanswered goals all in the second half and had the lead until a goal from Amherst’s Caleb Stempowski found the back of the net with 3:40 remaining in the match on his birthday.

Knotted up at 3-3, Amherst made one final push in the remaining seconds of the game. As a goal nearly slipped in, a terrific effort from a Sailor defender knocked the ball away to end in a tie.

“Definitely there at the end after falling behind by a goal, the boys woke up a little bit playing the ball to feet and moving the ball and that made the difference,” Amherst head coach Drew Biedenbach said.

THE SCORE

AMHERST 3, VERMILION 3

“When you’re playing a team like Amherst, they are a very good team, I thought we came out in the second half with a good plan and got ourselves back into it.” Vermilion coach Kurt Innes

“Throw maybe one more second on the clock and we probably have that goal. I was proud of the way that they fought to come back, little disappointed that we let it get that far.”

In the fourth installment of this out of conference rivalry game, the two squads came away with a tie in back-to-back years and added another classic to this board-rivalry matchup.

“When you’re playing a team like Amherst, they are a very good team, I thought we came out in the second half with a good plan and got ourselves back into it,” Vermilion coach Kurt Innes said. “I told the kids, that’s a little bit of a learning moment there when you’re up 3-2 with under five minutes left, we don’t need to send the house forward. We need to slow the game down a little bit, allow us get out, allow us to recover where if we do lose the ball. At least we have numbers behind it now.

“Anytime we play Amherst, we know what’s on the line. All the kids know each other, they play club together, they all grew up playing together. Typical Amherst-Vermilion game, back and forth, both sides take their swings and ends in a tie yet again.”

For Amherst, the night was all about clutch scoring. Taking a 2-0 advantage with 29 seconds left before the break, the Comets’ Stempowski sent home a shot that gave Amherst momentum headed into the intermission.

Stempowski’s second goal with under four to play was a big one to get things back to neutral and that’s something he said was what his team works to do late in matches.

“We’re trying to play more controlled and play calmly,” Stempowski said. “We’re trying to get in our playoff routine and I mean, we’re not really happy with a tie, but it’s better than a loss. Could have got the win if there was another 10 seconds, but luck wasn’t with us.”

For the Sailors, the big man to lead the way back was junior Issac Lindo. Aside from scoring Vermilion’s first two goals of the game to get the game tied up at 2-2, Lindo had a busy day as his morning was filled with taking third place at the Sandusky Bay Conference cross country meet.

“He’s been doing it since his freshman year, he never stops. He’s like an Energizer Bunny, man,” Biedenbach said. “At times I’m like ‘Issac, you need a break?’ And he says ‘no coach, I’m good’, and if that were me, I’d be dead.”

Wishing his team came away with the win, Stempowski said he just wanted to be there for his teammates.

“My legs hurt, but I’m pretty awake,” Stempowski said. “I enjoy bot a lot, to be honest. I enjoy running as an individual and playing soccer and celebrating with the boys tonight every time we score, both feelings are just great.”