Hightstown, Irish battle to draw

HIGHTSTOWN — Though it was the same result, two very different reactions came Tuesday from Hightstown and Notre Dame.

The Rams and Fighting Irish — two of the best teams in the county — grinded out a 1-1 overtime draw that featured both flashes of offensive brilliance and extremely physical play at McIntire Field.

For Notre Dame, which managed twice as many shots as Hightstown and had the bulk of legitimate scoring opportunities, the tie was a frustrating result to a frustrating game.

“I told (the players) that I was happy with the play, just not happy with the result,” Notre Dame coach Mike Perone said.

For Hightstown, which went up early and largely withstood the Irish onslaught, the draw was more palatable.

“It does show we can play any team, and it also shows that we have discipline,” Rams goalie Jacob Reyes said. “We can take it over 80 minutes.”

Perhaps because the game was played on the same new turf field the Rams play football on — smaller than soccer-specific fields — neither team appeared to have much room to operate.

“This is a difficult-sized field,” Perone said. “We have the same size field and we don’t really play on it. Everybody is packed in, and that’s why you get the rough game. Kids are complaining about the officiating and everything, but when you put 22 adults on a field this size it’s difficult to play.”

The Hightstown goal came with 22:25 to go before the half, when midfielder Wesley Reyes droves the ball down the right sideline and delivered a cross that first found the head of Luke Fordan and then the back of the net.

Reyes’ play in goal was a bigger story for the Rams. The junior finished with a 17 saves, many of which required diving efforts. He also got some help from defender and former goalie JP Miguez, who cleared a crucial shot.

“Jake came up big for us today,” Hightstown coach Tim Kalick said. “There was Jake and then you have our extra goalie JP in the back, who made a save on one of those shots. Throughout the whole game Jake played well for us back there. He was like a wall.”

It looked like all of Notre Dame’s efforts would be in vain until the 14:10 mark of the second half, when Brian Hawkins unleashed ripped a shot into the upper righthand corner of the goal from 30 yards out.

“It was pretty far away,” Reyes said. “That kid is pretty good. It was a bullet in the upper 90.”

Hawkins’ strike sent the game into overtime, where the cumulative effect of so many missed opportunities appeared to finally take its toll on the Irish.

“This is a difficult game to officiate, because it’s two good teams going at each other,” Perone said. “They are tough and we’re tough, too. They were frustrated at the end because I think they felt like they did enough to get it over the top, but sometimes it doesn’t happen.”