Hoover High girls’ soccer forced to settle for tie with Glendale

GLENDALE — Sometimes a final score that ends in a tie comes as a relief, with the mindset that it’s better than a loss. Other times it results in disappointment, with one team believing it should have won.

For the Hoover High girls’ soccer team, giving up a late goal to rival Glendale in the first of two meetings this season for a 1-1 tie at Hoover High on Friday afternoon was seen as a negative for a Tornadoes squad that felt it was the superior team.

PHOTOS: Hoover, Glendale girls’ soccer play to 1-1 draw

“I’m mad and I think everyone on the team is disappointed,” said Hoover’s Remi Miller, who scored the lone goal for the Tornadoes. “We don’t think they deserved it. They got the goal on our mistake, but we’ll win it next time.”

Miller gave Hoover a 1-0 lead just minutes into the match on an assist from Melanie Ascencio after Glendale lost possession deep in its own territory. Although it would set the tone for a first half in which the Tornadoes dominated, they would not find the back of the net again.

As Hoover Coach Anastasios “Ace” Metallinos told his team at halftime, though, anything can happen in a match with a one-goal margin.

“I think the 1-0 score at halftime hurt us,” Metallinos said. “They didn’t challenge us, so we came out in the second half thinking we could do whatever we want. Then fatigue sets in and we go away from our game plan of moving the ball and keeping possession.”

Similarly to how Hoover (5-11-1, 2-4-1) struck in the first half, Glendale (1-9-1, 1-5-1) came out in the second half with more intensity and it resulted in an early goal of its own.

Kenya Ayala used her speed to beat the defender down the sideline and into Hoover’s box. From there, a light touch on a ball was enough to sail it over Hoover keeper Melanie Palermo.

“She’s left-footed, but she put that thing in with her right,” Nitros Coach Victor Aquino said. “Most of the time, players set it up for their dominant foot, but I always tell them to just swing at it.”

Aquino was far more pleased with his team’s second-half performance than its effort in the first half.

“We actually played in the second half,” he said. “In the first half we were just watching. In the second, we started pressing and going after the ball.”

Ayala sped down the sideline midway through the second half, getting another shot on goal — this one just off the mark.

Late in the match, Miller was the recipient of a long ball that had her alone with Glendale keeper Crystal Rivera. The senior captain for the Nitros was able to get in front of Miller’s strike, which was ultimately the final threat from either side.

“Being human, we all make mistakes, why leave it to chance,” Metallinos said. “That extra-goal cushion is huge. We had a lot of opportunities to score in the first half, but weren’t able to. We definitely should have won.”