MOORE — With the Hillsdale Free Will Baptist soccer team returning key members of last year’s squad and getting some strong new players, Coach Jacob Moore is expecting great things from his team.
The Saints, who finished last season with a record of 7-15, are off to a 1-1 start. Hillsdale won its season opener 3-1 over Barclay College of Haviland, KS. With the opening win, the Saints are expecting to be much more competitive this season than last.
“I think we have much better skill this year,” Moore said. “I think with skillful players that are fighting hard already, we’ll do pretty well.”
Hillsdale faced their biggest test yet, when they matched up with NAIA Bacone College out of Muskogee Thursday. The Warriors took an early 1-0 lead. But the Saints quickly answered with a goal by senior forward Hamid Dicko.
Late in the second half, trailing 3-2, the Saints missed a few opportunities to even up the score before the Warriors were awarded a penalty kick, which put them up by two goals.
“I was proud of the boys yesterday for fighting so hard,” Moore said. “We made some mistakes and had to pay for them. When you play good teams like (Bacone), you make mistakes, they make you pay.”
Senior Hamid Dicko finished the game with two goals, and senior Jeff Ives had both assists.
