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Cardinals, Bears end in rare tie
by Matthew Dickinson, sports editor · Sports · April 16, 2025
After a thrilling back-and-forth battle, the West Branch boys’ soccer team had its first-ever draw as a program following a 1-1 deadlock against Maquoketa Monday night at home.
“I think we put up a good fight,” Bears Head Coach Ted Miller said. “We only scored in the first half and we were hoping to keep them scoreless, but that didn’t happen. We maintained our discipline on defense and the midfielders played well. I mean, a tie isn’t the best thing, but it’s better than a loss.”
The Bears had an early look at a goal with a shot on goal after just four minutes. Elliot Hinkhouse was active offensively with a shot on goal at the seven and 13 minute marks, while Timmy Hosier followed with a shot at 19 minutes. Maquoketa managed a shot at 22 minutes, while the Bears finally found the scoreboard with a Hinkhouse goal assisted by Reese Gingerich.
Armed with a 1-0 lead, West Branch hunted for a second score. Tate Frantz had a shot at 34 minutes, while Gingerich nearly scored a goal on a free kick in the 39th minute that just cleared the crossbar. The first half ended without any more scoring as the tight matchup went on to the second.
Maquoketa found the scoreboard after 50 minutes on a follow up effort after a free kick that snuck past West Branch keeper Robby Boaz.
The Bears continued to work after the equalizer, with Frantz getting a shot at 53 minutes and Hinkhouse following with a shot on goal a minute later.
Boaz had a good save two minutes later before the Cardinals had a few other shots in the following minutes.
On the other end, Gingerich had another look after 69 minutes while Maquoketa countered with a shot a minute later.
The two teams cranked up the intensity with a draw looming, as Boaz fielded a save at 71 minutes.
West Branch recovered and had a shot from Hosier at 73 minutes, while Boaz collected another save a minute later before handling a corner kick at 75 minutes.
After another Maquoketa shot at 75 minutes, the Bears began their final attack. Ethan Essington got off a shot on goal at 76 minutes, while Hosier had a shot a minute later.
After briefly losing possession, West Branch had a final chance to win after a Maquoketa yellow card with two minutes left.
The ball found its way to Gingerich in the right corner, who flipped a good pass into the middle of the field.
Hosier arrived first on the scene but did not have a good handle on a shot, so the senior passed the ball on to Essington, who had a good shot that just missed the net in the final seconds.
Maquoketa quickly worked back down the field for a hurried last shot but could not convert to cap off the captivating draw.
West Branch had a much more connected effort teamwide compared to the squad’s last match April 7 at Tipton, a 5-2 setback in which the Bears gave the Tigers several extra chances on set plays that led to all five of the goals.
Miller said his team “worked a lot on defending the corner and the free kicks, and that showed up tonight.”
The Bears also had a strong defensive effort from the back line. Julian Weckman provided plenty of scoring opportunities by taking the ball upfield on the counterattack, while Jackson Ellyson, Oliver Trepanier, Josh Kroemer, and Ethan Fawcett supported Boaz with quality play.
“Julian, he really stepped up tonight,” Miller said of Weckman, adding that “I was happy with how they played” as a defensive unit.
The Bears managed some good scoring looks against a well-connected Maquoketa defensive unit. Miller said “the forwards did well trying to get open,” adding that “we had our chances towards the end, they just didn’t go in the back of the net.”
West Branch will have another crack at a victory on Friday at home against Cascade.
The coach said that “Cascade’s going to be pretty good,” adding that “we’ll be ready for them.”
1 2 T
Maq 0 1 1
WB 1 0 1
West Branch statistics n/a
Maquoketa statistics n/a
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