Wolverines escape with tie

The Thunderbirds, missing six starters to injury, took the lead 1-0 when senior Ryan Kim scored his first goal of the season with 12 minutes remaining. South didn't forge a tie until the final two minutes of the match, preserving its unbeaten record.

East goalkeeper Jared Patrick Wilson had kicked the ball across the pitch, where it bounced toward South goalie Alex Toomey. Toomey calmly approached and kicked the ball, but Kim sprinted in and jumped in front of Toomey. The ball rebounded off Kim's chest, over Toomey's head and slowly crossed the goal line.

"I was like, is it going in?" said Kim, who said he was merely trying to put some pressure on Toomey's kick.

Instead, he gave East a 1-0 lead against a South team that remains unbeaten in CIC play with an 8-0-4 record (10-0-4 overall). Teammates surrounded Kim to pat him on the back and shake his hand.

"It wasn't so much that we could win; (it was) more the fact that Ryan scored," said East senior defender Jeffrey DeBrill. "He works really hard in practice."

Visibly frustrated after the East goal, the Wolverines went into a frantic scramble to try to tie the match before time expired.

Their effort paid off when Jon Hall crossed a ball from the right corner to the front of the goal. A tangle of players from both teams swarmed to the ball and Mike Naylor emerged with a goal two minutes before regulation time ran out.

"I tipped it and it bounced in off Mike Naylor's chest," Wilson said.

The final frenzy in front of the net was the most intense action Wilson saw in the match. Though the Wolverines kept the ball in the Thunderbirds' half of the field throughout the majority of the match, East (4-6-2 in CIC, 5-7-2 overall) rarely allowed any strong shots on goal.

Wilson praised his defense for keeping South's attack under control, saying he never felt much pressure until the end.

"I was just hoping we could hold out," he said.

The Thunderbirds managed to cross into the South zone twice in the first half, yet things never appeared beyond their control.

The Wolverines fired several shots, but none of them were serious scoring threats. Wilson frequently scooped the ball up in both hands as it rolled slowly to him, or watched as shots sailed well over the top of the goal. It was not until they trailed by a goal that the defending state champion Wolverines were finally able to put some heat on the East goal.

Find Jeremy Peters online at adn.com/contact/jpeters or call 257-4335.