BOYS SOCCER: Emotion-filled Adams, Stoney Creek battle to 1-1 draw

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

Twitter: @LocalSportsFans

ROCHESTER HILLS — Whenever rivals meet, there is a pause in time where emotions can sometimes get the best of athletes.

Emotions were at a high point Thursday night when Rochester Adams hosted rival Rochester Stoney Creek in an OAA Red Division boys soccer match.

The contest was a physical, tight-knit battle which even suffered a 35-minute delay due to an injury of an Adams player before settling for a typical 1-1 draw.

There was a combined four cards in the game and, nearly 20 fouls and a series of injuries in the crosstown showdown.

“Both teams played hard, typical of when two of the Rochester schools play each other,” admitted Stoney Creek coach Adam Bican, who graduated from Adams in 1993. “It’s always a close game when Stoney (Creek) plays Adams. I didn’t expect anything else. It was a physical battle that unfortunately there were a couple injuries in the game.”

The main injury came with 24:24 left in the contest, when Adams’ Josh Kidder was taken to the hospital after a collision on the field. The play resume after the long delay but neither team could gain the upper hand down the stretch.

The injury took the center stage in the heart of Adams coach Josh Hickey and staff. The Highlanders still responded well after the delay and staved off Stoney Creek’s pressure in the final 10 minutes.

“It was a weird game because it didn’t get over until it was so late because of the injury. It was kind of weird playing after that and the injured player was on the mind of our players,” said Hickey. “I thought we still played well. We already had some other injuries and we ended up finishing the game with only a couple of subs. That being said, I’ll take the draw.”

Adams (2-3-1, 0-2-1), a young team that features three freshmen, grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 21^st minute on a goal by the aforementioned Kidder.

Stoney Creek (7-1-4, 2-0-1) came into the contest ranked fifth in Division 1 after playing in two early-season tournament and off to one of its better starts in its 11-year history. The Cougars’ finally netted the game-tying goal in the 55^th minute when Scott Alampi’s shot through traffic deflected off an Adams defender and into the goal.

Both teams traded off four cornerkicks in the contest and had ample opportunities with the ball in each other’s penalty box but could not net a second tally. Stoney Creek held a narrow 10-7 edge on shots directly on goal in the contest.

“We worked harder in the second half. I thought we had some good chances on a couple of cornerkicks in the second half, but we could never pull ahead.”

Adams’ Grant Gibson made nine saves for Adams, while Jacob Cowdrey recorded six saves for Stoney Creek.

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Tags: boys soccer, high school boys soccer, OAA Red Division Boys Soccer, Prep Boys Soccer, Rochester Boys Soccer, Rochester Stoney Creek Boys Soccer, soccer

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