Hon sends Milan to semis

It took just one goal for Milan to make some magic happen on Monday night as Dylan Hon’s second half score lifted the Indians to a 1-0 victory over South Ripley in the opening round of the IHSAA Class A Sectional 45 Tournament at Jac-Cen-Del.

The Indians entered the postseason on a nine-match losing skid which included a 4-0 loss to the Raiders on September 21. South Ripley was coming in playing its best soccer of the season and potentially looked to play the role of a dark horse inside a loaded Sectional 45 bracket.

Defense prevailed and produced goose eggs on the scoreboard in the first half and the first 12 minutes of the second half looked the same way until Hon delivered the eventual game-winning goal at the 27:34 mark of the match. Milan would hang on the rest of the way as South Ripley was never able to successfully make a charge for at least a tie in regulation, allowing the Indians to punch their ticket to the semifinals.

Hon’s goal was the only statistics provided by both teams for the match. South Ripley ends its 2023 season with a 1-11-4 overall record under first-year head coach Tom Goeft.

Mian (3-11) faced host Jac-Cen-Del in the first semifinal on Wednesday night with a championship berth on the line. The title tilt takes place on Saturday night at 7 p.m.