Sebastian Aguero lifted a high, lofty shot from about 25 yards out and over the Hickman goalkeeper in the first half of a 3-1 Sacred Heart loss at Clover Dell Park in Sedalia.
It bounced off the crossbar.
Aguero tried again in the second half, this time from just past midfield, nailing the back of the net on a bounce.
Head coach Sam Jones said the lone Sacred Heart score was not a product of the typical game plan.
“Not our style,” Jones said. “We don’t look for the deep ball. We try to play the ball on the ground.”
Hickman allowed few shots on goal — five including Aguero’s drives. Despite a shortage of offense, Jones said the Class 1 Gremlins were competitive against the Class 4 Kewpies.
“That’s the positive you can take away,” Jones said. “We’re playing a high-level team. We’re being competitive. They probably cut more kids than we have on our team. Really, their subs killed us in the first half, because they were continually fresh. They’re a good team.”
Hickman is scheduled to face Class 4, District 11 foe, Smith-Cotton, in Sedalia at 5 p.m. Wednesday. The Kewpies scored twice in the first half — in the 15th and 20th minutes — and added its third goal in the 65th minute.
Sacred Heart is playing up by design. The Gremlins faced Class 3 Harrisonville on Thursday, Sept. 1 and are scheduled to face Helias on Thursday, Sept. 8.
Jones said the challenge will pay off eventually.
“We don’t play a lot of teams like that,” Jones said about Hickman. “That are going to bring that sort of speed. That’s what playing these big schools is about — seeing something that we don’t see until the end of the season.”
First kick for Sacred Heart at Helias is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Jefferson City.
