Mt. Vernon’s Zach Johnson collides against a Delta defender, Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022.
Tom Russo | Daily Reporter
FORTVILLE — Zach Johnson is looking for senior-year memories.
He got a big one Tuesday.
Mt. Vernon’s co-leader in goals coming into the Hoosier Heritage Conference home match with Delta got the game-winner in a 4-2 victory at Mt. Vernon High School.
It was a pretty big moment/memory for someone that wasn’t even sure he was going to play.
Injured in the team’s match against Warren Central last week, Johnson missed Saturday’s HHC opener at New Castle, a 1-0 Marauder win. He wasn’t about to miss another conference game.
It’s his senior year.
“Not playing against New Castle, I really had something in me to get ready as fast as I can to play the next game,” he said. “It’s my senior year and this is a conference game. I’ve already missed one conference game in my senior year and I won’t get another chance to play them again, ever.”
“I really wanted to play this game so I have something to remember for my senior year.”
After playing the final five minutes of the first half, Johnson got the go-ahead to play in the second.
Tied 2-2 with nine minutes left in the contest, Johnson had a free kick from about 25 yards away.
He kicked it perfectly into the upper-right corner of the goal, out of the reach of Delta goalkeeper Samori McKell-Jeffers.
“He’s a top-tier keeper,” Mt. Vernon coach Matt Mayhew said of McKell-Jeffers. “The window that Zach squeezed that in, it was a well-placed ball. I thought he was going to place it on the backside, but he saw a window.”
Johnson said he often works on his free kicks after practice. He said he hit one from just about the same spot last week in the victory over Warren Central.
“I had a little bit of confidence behind me since it was in the same position,” Johnson said.
The senior midfielder had a memory-maker against Delta last season, too. In overtime, he scored the game-winner in a 2-1 victory.
The Marauders, just 90 seconds after Johnson put the team ahead, added an insurance goal from Akseli Huopalahti. Carsen Brandon was credited with the assist.
The Marauders scored first and led 2-1 at halftime.
Mt. Vernon’s Charlie Cole had a breakaway with McKell-Jeffers out of the net. He was tripped before he was able to attempt a shot. The Marauders were awarded a penalty kick and at 35:21 of the period Evan LeRoy knocked it in for a 1-0 lead.
At 23:45, Delta tied it on a goal from Brayden Stanley. It was his seventh of the season, most among Eagles players.
With just 5:03 left in the half, Nick Heitman hit a rocket past McKell-Jeffers to put the Marauders up 2-1.
Early in the second half, Delta tied it 2-2. Stanley scored again, at the 37:06 mark, this time on a header off a free kick from Mason Lynn.
Each year when the two conference rivals play, the teams wear special jerseys to raise awareness for the fight against cancer. Promoted as the Kick For The Cure Game, Mt. Vernon players wore pink shirts with the “Kick For The Cure” logo on the front. Delta had similar shirts in purple.
With the win, Mt. Vernon is 3-2 overall and 2-0 in the HHC. Delta dropped to 2-1 and 0-1.
The Marauders continue a stretch of six straight conference games with a match at New Palestine next Tuesday.
