Mexico had its moments in a 9-1 loss to Hannibal on Tuesday evening at Chris Hotop Field.
Down 4-0 near the end of the half, the Bulldogs almost broke through. Fernando Guzman won the ball in …
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![Bulldogs midfielder Fernando Guzman tries to get something started on Tuesday against Hannibal. [Dave Faries]](https://epsilon.creativecirclecdn.com/mexicoledger/original/20210927-100329-Mexico%20Soccer%20v%20Hannibal%201.JPG)
![Haden Frazier and Hannibal’s Kolin Westhoff battled throughout the evening. [Dave Faries]](https://epsilon.creativecirclecdn.com/mexicoledger/original/20210927-100342-Mexico%20Soccer%20v%20Hannibal%204.JPG)
Mexico had its moments in a 9-1 loss to Hannibal on Tuesday evening at Chris Hotop Field.
Down 4-0 near the end of the half, the Bulldogs almost broke through. Fernando Guzman won the ball in midfield and delivered it to Dominic McKeown, who found Haden Frazier slicing through the defense.
Frazier deftly eluded a tackle, but the encounter left him with a difficult angle. The effort amounted to a thrill for the fans, but no goal.
A few moments later Lisandro Rios sent a clever pass Frazier's way. This time the zipline shot skipped just wide.
It was Guzman and Frazier that truly delighted the crowd. With the Pirates on top 5-0 early in the second half, Frazier burst by the Hannibal back line with inch perfect timing. Guzman, anticipating the run, fed a beautifully weighted pass that met Frazier at full pace.
The Mexico striker rewarded the effort with a goal.
"I knew when I passed it he was going to score," Guzman said.
Frazier was man-marked all evening by Hannibal's Kolin Westhoff. He began running touchline to touchline, dragging Westhoff along, knowing that this would create a gap should a Pirates defender fail to fill.
When a space opened, Frazier shot through and looked for a pass.
"It was a great ball," he said.
Hannibal's speed in the midfield and up top allowed them to avoid Mexico's usually successful offside trap, often leaving goalkeeper Emille Scanavino exposed. Yet he won several one on one battles and was quick to challenge the attack.
In one instance, Scanavino beat Hannibal forward Treyton Hobart. But the two collided hard and collapsed to the turf.
Thinking the referee had blown play dead, a Bulldogs defender scooped up the ball. A penalty kick was called, but instead of striking toward the net, the Pirates' DaeShon Glasgow strolled up to the ball and deliberately tapped it wide.
The show of sportsmanship drew an enthusiastic response from the crowd.
Despite the outcome, Mexico had some solid individual efforts on defense, including tackles by Guzman, Jacob Hernandez and Ricardo Ramirez, to aid Scanavino.
"They are fast," Guzman said of Hannibal. "We tried our best. That's all we can do."
