Senior Porter Watkins’ first varsity goal couldn’t have come at a much more meaningful time. His score helped the Daviess County boys soccer team get a 3-1 win over South Warren at home Tuesday night in a semi-state match, earning them a place in the quarterfinals.
The Panthers (21-2-1) came out with purpose, and Watkins got his goal in less than two minutes. A corner kick sailed into the box and bounced once before Watkins tapped it in for a score. He said it was important to start strong against the Spartans (15-9-1), who won a meeting between the teams earlier in the year.
“We played them before,” Watkins said. “We knew they were a good team. We knew they were going to play hard all game. Coming out and getting that first goal was something we felt was really important. It helped establish us and we were able to keep our momentum going.”
Both teams added a goal over the next 10 minutes, and the final score by the Panthers came about four minutes into the second half. Head coach Doug Sandifer said from there, it was all about limiting a dangerous South Warren attack.
“The third goal was huge,” he said. “And then we just hung on. I didn’t want to push too many numbers and get countered by them because they’re so dangerous up top. The last 25 minutes, we sat back and just attacked with three guys and weathered the storm. We’ll take it.”
The Spartans’ goal came off a quick counter with some fancy footwork and a booming kick by Anatoli Emina, though Daviess County quickly regained the lead with a goal by Brian Winkler.
After Max Miller beat a pair of defenders, his shot was blocked by the keeper, and Winkler gathered the rebound near the top of the box for his 36th goal of the year.
It was Miller who got the third goal on a play originally set up by Winkler. Winkler got the ball to Jacob Boling, who took it deep past the defense and crossed it back to the middle just in front of the goal for an easy tap-in for Miller.
Sandifer said scoring is important, but defense plays a big factor in making a deep run in the postseason.
“You have to score goals, but most of our game prep is making sure we’re solid defensively and hoping our attack will take care of itself,” Sandifer said.
After his goal, Watkins helped lead a strong defensive effort that largely kept the Spartans in check. One goal for South Warren was negated by an offsides call, and another opportunity came at the foot of Emina. On a free kick from about 40 yards out, Emina booted a laser that hit the crossbar and bounced away.
Watkins said it’s taken a lot of work, but the Panthers’ back line is playing well.
“At the beginning of the season, we didn’t have a lot of experience on defense,” he said. “We have a lot of young guys. The improvement we have made over the season is amazing. The communication has gotten better and everyone has stepped up, from the young guys to the subs who come in.”
The Panthers have a few days off as they prepare for a quarterfinal match with Highlands (21-1-3), who beat Montgomery County 2-1 in double overtime in their semi-state contest.
The two will play Saturday in Lexington.
The Bluebirds have only allowed 10 goals all season, posting 15 shutouts and allowing a single goal in nine games. They’ve only given up multiple scores one time all year in a 2-2 draw with East Central (St. Leon), Ind.
Regardless of how far the Panthers advance, Sandifer is proud of the effort his team showed to make it to the next round.
“To make it back to the Elite Eight is unbelievable,” he said. “I’m very proud of these boys for believing in what we’re doing, sticking to game plans, and playing their butts off to put us back in this position to have a chance to got to Lexington and see if we can get one.”
