Boys soccer teams will look to bring home some hardware by the end of this week, hoping to earn the title of 9th District Champions.
Daviess County
The Panthers will look to carry over its success from the regular season and grab the 9th District Championship on Thursday.
Daviess County finished the regular season with an overall record of 15-1-4, while finishing 6-0 in district play.
The Panthers will come in with the depth that they’ve had all season as well, dealing with no injuries at the time.
They will be tasked with Owensboro Catholic in the first round after defeating them twice in the regular season, at a score of 7-1 and 5-0.
Head Coach Doug Sandifer said that the Panthers will have to come ready to play when they face off the Aces.
“We have to match Catholics energy and effort from the beginning of the game and maintain a level of play that puts us in good spots,” Sandifer said.
Sandifer said Daviess County has been focusing on just playing their game in practice this week in order to ensure success on Monday.
“We’ve basically just tried to clean up some areas in our game that we felt needed improving,” Sandifer said.
Sandifer said that as long as they carry over their high level of play from the regular season they will have a chance to hoist the trophy at the end of the week.
“We need to play at the level that we showed in many games this year,” Sandifer said. “Play solid and organized defensively and be aggressive and opportunistic on offense.”
Owensboro
The Red Devils will look to avenge its regular season loss against Apollo to earn its way to the 9th District Championship.
Owensboro finished the season with an overall record of 8-9-1, while finishing with a 2-4 record in district play.
Head Coach Ryan Haley said the team is looking within to help understand how to grow from their losses in the regular season.
“We’ve lost five games by one goal and had two ties, so that’s seven games this year where we’ve been right in the mix,” Haley said. “So with that in mind we’ve been analyzing our mistakes defensively that cost us to forfeit a goal here and there.”
Haley said that mental mistakes are the reason more often than not for goals, so they’re looking to fine-tune that in practice.
“We gotta make sure we don’t play like 15-year olds in there and we play like seniors even though we’re not,” Haley said. “We gotta make sure that we come to battle and to win those 50/50s.”
Overall, Haley said the focal point defensively will be to win the ball in the middle in order to stop the Eagles from attacking aggressively.
“The idea is to stop their attack before they’re able to serve, but we gotta stay organized,” Haley said. “If we stay organized and we’re very disciplined in the middle of the park, I think we’ll win the game. We just gotta be aware of mental mistakes.”
Owensboro controlled possession for the majority of its two matches with Apollo, but was unable to convert on their chances.
With that in mind Haley said that finishing along with making sure that they are laser focused on the pitch are going to be the keys to success throughout the tournament.
“A, it’s going to be finishing,” Haley said. “That’s number one. B, it’s going to be meeting our defensive responsibilities in the middle of the park and the back end. And C, it’s going to be don’t get out-worked.”
Apollo
The Eagles will look to earn their chance at a 9th District Championship when they take on Owensboro on Tuesday.
Apollo closed out the regular season with an overall record of 10-8, while finishing 4-2 in district play.
The Eagles defeated Owensboro in both of its matches, both by a final score of 1-0 in both games.
Apollo will rely on its aggressive offensive attack led by seniors Harrison Bowman and Houston Collins when looking to break down the Owensboro defense.
Defensively they will have to try to stop sophomore Saang Thang, who has been in form for weeks.
They will have one more day to prepare to be in peak form, as they will face off against Owensboro on Tuesday.
Owensboro Catholic
Owensboro Catholic will assume the role of underdog on Monday, looking to upset Daviess County and earn a shot at a 9th District Championship.
The Aces finished the regular season with an overall record 4-8-1, while finishing 0-6 in district play.
Owensboro Catholic faced Daviess County twice in the regular season, falling in both matchups 7-1 and 5-0.
Head Coach Andy Donohoe said that they will be mostly healthy and ready to take the pitch against Daviess County on Monday.
“We are missing a couple of kids, some with knocks and one with a longer term injury,” Donohoe said. “Other than that we will be at full strength.”
Given the result of their previous matchups with the Panthers, Donohoe said that there are some things they will take from that match and add to their gameplan this week.
“Hopefully we can build on some of the positives from those games and learn from the lessons in those games,” Donohoe said.
Donohoe said that they’ve practiced well this week and are hoping to carry that energy to the field on Monday.
“I thought we’ve prepared well,” Donohoe said. “There has been good intensity to our work this week that we hope we can bring into next week.”
All in all, Donohoe said that the team must be willing to be physical and finish on the offensive end to upset Daviess County and advance.
“We have to be defensively well organized and be willing to suffer for the cause,” Donohoe said. “We have quality in offense that we hope can cause teams issues.”
9th District Schedule
Monday Oct. 4-
Daviess County vs. Owensboro Catholic at 7:45 @ Owensboro Catholic
Tuesday Oct. 5-
Apollo vs. Owensboro at 7:45 @ Owensboro Catholic
Thursday Oct. 7-
Boys final at 7:45 @ Owensboro Catholic
