In a roller coaster of a game to open up the season for the Eagles, it was their ability to fend off a strong second half from Owensboro in order to grab their first win of the season at a score of 3-2.
Apollo wasted no time in its pursuit for the first goal of the season, getting a shot from senior Dah Hai in the fifth minute of play. However, a big save from junior keeper Alex Carpenter and a clearance from senior Jacob O’Bryan kept the game scoreless.
With both teams trading counters the Eagles got another shot on net in the 22nd minute that wouldn’t fall, but senior Hunter Dickerson came through in the 26th.
After receiving the ball on the right wing Dickerson used an array of moves to cut back towards the middle and rip one into the left side net, giving them their first goal and lead of the season at 1-0.
Owensboro seemed to be a pass or touch away from a goal in the opening half, which held true moments before halftime. A gorgeous through ball from O’Bryan found senior Aiden Frego with a chance in the box in the 35th minute, but senior Steven Teran made a crucial save and sent the Red Devils into the second half trailing 1-0.
But Owensboro came out of halftime amped up, controlling possession for the vast majority of the first 10 minutes of the second half. Four minutes later they were finally able to break through on a corner, as junior Samuel Thawng received the ball on the left wing before finding sophomore Ryan Sovar in the box for an easy goal and a 1-1 tie.
The Eagles weren’t going to be without the lead long though, as Hai started a strong counter with a through ball in the middle of the field. It found senior Eh Wah, who took a few touches before scoring and making it a 2-1 game in the 58th minute.
Apollo Head Coach Ryan Poirier said that he told his guys after the tie to not let up on the intensity and that it’s what ultimately helped them climb back towards a lead.
“I told them ‘guys we can’t stop attacking,’” Poirier said. “Attack, attack, attack, attack. Defense is better when you’re attacking and pushing up the field. I think that unfortunately shocked them back… Happy with the response, hopefully next time out we don’t have that let down and we can push all game.”
The Eagles were all eyes to his message, as Hai found Wah again moments later for another goal to take a 3-1 lead in the 61st minute. But Owensboro wasn’t going down without a fight.
After missing a few opportunities offensively, a corner kick from junior Peter Saang led to a goal on a header for the Red Devils to cut it to 3-2 in the 69th minute. Shortly after Saang created another corner with a shot being deflected, but nothing came of it.
Owensboro kept pressing on both sides of the pitch, rattling off 15 shots to Apollo’s five. However, the attempts wouldn’t fall as the Eagles held on for the 3-2 season-opening win.
The Red Devils tried mixing things up initially on Friday, but it was when they turned to their original formation that they kicked things into gear. This was key in their comeback effort, just falling short thanks to a pair of strong counters.
“We tried something different in the first half,” Head Coach Ryan Haley said. “It was a completely new formation. So the first half was a little messy. Second half I thought we controlled the game the whole time. They got two fastbreaks and just outran us down the field and poked it in the net.”
And while it’s not how Owensboro wanted to start out district play this season, Haley and his coaching staff is thrilled with the team’s willingness to push and keep themselves in the game for all 80 minutes.
“They really did rise to the occasion,” Haley said. “They didn’t lay down or keep their heads down. They fought back and I thought we had an opportunity to win and I’m proud of them. We’ll grow and we’ll get better as the season progresses.”
Haley is hoping that this will be a good learning experience going forward, as they will have a day off before the Red Devils are set to host North Hardin at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
On the other hand, Apollo was extremely efficient by converting three goals on five attempts in its first game of the season. Having struggled with this in recent times, Poirier was thrilled to see them maximize their offensive potential on the pitch Thursday.
“That’s awesome, because the last couple of years we’ve been getting a lot of shots and not taking all of our opportunities,” Poirier said. “That was one thing I preached this preseason… We had a couple shots that didn’t go in, but most of them were on target or went in as goals. So I’m really happy about the opportunities and finishing them efficiently.”
The win is the Eagles first off the season, as well as their first district win. Playing such a tough game to start the 2022 campaign is a tall chore, but Poirier hopes that this will continue to pay dividends when they take on Owensboro Catholic at 7:30 p.m. next Thursday.
“It’s huge to come out in district 1-0,” Poirier said. “It’s tough to come out with that first district game, but we’ve done that for the last few years and we do well with that… We do a good job I think of getting ready during the summer and knowing ok, here’s our opponent. It’s a district opponent and we know them a little bit so we can plan for that… I thought they played really well and responded and it’s going to be a tough game next time we see them again.”
