Despite a plethora of offensive opportunities throughout the match, it was a red card that led to a free kick where sophomore Cameron Cecil was able to secure a golden goal in overtime to give Owensboro Catholic a 1-0 win over the Eagles at home.
Still tied at 0-0 after halftime, it was the Aces who got the first real threatening chance of the night offensively. Minutes into the second half senior Bryson Payne found himself in front of the box with the ball, proceeding to meg Apollo senior keeper Steven Teran for what seemed to be the first goal of the game.
However, as the crowd erupted and Owensboro Catholic celebrated, it was made known that Payne was called offsides and the game remained tied in the 49th minute. The Aces got another chance about nine minutes later on a free kick, but the header was saved by Teran to keep the game at 0-0.
This was a result of some halftime adjustments according to Head Coach Andy Donohoe, after the Eagles had maintained possession for much of the first half.
“The game kind of went back and forth in momentum,” Donohoe said. “They played well in the first half, we made some changes at halftime and I thought in the second half it was quite the momentum swing.”
Both teams proceeded to rattle off a barrage of shots throughout the second half, with a number of attempts coming from Apollo in the final minutes. None were able to find the net despite the multiple free kicks and corner kicks, sending it into golden goal overtime.
Apollo was able to get a shot 30 seconds into the first overtime period, but senior Parker Jones was able to make the save. They got another major chance in the 83rd minute as senior Hunter Dickerson was able to get free on the right side of the box on a cross, but he whiffed on the volley as the game remained tied.
Owensboro Catholic got a chance of its own just before the first overtime period ended, but Teran made another save on a header to keep the Eagles alive. Shortly into the second overtime senior Austin Martin was able to create a big chance for the Aces, using some nifty moves to find his way in the box before losing the ball.
He was able to work his way back to the top of the box to regain it, but not before he was shoved from behind by Dickerson. This led to him being issued a red card and a free kick right outside of the box for junior Brody Martin.
Following the game Donohoe and Brody said that they wanted to recreate a free kick set they had taken and scored against Daviess County last week, this time packing the box more.
“Well I had a free kick against Daviess County last game and it was about the same spot,” Brody Martin said. “It was just left of the wall, so I did the same thing and we got the rebound.”
It was Cecil who secured the rebound after the initial save by Teran, as he was focusing on watching the shot and seeing where other players were to see if he could get a head or foot on it. The sophomore defender was on cloud nine afterwards, thrilled to help give his team a big district win.
“It’s amazing,” Cecil said. “I feel like I’m on top of the world right now. Now we go against Owensboro and I’m excited. Hopefully we win.”
Donohoe was thrilled with his team’s response, telling them in overtime to be strong mentally in order to come out on top. The Aces heard his message loud and clear, exemplary of the heart his team has shown him throughout the season.
“It was all about digging deep,” Donohoe said. “In the overtime we said our will to win has to be greater than our fatigue and it was epitomized by Austin losing the ball in the box and regaining it somehow on the edge of the box himself. He’s the poster child of effort and recovery and he’s just outstanding. Then the whole group, the work rate and the effort that they put in is unmatched for any team I’ve had. It’s incredible. They’re really something special this year.”
Owensboro Catholic now sits at 6-3-3 and 2-3 in district, putting them in the race for second place in the district with a matchup against the Red Devils at 7:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 13. With securing the No. 2 seed for the district tournament in mind, Donohoe feels that this win will be a huge confidence booster going into a monumental road matchup.
“This is massive,” Donohoe said. “We wanted a platform for next week and we wanted to build on it… Obviously first got away from us, so second in the district was our goal. It’s going to be a really tough game against Owensboro because they’re going to want to get to two wins as well, so it’ll be a major challenge for us. I think the guys will rest up and hopefully they’ll go again next week and we can get something.”
Meanwhile, Apollo will be in the hunt for the second seed as well, now sitting at 4-7 and 2-3 in district play going into a road matchup with Warren East on Tuesday, Sept. 13, before taking on Daviess County on Thursday, Sept. 15.
