Daviess County boys soccer team was clicking on all cylinders Thursday night, stifling the Red Devils 4-0 to secure their ninth straight 9th District Championship.
The Panthers came out of the gates aggressive, trying to get a goal early and build some momentum. Owensboro matched their intensity right away, making a few key defensive stands.
It was in the 12th minute that Daviess County took the first shot of the game, but sophomore keeper Landon Black nabbed the save. About a minute later senior Hayden Boswell nearly bent one in on the right side for the Panthers, but it went off the post.
Daviess County was able to get it back and get another clean look, but Black made another save to keep it at 0-0 in the 14th minute. It wasn’t until the 22nd minute that someone was able to break the scoreless tie, as sophomore Lukas Humphrey served it into the box from deep and Boswell headed it in to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
“Coach always talks about those diagonal balls coming in,” Boswell said. “As a wing-side midfielder I need to be the first runner in the box. Me and the center forward. The center forward always has the near post run and I always have the back post run. It was just a brilliant ball by Lukas. Straight to my head, it was perfect.”
Daviess County continued to work corners and clean looks near the box throughout the remainder of the half, but the Red Devils back line and Black were able to keep it at 1-0 going into halftime. Black made seven saves on the night, showing out in his second straight district tournament start.
Black just recently started getting time late in the regular season, as Head Coach Ryan Haley wasn’t sure if he was mentally ready. Haley forced him to play in a Henderson County game where the young keeper was nervous as he can be, but he hung in there and passed the test and now he’s got the hot hand amidst the postseason.
“That game, he gained confidence,” Haley said. “It was that Henderson game that he didn’t want to play that I forced him to, that really got him there. The good thing about him is when he catches the ball, the ball sticks. It’s not this deflection here and deflection there with the second look. He’s very good with that and we like how he is verbally as well. He’s very verbal in goal.”
But the Panthers were eventually able to break through after Black’s barrage of saves, earning a penalty kick after senior Ahmed Abdullahi was fouled in the box. This led to senior Nate Dailey taking the shot, sinking it on the right side to take a 2-0 lead in the 44th minute.
Dailey came through again in the 58th minute, regaining possession and playing a little give and go with Abdullahi. The senior defender drilled it off the left post and in from just inside the box, making it a 3-0 Daviess County lead.
Owensboro was never able to get anything going on its counters, as the Panthers got one more goal on the night. After the ball was crossed into the box senior Dax Sandifer headed it, with senior Tyler Wilkerson heading it in to clean it up and close out a 4-0 9th District Championship win in the 76th minute.
Head Coach Doug Sandifer was much more pleased with his team’s effort on Thursday night, stating that the Panthers were much more determined and sharp mentally.
“It was night and day,” Sandifer said. “I think we came in a little more focused and we maintained that focus throughout the game. Owensboro was sitting back early and I think we dealt with it well and we took what they gave us and got an early goal from Hayden on a diagonal ball.”
Daviess County had three different players score on the night to grab their ninth straight district title, with Dailey’s brace leading the way. Sandifer said his boys executed what they’d prepared for in film and practice against the Red Devils, playing with a clear mind to find success.
“I think we were patient,” Sandifer said. “Tonight they did what I asked them to do, which was to go a certain way on the attack and it was effective. And we got opportunities out of it and chipped away as much as we could.”
Owensboro couldn’t break through their defense either, unable to pose a threat and get a shot off on a number of counters. Haley tipped his cap to the Panthers afterwards, saying that they took advantage of their form’s weakness.
“Daviess County did a really good job of squeezing the field,” Haley said. “The way we were set up allows them to do so. It’s designed to counter attack them, let them play in front of us and try to limit the crossing. That did not occur.”
Sandifer said after the game that it’s not individual soccer that gets the job defensively and that’s exactly why they were able to record their third straight clean sheet.
“We’ve just got guys that have figured out what they’re doing out back there,” Sandifer said. “It’s a team effort starting with our forwards and how we’re pressing teams and our midfielders are picking up the right guys. Then the back line is shoring things up for us. It’s all 11 guys kind of involved in the effort defensively.”
Haley was pleased with the way his team played on Thursday, as they now turn their focus to the 3rd Region Tournament. He hopes that Owensboro can get a little bit healthier for a nice postseason run and is excited for his guys to get this experience.
The Panthers on the other hand will be looking to defend their 3rd Region Championship from a year ago and Boswell said that if they just listen to coach Sandifer, they’ll be just fine.
“Coach puts out a gameplan for us and we just have to execute it,” Boswell said. “He’s really good at it. He knows teams like the back of his hand I feel like and if we just listen to him we’ll get the job done in region.”
