For a fourth straight year, Owensboro and Daviess County will battle for the 3rd Region Championship, with the Panthers 3-0 over that span. Daviess County held off a late Ohio County barrage, while Owensboro took care of Muhlenberg County
In the first game of the evening, the Panthers struck first in the 31st minute when Gabe Sandefur scored off a penalty kick. Entering the game. Daviess County acknowledged that they need to be aware of the Eagles Jaden Sandria at all times. In the second half, Sandria was able to get behind the Panthers defense, and won his one on one matchup to tie the game.
“Sure enough, we got caught ball watching, and he got the ball in transition,” Daviess County Head Coach Dale Sandifer said. “He took us in a one-on-one and scored. We need to do a better job of the responsibilities that we have and make sure we see those through. But at the end of the day, we didn’t fall apart when they scored.”
A minute later, Sandefur found Saw Mu for the eventual game winning goal. This Panthers’ leading goal scorer in the regular season, Mu has four goals through two 3rd Region Tournament games.
“He’s been dangerous all season long and he did what we needed and found the finish there,” Sandifer said. “He’s very good on the ball and has probably the best first touch on the team for sure.”
The Panthers have a day to recover and recoup before they look to defend their 3rd Region throne. On the season, Daviess County is 0-3 against Owensboro, and Armistead acknowledged that their rival has been their Achilles heel.
“In the first three games we have played against them, we have given up a couple early goals in the first half,” Armistead said. “We have to be cleaner and not make defensive mistakes early on. We have to come out with confidence.”
It took the Red Devils less than a minute to find the back of the net against Muhlenberg County, thanks to Jackson Sigler finding Peter Mbayo. Brian Payne fed Kennedy Payne to push their lead to 2-0 before halftime. In the second half, Max Knoop, Noah Knoop, and Sigler scored off of assists from Luke Wilborn, Brian Payne, and Valor Smith, while Payne also scored an unassisted goal for the exclamation point.
“One of the things that we wanted to do was move the ball on the ground instead of the air,” Owensboro Head Coach Ryan Haley said. “We have had a few games where strategically, we were trying to keep it out of the middle and play it in the air. You do that for a couple of games, and guys tend to forget how to move it on the carpet a little bit. That kind of showed in the beginning of the game, but as time went on, we started to move the ball more effectively.”
The Red Devils are back in the 3rd Region Championship game for the fourth straight year and are looking to get past the Panthers.’
“As a history teacher, we study history, so we don’t make the same mistakes we did in the past,” Haley said. “It is a different team, and they have a different team, and things do look familiar. But we will remember losing last year and hopefully put our best foot forward and come out on top.”
