Thursday’s boys’ soccer district matches saw the first penalty shootout of the season end with OCHS victorious 2-1 (4-3 in penalties). Meanwhile, DCHS secured a win over OHS with Sam Glover scoring two goals.
DCHS 3, OHS 0
DCHS won 3-0 against OHS to secure their third shutout so far this season.
The battle for possession was very back and forth for much of the first half. Both teams made key defensive stops until Glover found the back of the net in the 18th minute to give DCHS the 1-0. The first half ended with both teams seeing multiple opportunities for shots, but the score remained due to key saves from both goalkeepers.
Defenses on both teams put in strong performances at the start of the second half to keep the score close.DCHS had most of possession, but OHS defense had multiple stops to halt attacks.
DCHS extended their lead to 2-0 when Ethan Allen followed a saved shot by Jack Quisenberry and scored off the rebound 2-0.
The final goal of the game came from Glover who had a breakaway run. Glover ran onto a through pass from Lukas Humphrey and chipped over the keeper to make the final score 3-0.
Much of the first half was a deadlock between the two teams, and Glover attributed DCHS lack of goals to mentality.
“I think we came in thinking it was an easy game, but it wasn’t and they made us work for it,” he said. “We did in the second half and that’s why we got two more goals.”
DCHS head coach Doug Sandifer was pleased with the younger players holding the defensive back line throughout the game.
“They’re coming along, listening, helping each other ,and getting a little better each game,” he said. “They’re gonna make some mistakes, but I think they’re learning from their mistakes each game.”
OHS head coach Ryan Haley said DCHS goals came from the defense getting out of position. He sees this game as a valuable lesson for the defense to learn from going forward.
“It’s not a difficult thing to fix, it just takes these boys learning their lesson,” he said. “Daviess County did a good job on their counterattacking opportunities and they scored three on the night.”
OCSH 2, AHS 1
OCHS beat AHS in the first district game of the season to go into a penalty shootout.
OCHS scored first with a goal by Chance Martin. Martin followed a rebounded shot from Owen Brey to take OCHS up 1-0.
AHS would equalize in the dying seconds of the game with a goal by Bleh Shee from an assist by Hayden Hill. The game was then sent into extra time with a score of 1-1. Both teams failed to score in extra time, and the game was decided by a penalty shootout.
OCHS and AHS both scored three penalty shots to tie it at 3-3 in the shootout. OCHS goalkeeper Ben Dawson saved the next shot to give OCHS the chance to win with the next penalty. Gene Johnson scored the game winning penalty to make the final score 2-1 for OCHS.
OCHS had a younger team lined up for penalties with five of the six shooters being freshmen or sophomores, according to OCHS assistant coach Paul Mattingly. l
“It was their first time taking a penalty in a district shootout for three of them,” he said. “We had two misses, but I’m proud of all of them for stepping up and taking one.”
AHS head coach Nikos Agisilaou saw this game a productive step in the season despite the result, he said.
“We didn’t get the win, but we did implement a lot of what we’re trying to do here and, in the future,” he said. “It’s a process. We’re not going to play for a championship tonight, but the growth is there from my boys, and I’m pleased.”
