With 36 seconds left in double overtime, who else but Hunter Clark and Jacob Boling should send the Panthers to yet another boys’ soccer state tournament championship game?
Daviess County — playing with only 10 men since the 20:25 mark of the first half due to a red card — had just enough magic to keep their season alive, topping East Carter 3-2 in Wednesday’s semifinals in Lexington.
With time winding down, Boling passed the ball to Clark, who pushed up the left side even with the six-yard box. Clark fired a cross back through to the far post where Boling was ready, sliding feet first and getting just enough of a touch to send in the game-winning goal.
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Boling was a little surprised the pass was able to sneak past a trio of defenders just in front of the net.
“It was a beautiful pass from Hunter,” Boling said. “He does his job every game. He gets to the sideline and plays the balls in and we look for them every single time. I was hoping it came through at first. There were three people right there and I thought it was going to miss it, so I had to slide. I was just happy I got there.”
The duo have now combined for 56 goals and 31 assists this season.
Though Daviess County was in control for much of their match, they were in survival mode in the closing minutes of regulation and the first overtime period.
A 2-0 halftime lead was cut in half when the Raiders’ Ethan Miller scored 10 minutes into the second period. Miller then drove home the equalizer in the 78th minute after a rebound bounced straight to him.
“That goal late shook us,” said DC head coach Doug Sandifer. “I think they certainly gained confidence tying it up that late. I think we were a little uneasy coming into that first overtime. I don’t think we were feeling great at the end of regulation as far as confidence in our chances.”
Even when they had all 11 players on the field, Sandifer said they still didn’t play their best game. After Carter Hoagland was given a red card — meaning he’ll also miss Saturday’s game — for what was ruled an excessive foul, it really changed how DC could attack.
“The game changed when we got the red card,” Sandifer said. “Fortunately we got those two goals before that, but playing 10 against 11 we had to sacrifice something. We sacrificed an attacker.”
The two goals came less than three minutes apart as the midway point of the first half neared. Hayden Boswell opened the scoring from five yards out when he poked in a loose ball that just snuck over the goal line.
Clark then scored one of his own when East Carter’s clearing attempt went straight to his feet. Clark rifled it through from 20 yards out with 23:07 left in the period.
After his winning assist, Clark said it was a relief to come away with a win the Panthers faced late adversity.
“I’ve always wanted to go to a state championship,” he said. “We’re a young group, and that makes us get stronger. We played good as a group with just 10 people.”
Boling, the lone starting senior, couldn’t help but smile knowing he’s ending his career at DC with a shot at another state title — he was also on the team that won it all in 2016.
“It feels great,” he said. “Just to see what one senior and these six upperclassmen and four underclassmen starters can do. It’s great, and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Boling was moved to a more defensive role after Hoagland’s card, a change that Sandifer said was risky but necessary.
“The biggest change, and I don’t regret doing it but it may have hurt us, was I moved Jacob back to the holding mid,” Sandifer said. “That just takes so much out of our attack. I felt like we had to sacrifice something. They were getting some looks, and (East Carter’s Miller) was dangerous.”
After an uneventful first overtime period, Boling moved back into an attacking role because Sandifer didn’t want to go to a penalty kick shootout.
“We were going to take a chance,” he said. “I didn’t really want to go to a shootout, and I felt I needed to put Jacob back in the mix so he could make some things happen and cause a little bit of chaos. He knew exactly where to get to on that cross, and fortunately we finally got one to come all the way across. We had chances all night but their keeper did a fantastic job of just laying down on it.”
Sandifer is happy to be moving on to their third title game in the last four years, but he’s hoping the Panthers — whose roster is filled with underclassmen and first-year starters — will play better Saturday.
“I’m excited about moving on, but it was gut-wrenching the whole game,” he said. “Even when we had 11 guys, I didn’t think we played great. We looked like a bunch of guys playing in their first Final Four, and that’s what it was. Hopefully, that’s the game we do it in, and Saturday we come back and play a little bit better.”
The Panthers will play Henry Clay — who beat Oldham County 5-0 Wednesday — for the championship at 5 p.m. CST Saturday in Lexington.
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2019 soccer coverage is presented by Worth Insurance Group.
