No. 3 Daviess County knocked off No.1 North Oldham on Thursday, handing Mustangs their first loss of the season and advancing to the Final Four of the boys’ soccer state tournament with a 1-0 win.
The game was at a stalemate for the vast majority of the first half, as both teams fought to control possession and the pace of the game.
In the 37th minute North Oldham nearly put one on the board, as a clearance happened to be a perfect through ball for their striker. However, senior keeper Cody Clark booted the ball out of bounds and the two teams headed into halftime tied at 0-0.
The Panthers weren’t able to move how they normally do offensively in the first half, but Head Coach Doug Sandifer said that was most likely because of the defensive pressure, which they were able to adjust to later in the game.
“We told our midfielders at halftime, ‘y’all aren’t in this game,’” Sandifer said. “Our center mids weren’t coming to get the ball. We needed them to get more touches in the midfield. I thought we did in the second half.”
They responded well, possessing the ball much better and creating chance after chance to start the second half.
Their first shot of the half was saved by the Mustangs’ keeper, but junior Nate Dailey got the second and third shots of the second half and made them count.
Dailey’s first shot was no good, but his second shot outside the box redirected off the defense and found the net, giving Daviess County a 1-0 lead in the 51st minute.
“I went to shoot a few times and they just kept bouncing back,” Dailey said. “So I was just like ‘might as well keep trying’ and it worked out for the best as it deflected and went in.”
Dailey had been looking for that shot in the first half, but Sandifer said that they made it very difficult to get good looks defensively with how North Oldahm’s backs were playing schematically.
“They made things very hard,” Sandifer said. “They’re a great back line. They’re very organized. We really had a tough time getting around their backs.”
For the remainder of the game the Mustangs relentlessly attacked in their offensive third, forcing Daviess County to take a defense-first approach.
They were able to fend off shot after shot, clearing the ball repeatedly to keep North Oldham from building up their offense.
The Mustangs came into the game owning a record of 16-0-2, the last undefeated team in the state.
“North Oldham is a fantastic team,” Sandifer said. “I got the opportunity to come up here and watch them Tuesday. We knew we were gonna have our hands full.”
Knowing the stature of a win like this for the program, Sandifer said he’s just more proud of his players and thrilled that they have the chance to play another game.
“It means a lot, just getting to the Final Four…” Sandifer said. “Obviously their record was fantastic and we knew that coming in, but this is just about us playing another day. These guys are believing in what we’re doing and they stuck again to the gameplan that we had, with the exception that we didn’t move the ball quite how they wanted. But defensively they stuck to the gameplan and I’m so proud of them.”
Now sitting at 22-1-4 on the season, the Panthers are looking to secure its spot in the state championship. They’ll play the winner of Somerset vs. Covington Catholic on Wednesday.
“Just really happy for them to get the opportunity,” Sandifer said. “We’re fortunate. I think the tournament is wide open… You get to this stage of the round of eight, everybody’s pretty much on the same level.”
