Staring at the wall of Red Devil defenders in front of him, Daviess County’s Carter Payne timed his free kick perfectly – curving the ball under the jumping feet of Owensboro – just past the lunging arm of goalie Landon Black and into the back of the net for a 3-0 lead. As Black lay on the ground staring at the ball in disbelief, Payne sprinted towards the fence, stopped just short, and waved his arms up and down – amping up Daviess County’s student section.
11 minutes later the clock hit zero and the Panthers mobbed onto the field, howling in celebration for the team’s 11th straight regional championship, this time a 3-0 victory. Entering the night, the Panthers had lost their last two games against the Red Devils including the district championship two weeks ago, 4-1.
“Coming into the tournament the whole thing with the guys was getting them to believe that they could beat this team,” Daviess County head coach Doug Sandifer said. “I believed it. The coaches believed it. I wasn’t sure if the players believed it but hopefully now, they know they can play. If the boys stick to a game plan they can get results.”
Both teams came out of the gates swinging, with neither able to break through the other’s defense. 22 minutes into the first half, the Panthers finally created a fast break opportunity – Cameron Bell found Saw Mu who buried it into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.
In the second half, the Red Devils continued to stall out offensively once driving the ball deep into the Panther’s territory.
“We wanted to contain the Red Devils who play up front for them,” Sandifer said. “They are dynamic, and a handful and it was all about keeping them wrapped up and contained. The boys did a heck of a job of that tonight. We knew how dangerous they could be on the counterattack, and we changed formations to stall that out.”
Daviess County had multiple defenders shadow each of the Red Devils’ top players, essentially neutralizing them for long stretches of the game.
“They were able to get an early goal and bring numbers back and build a fort in front of their goal,” Owensboro head coach Ryan Haley said. “It’s challenging to get around teams that are typically sitting back and when a team as talented as Daviess County is sitting back, it’s even more challenging.”
In the 64th minute, the Panthers took a 2-0 lead after Gabe Sandefur crossed the ball across the left side of the box which Bell headed in. Five minutes later, a foul was called, setting up the free kick for Payne.
Despite allowing three goals, the Red Devils defense stifled Daviess County for the majority of the evening, only allowing seven shots on goal, while Black recorded four saves. Panther’s goalie Harrison Dunaway finished with three saves.
“I thought we came out fired up and ready,” Haley said. “I think that sometimes the ball just rolls a certain way and Daviess County did a good job of capitalizing on their minimal chances.”
Daviess County now awaits the winner of Marshall County and Murray, which takes place this evening. The Panthers will travel to either school on Monday for the first round of the state tournament.
“Anything is possible at this point,” Sandifer said. “The way this team has battled through up and down all year, it’s been a roller coaster of which team is going to show up. I think now the boys believe that they can do something here. It’s one game at a time and we will go down to region 1 and see if we can pull another one out.”
