Local boys’ soccer teams began district play Thursday night, with Daviess County blanking Owensboro Catholic 4-0 while Owensboro rolled to a 6-1 win over Apollo.
DCHS 4, OCHS 0
Both teams started the match with high intensity, but the Panthers proved too much for the Aces in a 4-0 home victory.
DCHS opened the scoring with a cross from sophomore Logan Robinson into box, where sophomore Taylor Hoak scored off a volley.
The Aces defense then kept the Panthers at bay until senior Keaton Goddard passed to open teammate freshman Saw Mu, who scored to make it 2-0 for DCHS.
In the second half, the Panthers maintained possession by stretching the field and playing the ball from sideline to sideline.
The third goal came after a ball was crossed into the box and met with a header that landed right in front of the goal. In the midst of the physical battle to clear the ball, an own goal by Catholic pushed the DCHS lead to 3-0.
Late in the game, senior Sam Glover threaded a through pass to junior Jack Quisenberry, who tapped the ball past the goalkeeper to score the final goal.
DCHS head coach Doug Sandifer said this victory helped with the confidence of some of his younger players.
“The amount of first-year varsity players out there I thought handled their first game under the lights pretty well,” he said. “That’ll make us better because the more experienced players we have can now realize they can rely on the younger ones around.”
The Aces played a defensive-oriented game, with many of their numbers being behind the ball in their own half of the field. Aces goalkeeper junior Ben Dawson put in a seven-save performance.
OCHS head coach Andy Donohoe said the district game set the bar for the level of intensity expected for the rest of their season. The lack of numbers on the Aces squad is going to be a tough factor to overcome as well, he said.
“We don’t have 25 players who can come in and out and in and out like some other teams can,” he said. “We have to be that grit and determination team and just go for it. We have quality in the team so that we can have a solid foundation.”
OHS 6, AHS 1
A pair of freshmen played vital roles in the Red Devils’ 6-1 victory over Apollo. Denis Juma had a hat trick while Jackson Sigler added a pair of goals.
OHS only netted one goal in the first half, and it came off the foot of Juma with an assist from senior Sang Thang. The Eagles had a few opportunities to score early but couldn’t take advantage of the chances.
At halftime, Red Devils head coach Ryan Haley changed up his tactics to focus on through balls to the corner, and his team capitalized.
Aside from Juma and Sigler, senior Arlo Johnson added the other OHS goal. Thang had three assists, and senior Emmanuel Liche had two.
Haley said the game was a step forward in properly utilizing the depth that the Red Devils have to offer.
“We’ve got about nine guys who can play anywhere, so finding the right pieces to pair with positions is a good takeaway,” he said.
Haley also spoke about working around the language barrier with some of his players as well.
“We have several players who do not speak English,” he said. “Tonight I feel we took a big step in those guys learning exactly what we want, where to be, the runs to make, the right passes to look for, and how to make themselves available is another takeaway.”
Junior Bleh Shee scored the Eagles’ only goal. AHS goalkeeper sophomore Htee Eh had nine saves. Head coach Nikos Agisilaou said his team was ready for the matchup but made too many mistakes.
“We do have to give OHS credit,” he said. “OHS took advantage of our mistakes and made us pay. We have got to do a better job at that.”
