Daviess County beat South Warren 2-1 in a game that could only be settled in a close penalty shootout. The Panthers won the shootout 3-2 with Connor Johnson’s saves setting up Lukas Humphrey to score the game-winning penalty kick.
Both teams came out of the gate with high intensity and a quick tempo. Both teams had to make big defensive stops as the offensive pressure produced multiple shots on both goals. The deadlock persisted late into the first half as the Panthers defense made getting good looks on goal hard for the Spartans.
The Panthers nearly took the lead from a free kick about 25 yards out. Cameron Bell took the shot and the ball struck the post and was fired back at the goal, but the shot sailed over keeping the score stagnant.
With two minutes left in the half, the Spartans broke the deadlock and took the lead going into halftime. After a low cross was put into the box, the Panthers scrambled to clear the ball, but an unmarked Spartan player ran onto the ball and put it into the net.
DCHS started the second half intent on tying the game early on as they mounted immense pressure on offenses. A close miss by an unmarked Jack Quisenberry almost did just the trick, but the volley was just over the crossbar.
A unique trick play from a free kick saw DCHS even the score in style. Multiple players ran over the set ball before it was played short to Sam Glover. Glover played a low pass across the box. Multiple players stepped over the traveling ball before it met Taylor Hoak at the back post who passed the ball into the net.
The set piece threw the Spartans into disarray and worked like a charm, but head coach Doug Sandifer said that this was the first time the play had worked in a match.
“We ran a set piece that we’ve run before, but it’s never worked,” he said. “It’s just something we like to run because it’s kind of fun, and it worked. It hadn’t worked before, but the guys like it. It worked just like you’d hope it does in practice. I think it may have caught them off guard a little bit.”
For most of the second half the Panthers held possession while chipping away at South Warren’s back line with runs and a multitude of corners. DCHS had superiority in the second half as they were relentless in their offensive attacking. Sandifer said that the difference between the first and second half was in the effort toward every ball in the air and preventing clean clearances from the Spartans.
“I thought we challenged for 50/50 balls a heck of a lot more than we did in the first half,” he said. “We didn’t let them clear balls cleanly, we ran through stuff, we challenged balls in the air and went forward when we got the ball. We just kept them going back towards their goal. That’s what the game plan was going into this. We put Sam in a different position tonight to try and get him in behind them.”
With the clock winding down, both teams kicked it into high gear in an attempt to score before the final whistle. Neither were successful however, and regulation time ended 1-1. The game then went into golden goal extra time.
The first five-minute period of extra time ended scoreless, but a breakaway in the final minute saw a one-on-on between Hoak and the Spartan goalkeeper. The keeper rushed Hoak and dove at his feet to make the save.
The second period also remained scoreless, and the game had to be settled in a penalty shootout. Penalty kicks have been a rarity for the team throughout the season, but despite this Johnson said himself and the team were confident and that there was no pressure on him.
“They are supposed to make those, so there’s really no pressure on me,” he said. “I just got to do my job the best I can, and that’s what I was able to do tonight. A few of the guys came up big and made their penalties to send us through to the Elite Eight, so it was a good team effort.”
South Warren went first in the shootout, and Johnson made the save on the first shot. The Spartans missed their next two shots with Johnson saving one and the other hitting off the crossbar. In their first three shots, Jack Quisenberry was the only Panther to score before the Spartans tied it 1-1. Cameron Bell stepped up and scored to take the lead back making it 2-1. The Spartans scored the next two to tie it at 2-2, but because they went first, Daviess County had a chance to win the shootout 3-2 if they scored on their next kick. Humphrey stepped up and blasted the ball to where the keeper got a hand on the shot but couldn’t keep it out.
That final penalty kick won the Panthers the match 2-1. Sandifer said this was a big victory and he was proud of his team.
“Connor played really well and our defense in front of him snuffed out so many chances of theirs, so I’m really proud of these boys to come down here and win at this place against a team of that caliber,” he said.
The Panthers will move on to the quarterfinals where they will host St. Xavier with a date to be determined soon.
