In a pair of city-county games on Thursday, Owensboro edged past Daviess County 2-1 in overtime while Apollo prevailed over Owensboro Catholic 3-1.
Owensboro 2, Daviess County 1
Receiving the pass from Brian Payne, in one fluid motion Denis Juma trapped the ball, dribbled to his right to create separation, and ripped it from 30 yards out over the head of Panthers’ goalie Harrison Dunaway. The second the ball hit the back of the net, Juma let out a mighty roar as his teammates rushed to mob him.
“I thought our guys fought really hard in this game,” Owensboro head coach Ryan Haley said. “It was back and forth and it really was a coin toss of a match. Anyone could have won. I have to give a lot of credit to our defense tonight limiting them to only eight or 10 shots.”
It was 5 years to the day since the Red Devils last defeated their long-time rivals Daviess County. Over that span, Owensboro had gone 0-11 against the Panthers, including multiple heartbreaking losses in the playoffs.
“We didn’t win the state championship here tonight, it was just a district match,” Haley said. “But to the boys for tonight, this was something special.”
Tied 1-1 late in the second half, Daviess County had multiple opportunities to go in front, but Red Devils’ keeper Landon Black was a brick wall. In the last minute, Black blocked a shot and on the ensuing redirect, pushed the ball straight up to end the Panthers’ scoring threat. The game eventually went into overtime, where Juma buried the game-winner.
“I don’t have any complaints with how we played,” Daviess County head coach Doug Sandifer said. “I thought it was a good back-and-forth game. Both teams had several great chances and looks. I can’t say we didn’t put our chances away to win the game because Owensboro could have said the same thing. Either team could have won in regulation. They got the first good look in overtime and the kid hit a heck of a shot.”
Apollo 3, Owensboro Catholic 1
M’Munga Juma led the way with two goals and Omid Hanafi also found the back of the net as the Eagles won an important city-county match against Owensboro Catholic 3-1. Fernando Perez added an assist and goalie Luke Mattingly finished with five saves.
For the Aces, Luke Pfeifer scored the team’s lone goal, while goalie Ben Dawson recorded six saves.
“I’m happy with today’s game from the full group. It was our most complete game of the year,” Apollo head coach Nikos Agisilaou said. “We shared the ball well and it showed. We got a little shaky late and Catholic took advantage. It’s postseason mode and we need to get into that mental state from here on out.”
