Jay knocks off the Bruins

Alan Bailey said Thursday’s game against Blackford would be the test for his team.
As far as he’s concerned, they passed with flying colors.
Controlling the ball for the majority of the game, the Jay County High School boys soccer team defeated the visiting Bruins 2-1.
It marked the Patriots’ first back-to-back wins of the season and pushed them over .500 for the first time at 3-2-3.
“That was a good win,” said Bailey, who pointed to the importance of the Blackford game after Tuesday’s 8-0 win over Union City. “We needed that one bad.
“I thought that was probably the best 80 minutes of soccer we played all year long. … We were passing the ball extremely well tonight, especially when we got the lead. I was happy from front to back. … I thought we controlled 95 percent of the game.”
Jay County led 1-0 at halftime and seemed in control, but the Bruins pulled even three minutes into the second half on an own goal. Brandon Poore of the Patriots was trying to clear the ball after a free kick by Blackford’s Kasey Miller, but his header went into his own net to tie the game.
“It was a real good ball,” said first-year Blackford coach Brooks Holloway of the free kick. “It was placed where we wanted it. It was just an unfortunate touch for Jay County.”
The deadlock, however, did not last for very long.
Just four minutes later Jay County freshman Alex Abbott worked the ball into the 18-yard box and drew a foul, resulting in a penalty kick. Junior Alex Dunn converted the opportunity with a shot to the right corner for the winning margin.
“When we go to a PK, it’s going to be Alex,” said Bailey, noting that Dunn is 4-for-4 on penalty kicks this season. “He knows exactly where he’s going to go with the ball when he goes up there and he doesn’t give anything away. He’s cool, calm and collected.”
Blackford’s best chance to pull even came with about three minutes remaining, but goalie Brennon Krieg made a diving deflection and jumped on the ball before the Bruins could get a follow-up shot.Jay County bombarded shots early at goal keeper Makenzie Gearhart, who finished with 14 saves, but needed nearly 33 minutes before getting on the scoreboard.
The Patriots’ first goal came with 7:05 on the clock in the first half when Adam Abbott worked the ball to the right corner before passing back out to Dillon Ainsworth.
The senior took a one-touch shot, curving the ball to the left corner and leaving Gearhart no chance to stop it.
“It was a nice feed across the middle,” said Bailey. “Dillon had a nice one-touch. He got his knee and head over top of the ball and drilled it. … We’ve been after him to shoot the ball, and boy he laid that one right in there. That was a nice goal.”
The majority of the game was played on Jay County’s offensive side, with Alex Abbott forcing the action. Although he finished without a goal, he was constantly pushing the ball up the right side and creating scoring chances for the Patriots.
Sophomore Trey Dunn controlled the action on the other end, leading a defense that limited Blackford to just two shots on goal.
“Little Abbott, he’s just an animal,” said Bailey. “If there is a ball, he’s going to beat them to it. And he did it tonight all night long.
“The kid just lays it out the whole time he’s in there. … He’s just non-stop. He controls the ball well. He’s just a good soccer player.
“Dropping Teagle back to sweeper, I should have done that sooner, but I thought he did an excellent job back there tonight.”
Holloway said one of the main challenges for his team, which is now 2-4-2, has been sticking with its new ball-control style when its falls behind on the scoreboard.
“We’re transitioning between systems,” he said. “I think right now our biggest struggle is how we fight a battle without playing beat-’em-up soccer. I’m trying to move to possession, passing … (Sometimes) we resort back to kick-ball.
“We lacked a lot of transition play. We didn’t find targets (for our passes). … As far as positioning, I thought we did well. It’s just a matter of knowing where your options are and finding those options, and we’re still not there.”[[In-content Ad]]