Patriots fall short

MUNCIE and YORKTOWN — Off in the distance was the sound of sirens and honking horns.
It was noise from Yorktown’s boys soccer championship caravan on the way into town after the team’s victory. It eventually looped through Yorktown Sports Complex to an ovation from the home fans with about 15 minutes left in the opening half of the girls championship game.
Just over an hour later, the Tigers would be celebrating again.
Yorktown ended the championship dreams for the Jay County High School boys and girls soccer teams Saturday. The Tigers won the boys title 4-1 over the Patriots at Muncie Central, and then took the girls crown on their home field by beating JCHS 3-1.
It was the third straight title for both Yorktown squads.
“The kids played hard,” said JCHS boys coach Alan Bailey, whose team had won three straight sectional championships. “(The Tigers) were just the better team today.
“They left it all out there, and that’s all I ask.”
The loss put an end to the first winning season since 2006 for the girls, who at 11-7 finished one victory short of the school record. The Patriots nearly quadrupled their scoring output this season, connecting on 38 goals after notching just 10 while going 3-10-3 a year ago.
“It was a hard loss, but … we’re extremely proud of the girls,” said JCHS girls coach Abby Champ, whose team was hoping for its first sectional crown. “We’ve been telling them all week no matter what happens we’re so proud of them. So, it’s tough, but … we’ve improved so much from last year. That’s what we want them to focus on.”
Yorktown’s boys (15-2-1) advance to the regional tournament at Kokomo to play Marion (11-8) in the semifinal round Thursday. The Tiger girls (10-8) have a monumental task in front of them as they will meet Class 2A No. 2 Hamilton Southeastern (16-0-2) in the regional semifinal round Wednesday at Logansport.
Jay County’s boys put themselves in position for an upset victory after playing the first four minutes on their defensive end of the field.
The Patriots struck a quick counter-attack on the small field at Central, getting a pass up the middle from Brandon Poore. Colton McCombs tracked down the ball, split a pair of Yorktown defenders and scored with a high shot to the center of the net for a 1-0 lead just 4:06 into the game.
JCHS kept the lead for about 10 minutes before the tide turned on them in a hurry.
The Tigers evened the score at the 24:33 mark of the opening half when Henrique Deoliveria got the ball just inside the left corner of the 18-yard box. He didn’t hesitate, firing a high shot just inside the near post and past goalie Austin Cowan.
Just 30 seconds later Deoliveria sent a through ball up the middle with  Cowan and Yorktown senior Larry Green reaching the ball at the same time and and deflecting it  toward the right post. Jeff Short was there on the follow for the Tigers, tapping the ball into the net to give them the lead for good.
“It was just a great beat on defenders,” said Yorktown coach Zach Rabenstein of the Deoliveria score. “And then he just snuck it right by, near post. It had a lot of pace.
“And then right after that we got another one. That really set the tone for the turn of the tide.”
Yorktown added two more goals, one on a header by Derek Fox off of a Robert Lloyd throw-in and another on a one-on-one opportunity from Green, in the opening 10 minutes of the second half for the final margin.
Jay County’s boys won just one of their first six games, but later strung together six straight wins on the way to their 9-6-3 record.
“I knew all along that we had a good team,” said Bailey. “I’m glad we had a good season. I appreciate what the seniors left on the field.”
Jay County’s girls have emphasized getting on the board early all season. But with the sectional title on the line, the Tigers turned the tables on them.
Yorktown needed just 26 seconds to take the lead, using some give-and-go passing to set up senior Michaela Mabee. Patriot goalie Mollie May was able to deflect Mabee’s shot, but Beverly Brittingham sent the ball back in for the score.
“They had really good games against Muncie Central and Southside, so we wanted to set the tempo really quick,” said Yorktown coach Joe Greiner, whose team beat JCHS 2-0 during the regular season. “I didn’t expect it to be 26 seconds quick. It was a great finish on the first shot. It really kept the girls pumped up.”
Yorktown extended it’s lead to 2-0 on a score by Mabee 21 minutes later, and then struck quickly again in the second half. It took Brittingham just a bit longer after the intermission as she scored at the 39:30 mark on a shot from about 20 yards out on the right side.
Jay County got on the board with 14:14 left when Nikka Chaney sent a perfect corner kick in from the right side. Patriot senior LeAnn Horn and Yorktown goalie Chapell Railey met at the ball, deflecting it to the left. JCHS sophomore Ericka Reynolds got her head on the ball, and finally junior Sammi Compton knocked it into the net.
“Nobody can say that our girls gave up,” said Champ. “Even the last 10 seconds we were rushing to get the corner. Obviously you’re not going to get two goals in 10 seconds, but we were rushing …
“We said, ‘Win or lose, you play 80 minutes. You leave it on the field.’ I think that’s exactly what they did.”[[In-content Ad]]