Sectional shutout

HARTFORD CITY — Such situations are exactly why coaches talk about the tournament as a new season, a clean slate, a second chance.
The 2010 campaign did not go anything like the two-time defending sectional champion Jay County Patriots had planned.
They opened with six straight losses, and closed the regular season by dropping five of their last six. They won only four games, and were shut out six times.
But after Thursday night’s performance — a 5-0 destruction of Delta, one of the teams that beat the Patriots during the opening six-game losing streak — they will be playing for their third straight boys soccer sectional title.
“I told the kids all along, ‘This is a new season, you start out 0-0. If you guys come out with a sectional championship, you can forget your season,” said JCHS coach Alan Bailey, whose team is now 5-11. “To win three sectionals in a row, that (would be impressive).
“I think we’re clicking right now, which is good to see at the end of the season. We’re peaking at the right time.”
Jay County will play in the sectional championship game at Blackford Saturday at 11 a.m. against Wapahani, which defeated the host Bruins 3-2 in Thursday’s other semifinal. The winner will advance to Wednesday’s regional semifinal to play the winner of the Anderson sectional title game between Pendleton Heights and Liberty Christian.
The Patriots rallied from a two-goal deficit with three goals in the final 10 minutes to defeat Wapahani 4-3 during the regular season.
In the sectional semifinal, JCHS rarely allowed the Eagles to make a run at the goal as they controlled the action throughout the game. First-half goals from Colton McCombs and Colton Bartlett gave the Patriots the lead, and they put the game away with two more in a span of just two minutes early in the second half.
“We’re a different team. We’re a lot better team,” said Bailey, whose team lost 2-1 to the Eagles during their Aug. 26 regular-season meeting. “The last three or four games we’ve played really good competition. We’ve really stepped our game up. I knew they were a better team. I think they knew that they were a better team.”
The first of those started from a throw-in by Austin Mann from beyond midfield on the left side. Aldo Castro took control of the ball in the middle of the field, pushed forward and then sent a pass up to Alex Dunn. The sophomore got to the ball behind the Delta defense and sent a shot off goalie Dylan Christman’s right hand and into the left corner for a 3-0 lead with 36:43 on the clock.
Exactly two minutes later, Dylan Swingley sent a cross in from the left side that got past Christman as well as several Patriots. The ball deflected off Delta’s Kaleb Spay for an own goal.
Bartlett was credited with the score because he was the player closest to the ball.
“They just hustled,” said Delta coach Carlo Rigoli, whose team finished 4-13. “They fought constantly, the whole game. I think they’re the best team in the sectional. I thought they were coming into it, even though we got lucky … to beat them during the regular season.
“We tried to change some things at halftime, switch to a three-back system … and it just killed us that first five minutes. And after that, down 4-0, you don’t have anything to do.”
Rigoli also said his team was hurt by the absence of senior forward Daniel Walters, who did not play because of a school suspension.
Jay County got on the board Thursday after 16 scoreless minutes when Castro and Dunn pushed up the field. A first shot was deflected away, but Colton McCombs was there for the follow-up and a 1-0 lead.
The Patriots second goal started on a cross from Swingley that led to a Castro header into the 18-yard box. Bartlett took control of the ball and his first shot was deflected, but Christman couldn’t corral it and Bartlett was able to tap the ball in to the open net.
The two goals early in the second half pushed the lead to four, and Austin Mann scored with 5:30 on the clock for the final margin.
“We’ve got a pretty good rotation going right now,” said Bailey. “Swingley with his crosses and Abbott have really stepped their games up. They’re pushing the offense up the field.”
Bailey also complimented his defense, which limited Delta to just four shots on goal. Dillon Ainsworth saved four of them, and Austin Cowan also had a save.
Three of the Patriots’ final four games came against Marion (15-2), Liberty Christian (11-4-1) and Oak Hill (13-4). Although they lost all three, Bailey said the final stretch helped prepare his squad for the tournament.
“It’s nice playing good quality teams at the end to see where we’re at,” he said. “We’re playing well right now. I’m happy with where we’re at.”[[In-content Ad]]