October 7, 2020 at 4:50 p.m.
Jay to play one more game
Early goal lifts Patriots past Bruins, Burris up next tonight
Jay to play one more game
MARION — The Patriots entered sectional on a three-game losing skid.
Perhaps a new streak is on the horizon.
Jay County High School’s boys soccer team got an early goal — almost too early — and added some insurance in the second half Tuesday in a 2-0 victory against the Blackford Bruins in the Class 2A Sectional 24 quarterfinal at Eastbrook’s Berryhill Stadium.
“They did about exactly as I expected them to do; they played a good game of soccer,” said JCHS coach Brad Horn, whose 6-8 Patriots meet the Burris Owls (11-4-1) in the semifinal at approximately 7:30 p.m. tonight. “I don’t know what it is with this team, it seems sometimes throughout the season we get lackadaisical, but come sectional time they find a way to play.
“Even though the past few years we haven’t won a sectional, we’ve still played our best soccer at the very end.”
Jay County got the only goal it really needed in the sixth minute. Gavin Muhlenkamp fired a shot from near the top of the 18-yard box, but Blackford goalkeeper Ian Reid deflected it away.
The deflected ball made its way to the left side of the goalie box. Gio Perod chased it down, and made a quick turnaround while kicking the ball toward the far side of the net. Perod’s shot tucked inside the post for the eventual game-winning goal after 5:38 had ticked off the clock.
“At times you think it’s almost too early,” Horn said. “It almost puts more pressure on you. You have 74 minutes after that.”
“That second goal, that’s what does it for everything. We were looking for that the whole first half. I think we had a couple opportunities we just missed out on. We found that second goal (and) things got a lot easier.”
Jay County, which had its regular season game against Blackford postponed then canceled because the Bruins had to quarantine because of the coronavirus pandemic, had plenty of opportunities to add that insurance goal in the first half as it dominated the scoring chances, 17-1.
Hunter Shumaker had two shots sail over the goal, and he wasn’t quite able to get to a perfectly placed cross from Perod at the midway point of the opening half.
Cristian Marentes also had a few scoring opportunities miss the frame.
But almost as quickly as Jay County scored in the first half, it doubled its lead early on in the second.
The Patriots, who had a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks, converted their first chance after intermission.
Perod sent the ball in from the left corner, and it found a hole near the far post behind Reid. Shumaker, who was crashing the play, kicked the ball into the short side of the net for his second goal of the season.
“That was beautiful,” Horn said. “I talk about trash balls all the time. When you get in the box you have no idea what’s going to happen — might end up a hand ball, might land in your lap — you just have to be on your feet and ready.”
JCHS goalkeeper Ian Ruiz made just four saves because the 10 players in front of him limited the Bruin chances. The junior didn’t make a save in the first half as the Patriots were on the attacking end of midfield for a majority of the game.
“This is something we’re not used to,” Horn said. Ruiz’s shutout was his fourth of the season. “We’re not usually a team that’s dominating the possession. We do more attacking and then get back and defend.
“They did a very good job. We found the open man and just moved the ball around.”
Earlier in the night, Burris knocked off defending sectional champion New Castle by a 2-0 margin (Jay County beat New Castle 2-1 back on Aug. 25). Horn expects another game which will come down to possession.
“I can see them pretty comparable to us,” he said.
The first semifinal tonight, set for 5 p.m., pits the Delta Eagles (9-4) against the 13th-ranked Yorktown Tigers (12-2-1), who defeated the host and No. 14 Eastbrook Panthers 3-2 in penalty kicks Monday night. That game needed eight rounds of PKs to decide a winner.
Jay County defeated Delta 2-0 on Aug. 27 and suffered a 3-0 defeat Aug. 29 to Yorktown. Both of the Tigers’ losses this season came on penalty kicks.
The winner of each semifinal tonight advances to the sectional final at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Perhaps a new streak is on the horizon.
Jay County High School’s boys soccer team got an early goal — almost too early — and added some insurance in the second half Tuesday in a 2-0 victory against the Blackford Bruins in the Class 2A Sectional 24 quarterfinal at Eastbrook’s Berryhill Stadium.
“They did about exactly as I expected them to do; they played a good game of soccer,” said JCHS coach Brad Horn, whose 6-8 Patriots meet the Burris Owls (11-4-1) in the semifinal at approximately 7:30 p.m. tonight. “I don’t know what it is with this team, it seems sometimes throughout the season we get lackadaisical, but come sectional time they find a way to play.
“Even though the past few years we haven’t won a sectional, we’ve still played our best soccer at the very end.”
Jay County got the only goal it really needed in the sixth minute. Gavin Muhlenkamp fired a shot from near the top of the 18-yard box, but Blackford goalkeeper Ian Reid deflected it away.
The deflected ball made its way to the left side of the goalie box. Gio Perod chased it down, and made a quick turnaround while kicking the ball toward the far side of the net. Perod’s shot tucked inside the post for the eventual game-winning goal after 5:38 had ticked off the clock.
“At times you think it’s almost too early,” Horn said. “It almost puts more pressure on you. You have 74 minutes after that.”
“That second goal, that’s what does it for everything. We were looking for that the whole first half. I think we had a couple opportunities we just missed out on. We found that second goal (and) things got a lot easier.”
Jay County, which had its regular season game against Blackford postponed then canceled because the Bruins had to quarantine because of the coronavirus pandemic, had plenty of opportunities to add that insurance goal in the first half as it dominated the scoring chances, 17-1.
Hunter Shumaker had two shots sail over the goal, and he wasn’t quite able to get to a perfectly placed cross from Perod at the midway point of the opening half.
Cristian Marentes also had a few scoring opportunities miss the frame.
But almost as quickly as Jay County scored in the first half, it doubled its lead early on in the second.
The Patriots, who had a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks, converted their first chance after intermission.
Perod sent the ball in from the left corner, and it found a hole near the far post behind Reid. Shumaker, who was crashing the play, kicked the ball into the short side of the net for his second goal of the season.
“That was beautiful,” Horn said. “I talk about trash balls all the time. When you get in the box you have no idea what’s going to happen — might end up a hand ball, might land in your lap — you just have to be on your feet and ready.”
JCHS goalkeeper Ian Ruiz made just four saves because the 10 players in front of him limited the Bruin chances. The junior didn’t make a save in the first half as the Patriots were on the attacking end of midfield for a majority of the game.
“This is something we’re not used to,” Horn said. Ruiz’s shutout was his fourth of the season. “We’re not usually a team that’s dominating the possession. We do more attacking and then get back and defend.
“They did a very good job. We found the open man and just moved the ball around.”
Earlier in the night, Burris knocked off defending sectional champion New Castle by a 2-0 margin (Jay County beat New Castle 2-1 back on Aug. 25). Horn expects another game which will come down to possession.
“I can see them pretty comparable to us,” he said.
The first semifinal tonight, set for 5 p.m., pits the Delta Eagles (9-4) against the 13th-ranked Yorktown Tigers (12-2-1), who defeated the host and No. 14 Eastbrook Panthers 3-2 in penalty kicks Monday night. That game needed eight rounds of PKs to decide a winner.
Jay County defeated Delta 2-0 on Aug. 27 and suffered a 3-0 defeat Aug. 29 to Yorktown. Both of the Tigers’ losses this season came on penalty kicks.
The winner of each semifinal tonight advances to the sectional final at 7 p.m. Saturday.
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