JCHS falls to 0-4

The first win of the season was within the Patriots’ grasp. They just could not hold on.
The Jay County boys soccer team gave up a pair of goals in the final 20 minutes Thursday in a 2-1 loss to the visiting Delta Eagles.
After going scoreless for the first 60 minutes, Delta pulled even on an own goal by the Patriots midway through the second half. The Eagles went ahead with 10:13 remaining when a long free kick from Keleb Spay took a high bounce over goalie Austin Cowan and into the net.
Jay County still had some great chances to pull even, including a pair of shots by Colton Bartlett in the final 15 seconds. He took the first from about 10 yards out with 11 seconds left and second on a header off of a last-second corner kick by Alex Dunn. But the Delta goalie was able to knock both of them over the crossbar to preserve his team’s win.
Bartlett tallied the lone goal for the Patriots (0-4) — the team’s only other goal this season came on a penalty kick by Dunn in the season opener against Muncie Central — on a shot from the left side of the 18-yard box with 11:09 on the clock in the first half. His shot nicked the left post and caromed between the goalie and the post a couple of times on its way into the net.
Bartlett and Dunn each had three shots on goal for Jay County, and Dillon Ainsworth added four. Adam Abbott, Dylan Swingley, Colton McCombs and Kaelin Jewell added one shot apiece.
Austin Cowan finished with two saves against Delta, which will be a sectional rival for the Patriots this year. The sectional group at Blackford for 2010 includes Jay County, the host Bruins, Delta and Union City.
The Patriots’ junior varsity team defeated Delta 1-0 to even its record at 1-1. Seth Ainsworth connected on the goal for JCHS.[[In-content Ad]]