Knights eliminate Jay Co. (10/18/04)

HARTFORD CITY — Alan Bailey thought the Patriots should have won. Jeremy Steele shared the same idea. Only the scoreboard disagreed.

Instead it was the Norwell Knights who took the victory, eliminating Jay County in the semifinal round of sectional boys soccer action at Blackford Saturday 1-0.

Norwell also eliminated the Patriots in last year’s sectional semifinal round, 2-1. But, both coaches thought this year’s result should have been different.

“We outplayed them the whole game,” said Bailey, Jay County’s coach. “They had one fluke goal down there. We outplayed them for 80 minutes. We totally outplayed them. We dominated the game.”

“In all honesty, we shouldn’t have (won),” agreed Steele, the Norwell coach whose team went on to win the sectional championship 1-0 over Marion in overtime. “Jay County outplayed us. They worked hard the entire game and, you know, sometimes the ball falls your way. It was one of those games for us.”

The Knights (14-3-2), who thumped the Patriots 10-0 in this year’s regular-season game, got the game’s only goal just over 10 minutes into the contest.

The teams had traded chances to score in the sixth minute of the game, with a shot by Chad Keen flying over the top for Jay County and one by Andrew Gerz of Norwell going wide left. But four minutes later the Knights worked the ball down the left side and into the left corner.

Brent May managed to slide the ball back toward the middle in front of the goal. Sophomore Joshua Ackermann took care of the rest, slipping the ball back to the left corner of the goal past Patriot goalie Derek Mills.

Ackermann’s goal gave Norwell the 1-0 lead, which would be the final margin, at the 29:30 mark of the first half.

“We wanted to go wide a majority of the game,” said Steele. “We got one wide and got to cut back through. We played an easy ball back to the middle and had someone there to finish it.”

It seemed the Patriots (8-8-1) should have had a chance to tie the game just seven minutes later. But a bizarre play and a missed call took away that chance.

Jay County had worked the ball down into the 18-yard box, where senior Trent Bailey (22 goals this season) battled for control against Norwell defender Zachary Thiele. As they went for the ball Thiele tripped over Bailey’s leg and went down for the remainder of the play while Bailey and goalie Richard Witte went after the loose ball.

The players arrived at the ball at the same time, but Bailey was able to slide it away from the diving Witte with his right foot. Seemingly aware that he was beaten, Witte grabbed Bailey’s right leg rather than allowing him to score on an empty net.

Bailey tried to pull free as his teammates rushed toward the ball and the Knight defenders scrambled to recover. Then the head official blew his whistle to stop the play.

What Jay County thought would be a penalty kick for Bailey for a chance to tie the game never happened. Instead, the official called Bailey for obstruction and awarded the ball to Norwell.

Matt Darby picked up a yellow card on the ensuing play, and Bailey was red-carded as he argued the call after the conclusion of the game. Norwell’s Brent May also got a yellow card for a tackle of Bailey late in the first half.

The Patriots still had chances to score after Witte’s bearhug on Bailey’s leg, but they were unable to put the ball in the net.

Jay County had five shots on goal, compared to seven for the Knights. Keen took two of the Patriots’ shots, and Mills finish with six saves.

Despite the outcome Alan Bailey said he was proud of the way his team responded, especially after the lop-sided final score from their previous game against Norwell.

“These kids knew that had a chance to win and they came out and played like they were capable of doing it,” he said. “I’ve been telling them (that they were capable) all year long. I’m real proud of them.

“The seniors really came through. I’m happy for what they did. I’m just sorry they had to end it like this.”[[In-content Ad]]