Sharp-passing Patriots pulverize Southside (09/30/03)

PORTLAND — It had been a while for the Jay County boys soccer team.

The Patriots had not played in nearly two weeks, thanks to canceled games on back-to-back Saturdays. Before that they had lost two in a row with their last win coming Sept. 13 at South Adams.

The Jay County players talked about ending their “slump” and they did so in a big way with a 6-1 trouncing of the Muncie Southside Rebels.

“That was a nice game to come back with after being off those two weeks,” said Jay County coach Alan Bailey. “We started off slow, but once we kicked it in we played a nice game.”

Bailey said he was especially happy with his team’s passing. That teamwork was a contrast to the one-man offense the Rebels typically used in the contest.

After the teams traded runs at the goal through the first eight minutes of the contest the Patriots (9-3) broke through.

Chad Keen got the opening goal of the game on one of the best shots of the season.

Keen picked up the ball on the near the left sideline more than 20 yards out, and launched the ball deep toward the opposite post. There was no chance for Southside goalie Taylor Stephens as he watched the ball sail over his head, just under the crossbar and inside the right post for the 1-0 Jay County lead at the 31:13 mark.

Fourteen minutes rolled by before the Patriots got on the board again, this time with a goal from scoring leader Kyle Carpenter. The senior reeled in the ball near the top of the 18-yard box, wheeled around and slammed it in for the 2-0 advantage.

With 8:03 to go in the first half the game began to get out of hand when Mason Shreve simply picked the ball away from Brian Bigtree as he tried to dribbled away from his own goal. Shreve cruised forward with a couple of dribbles toward the right post and then shot back across the box to the left corner.

Muncie Southside gave itself a chance, scoring early in the second half.

The Rebels were awarded an indirect kick near the top of the 18-yard box on the right side of the field. The kick flew just over the heads of Jay County’s three-man wall, and Joey Williams knocked in the easy header past goalie Derek Mills who was left helpless on the play.

The score came with just more than three minutes gone in the second half, but that was all Southside would be able to muster.

Kyle Carpenter quickly got the next scoring try started, sending a pass in to Trent Bailey from the left side. Stephens denied Bailey on his first try from point-blank range, but the junior stayed with the play and tapped the rebound past him to regain the three-goal lead for his team with 34 minutes to play.

Bailey got credit for another goal without doing any of the work when another Carpenter cross found its way into the goal. The pass was headed toward Stephens when Brandon Henry stepped in front trying to deflect the ball back onto the field.

Instead, the ball bounded off Henry’s chest and into the goal for the score. Bailey was given the goal because he was the closest player to the ball when it was last touched, and Carpenter was credited with the assist.

The final score came from Chad Keen with 16:50 remaining as he managed to sneak a grounder between Stephens’ legs for the 6-1 final margin.

“We move down the field as a group,” said Bailey. “We’re to the point where we’re seeing two and three moves ahead. That’s important.

“It’s just a team thing. It was there, and that’s what we need.”

Jay County will need the teamwork as it closes its season and looks to win its first sectional title this season. The sectional pairings will be released Thursday.

The next game for the Patriots is at Lakeview Christian Tuesday at 5 p.m.[[In-content Ad]]