Ready for regional

Even as defending sectional champion, Giles Laux felt like his team was the underdog.
He feels the same way heading into the Jay County High School girls soccer teams’ regional semifinal game against the Fishers Tigers at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Logansport.
“We have the speed (and) we have the tenacity in some of these players,” Laux said during practice Monday. “We have all of these intangibles that made David beat Goliath. If we can put it all together for 80 minutes, at the same time on the same field, we can beat Fishers.”
But like their sectional championship game against Yorktown on Saturday, it won’t be easy.
Fishers (11-1-6), which lost in extra time to Avon in the 2013 state championship game, is ranked sixth in Class 2A. Its only defeat came at the hands of then-No. 6 Hamilton Southeastern 1-0, but the Tigers got revenge in the sectional championship.
The Tigers have played nine games against teams that were ranked in the top 20 in the state, going 4-1-4.
“It certainly wore us down,” said FHS coach Ben Beasley. “You can’t avoid a tough schedule with our (Hoosier Crossroads) conference. We’re tested, but they did wear us down.
“It’s nice to have a couple training sessions to get us ready for regional.”
Offensively, the Tigers spread the ball, with senior Kylie Hohlt’s 13 goals leading the team. Junior Brady Riley has nine goals and Maryna Clark has seven.
“I think we have a balanced attack,” said Beasley, whose team started the season at No. 2. “(Hohlt) is a center forward and gets more of the opportunity. She is a leader. Xavier (University) is lucky to have her.”
Keeping the Tigers’ offense caged up, Laux said, will rely on the Patriots (9-6) using fresh legs on the field.
“It’s going to take our defense playing the smartest soccer we’ve ever played,” said Laux, whose team defeated Yorktown 1-0 in the sectional title game in back-to-back seasons.
Senior defender Lexi Myers offered ways Jay County could limit offensive opportunities for Fishers.
“I think we need to not stab at the ball, contain them more and try to take them out wide,” said Myers, who played on the 2013 team that was dominated by McCutcheon, 7-0, in the regional semifinal. “Not (letting) them go up the middle, make them pass more and cut off their passes.”
Offensively, junior Gabbie Mann leads the Patriot offense with 30 goals, more than three times the total from her sophomore year. Mann scored the game-winning goals for both of the Patriots’ sectional championships, and Laux said she is the type of player coaches want to have the ball at the end of the game.
The Tigers have only allowed nine goals this season and have shut out opposing teams 11 times. To avoid becoming the 12th, Laux said his offense has to rely on more than just Mann.
“We have to defer to our teammates,” he said. “We passed up too many drops (during sectional). If there are two or three people on you then someone else is open.
“We need to share the ball more.”
Improving on last year’s loss, Myers said, will come down to the Patriots continuing to do what got them back to regional in the first place.
“I just think we need to go in there, have fun and play the game that we’ve been playing our last few games,” she said. “We’ve been playing great soccer.
“I just think we need to keep that up and not hang our heads if the score gets too crazy.”