Defense key for Patriots

It’s been four years since the Jay County High School boys soccer team has played in a regional semifinal.
Alan Bailey is hoping for a different result when the Patriots play the host Kokomo Wildkats in the regional semifinal at 5 p.m. Thursday.
“I want to come out quick,” said JCHS coach Alan Bailey, whose team lost 2-0 to Pendleton Heights in the 2010 regional semifinal. “Hopefully (we) put them on their heels really fast, and then drop back and play some hard defense like we did in the (sectional) championship game.”
It’s the defense that has led Jay County (9-8-1) to its fifth sectional title in program history. The Patriots are riding a five-game winning streak, including a 4-0 thumping of Delta in the sectional semifinal and a 2-1 win against Yorktown in the championship. In the title game, the Patriots jumped out to a 2-0 lead, and held off the surging Tigers in the final 40 minutes.
“Our defense has played really great these past five games,” senior captain Alex Abbott said Tuesday. “We struggled at the beginning of the year. I never really thought our defense would come together.”
Bailey changed his defensive look midway through the season, amidst a four-game losing streak. The new lineup brought goalkeeper Zach Chaney up to the midfield and put Trevor Moeller in the net. Bailey also put freshman Nathan Hamilton alongside Nathan Heitkamp in the middle of his back line.
“The two Nathans playing those center-back positions, using their speed with (Colton) Compton and (David) Fernandez on the outside, we’re able to push up,” Bailey said. “That frees those two outside backs into more of an attacking position. Using the speed of both Nathans in the back, we can cover the corners.”
That’s exactly what Bailey and his team will need to do against a Kokomo squad that won the sectional title for the first time since 2005 and just the second time in school history.
The Wildkats (13-6) rely on a senior and sophomore up front, with Phillip Heilman and Keagan James leading the way. Heilman, a senior, has 19 goals and 10 assists on the season, with James contributing 18 goals and four assists.
James, a sophomore, scored all three goals in Kokomo’s 3-1 win over Logansport in the Sectional 14 tournament in Kokomo.
“We have a pretty good game plan set,” said Abbott, whose 18 goals lead the Patriots. “Coach told us how we’re going to play and our positions. It’s a little bit of a change for us. It’s going to be a good game.”
Bailey said he hopes to limit Heilman’s touches.
“(Heilman) is a very, very good player,” he said. “We have to shut him down. We’re going to man-mark him, where hopefully he won’t touch the ball.
“The forwards that feed off him, we’re going to use our middle backs to take care of them.”
Like Jay County, Bailey said Kokomo likes to play a chip-and-run system. To combat it the Patriot defense is going to stay back rather than pushing up.
“We’re going to spread the field and not give them that room to run,” he said.
The main priority for Jay County on offense will be to get Abbott the ball with open space. The senior has the speed to outrun defenses, and his footwork creates scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates.
“We need to keep the ball at Chaney’s foot and look for our wings,” Bailey added. “Try to get that through ball going and try to use Abbott’s speed.”
Jay County has come together as a team at just the right time. After losing four straight, the Patriots have rattled off five victories and is 7-4 in its last 11 games. Bailey is poised his senior-driven squad can keep the momentum going and make it to the regional championship on Saturday.
“Making the changes defensively and at midfield, just the whole change that we made had definitely got us ready for this,” he said. “The kids have totally bought into what we’re trying to do.
“I feel confident for these kids Thursday night.”