Chaney takes charge in loss

Zach Chaney was not happy with the way his team was playing Thursday.
They had allowed three goals in less than 13 minutes, but capitalized on a turnover to finally get on the scoreboard.
So as the Jay County High School boys soccer team trailed 3-1 at halftime, coach Brad Horn told his squad how it needed to improve.
Then it was Chaney’s turn. The senior goalkeeper took his teammates aside, away from the bench, and called them out.
“We were not playing very well,” he said following his team’s 3-2 loss to the Delta Eagles. Chaney also said he was not afraid to criticize his teammates, calling them out by name, acting as coach, telling his teammates what they needed to do to turn the game around.
The pep talk worked, as the Patriots played more aggressively after halftime, put pressure on the Delta defense and cut the deficit in half. Another 20 minutes or so on the clock and Jay County (1-4) could have perhaps tied the score.
“That all comes down to Chaney,” said Horn, whose team returns to action Thursday at home against Norwell. “He said something, got them clicking and they started working hard.
“That’s something I’ve been waiting for all season is for a senior to take that step and actually say something. … We had to have that done and I’m hoping that leads into the next few games.”
At halftime, Horn challenged his team to crash the net, hoping for rebounds off Delta goalkeeper Zion Osner. Freshman Ian McCombs took heed to the first-year coach, chasing a ball in the goalie box that was being headed around and kicked it into an open left side of the net to make it 3-2 in the 44th minute.
It was the effort Horn had been looking for during the first 40 minutes, but understands with a limited number of bench players that continuing to make runs toward the net is somewhat of a challenge.
“Our numbers aren’t that strong, so the fact of when they’re all playing this long, this hard … it’s going to be hard to make those runs all the time because you have to get back,” he said. “It’s nothing against them, they’re giving me all they can. They wear down. They get tired.”
But during the first 30 minutes of the second half, Jay County controlled the ball and had the advantage in chances while nearly tying the score on multiple occasions. Daniel Fugiett almost netted the equalizer in the 45th minute, but he wasn’t able to get a clean shot on goal. On three more occasions the Patriots had chances with the ball deep in the Delta zone. However, Jay County was unable to get clean looks at the goal.
The Eagles almost extended their lead late in the game, peppering Chaney with shots in the final five minutes, but the experienced goalkeeper turned them away.
“Chaney made the saves,” Horn said. Chaney is the third goalkeeper for the Patriots this season. “That is what Chaney does. That is why he is back in goal.”
Delta, which is one of Jay County’s sectional rivals, scored the first goal of the contest in the eighth minute when Alec Lynn found the back of the net. Chaney saved Delta’s first attempt but couldn’t get a solid grasp on the ball, and Lynn beat him to the loose ball as it rolled toward the goal line.
Nearly four minutes later, the Eagles tacked on another goal, this one by Charlie May. Chaney — he had seven total saves — stopped one shot, and May’s secondary attempt deflected off a JCHS defender and into the goal.
In almost the blink of an eye, the Eagles extended the lead to 3-0. The Patriots turned the ball over near midfield, and Lynn rifled a right-footed shot to the right of the goal past an outstretched Chaney.
Five minutes later Jay County got on the board when senior Jason Schlosser forced a Delta turnover and buried his fifth goal of the season past Osner.
Despite only one victory in the first five games, Horn is still hopeful the Patriots can parlay Thursday’s rally into confidence for the rest of the season.
“When sectional comes I want to be playing our best soccer,” he said. “To me, record does not matter. I want to be playing our best soccer when the time comes.
“That is what I’m hoping for.”