The will to win

Facing an undefeated team, the Patriots needed to find an extra level to pull out the victory.

Dylan Marentes found that extra level, scoring a goal to tie the game in the final minutes of regulation. The defense found that level to hold Eastbrook scoreless in overtime. And the six players involved in the PKs found an extra level to secure the sectional championship.

For the Patriots to continue their season past Thursday, they will need to dig deep inside and find that will to win once again.

The Jay County High School boys soccer team will travel to Indianapolis to take on the No. 6 Park Tudor Panthers on Thursday in the IHSAA Class 2A Regional Semifinal 12 at 6 p.m.

The Patriots (14-2) entered the sectional final with some concerns after watching Eastbrook’s 2-0 win over Oak Hill in extratime. Beating Eastbrook, which finished 13th in the Indiana Soccer Coaches Association poll, has given Jay County more confidence in their ability to play with top teams.

“The goals are obviously to come out ahead and it would be nice to cap a regional win,” said coach Rodney Reynolds. “Everything else has just got to fall in place. Realistically, we’ve got to have our A game. We’ve got to play probably, one of our best games of the season.

“Do I feel confident in these guys? I do. I think they can definitely show up. If they show up and take everything seriously, they’ll be able to play (with Park Tudor).

“It’s just going to be a tough match. I mean, it’s Park Tudor. We all know Park Tudor if you know soccer. It’s going to be a high-stakes game.”

The Panthers, which won the Pioneer Conference,. come into the game with a 15-3-1 record and have claimed regional championships at the 1A level the past three seasons, including 2022 when it won the state championship.

On the other hand, the Patriots haven’t claimed a regional championship since 2008. They last made the tournament in 2022, when they got blanked 6-0 by the regional champion, Canterbury. Upperclassmen like Cayden Buckland, Dylan Marentes and Levi Muhlenkamp remember the loss all too well and are looking forward to the opportunity to flip the script.

“We’re ready to bounce back,” Buckland said. “We have a lot better shot this time. I mean, we have a better record and we’ve just got to get our mindsets ready, especially after beating Eastbrook. A lot of us went in thinking we didn’t have a chance (against Eastbrook), but then we proved to our coaches and fans that we can and I really think we can win regional.”

Buckland said the win over Eastbrook added motivation and some extra life into the team but agreed with Reynolds’ sentiment about needing to come prepared to play one of their best games. He compared the regional to the NCAA basketball tournament. “Anybody can beat anybody on any given day, just like March Madness. No. 16 seeds beat No. 1 seeds, so anyone can win and I really hope we can do that because I’m not ready for this to end yet,” Buckland said.

Jay County will have to deal with a balanced offensive attack from the Panthers. While Park Tudor doesn’t have a player that dominates the offense like Muhlenkamp, its leading scorer, Elliot Scotten, has scored 17 goals on the season. Following the PTHS senior, Lorenzo Nofrini and Connor Kacena-Merrel have each scored eight times, Miles Dubie has seven goals and Daniel Peyton and Carson Shattuck have each added four.

All five players distribute the ball well too, as each has over five assists. Dubie leads the team with seven assists.

“Everybody has to be marking somebody,” said Osmar Gonzalez. “We have to play our game, like the way we played against Eastbrook. … We just have to focus and not get in our heads after they score. That’s what we did against Eastbrook, playing with a line of four and Aryan (Montes) really helped back there.”

Park Tudor averages 2.9 goals per game and is outsourcing teams 8-3 in the postseason. Reynolds and Gonzalez both mentioned that marking players from 25-yards and in and forcing players to go through defenders will play a key role in limiting the Panthers.

After going up against a goalkeeper at Eastbrook that had only given up five goals all season, the Patriots face another stout defense in Park Tudor that has only allowed the ball through 23 times. They have shut out teams three times, given up two goals twice and allowed more than two scores only once on the season.

In the sectional championship, Eastbrook made a point to take Muhlenkamp, the school’s leading scorer with 82 career goals, away by sending multiple defenders at him whenever the ball came near him. If Park Tudor takes the same strategy, other Patriot forwards and midfielders like Blake Collins, Emmitt Reynolds, Marentes, Montes and Jaxson DeHoff need to be ready to step up and take advantage of their opportunities.

“We have to look when we’re open,” Collins said. “When everybody goes to Levi, we’ll be open. So just go to the goal and try to shoot.”

Collins also mentioned that stronger passes and playing physically will play a key role in the team’s offensive success.

While the Patriots are aiming high and preparing themselves to go for the win, Reynolds is above all else, looking for his team to give it their all and trust that everything else will fall into place.

“‘You’re going to have to grind and grind and grind,’” Reynolds said about his message to the team. “‘Even if you’re tired, even if you’re ready to quit, go out there and give it you’re all. Give it 110% and no one is going to be mad.

It is what it is. The idea is to come home winners, but if you go out and try you’re best, there’s nothing nobody is going to say.”