Squeezing past the Spartans

Levi Muhlenkamp had a golden opportunity to give the Patriots the lead on a penalty kick without the Spartans’ starting goalkeeper in the net.

Instead of getting to jog back to midfield to celebrate with his team, Muhlenkamp had to backpedal to get into defensive position after his shot was saved.

But the senior striker didn’t let the stop get him down, finding a way to put the game-winning goal in, 10 minutes later.

Muhlenkamp scored twice, including the game-winning goal, to lift the Jay County High School boys soccer team past the Connersville Spartans 4-3 on Saturday.

Jay County (10-2) entered the second half with a one-score lead that got erased in the first four minutes after Connersville’s Kaden Mapes sent a corner kick that Conner Graves intercepted with his head right in front of JCHS goalkeeper Peyton Yowell.

For the next 12 minutes, the Patriots fought to regain the lead and got their chance when Muhlenkamp got on a break with only Judd Garrett, the Spartans goalkeeper, between him and the net. Garrett left the goal to try and make the stop, and took Muhlenkamp out in the process, earning him a yellow card that forced the senior out of the game.

Graves, a Connersville (11-3-1) defender, quickly put on the goalie jersey and gloves to fill in for Garrett. Despite playing out of position, the senior managed to make the save, stopping Muhlenkamp’s shot to the bottom left corner.

“I tried fooling him,” Muhlenkamp said. “Right before I went, I looked opposite corner to make him think that’s where I’m targeting and he just read it.”

He didn’t let the failed penalty kick get to him. He continued to attack, failing once as Garrett successfully cleared the ball at the 21:15 mark, before Muhlenkamp broke through six minutes later.

After receiving a through ball from Dylan Marentes, Muhlenkamp got a step on his defender and took the ball the distance before putting it in at 15:36 to go up 4-3.

“We all knew going in, this game is going to be a tough game,” Muhlenkamp said. “I knew the score is tied, I can’t just get down on myself. I know I’m the offensive leader and I’ve gotta take it.”

The goal was Muhlenkamp’s 21st of the season, 15 more than the second-leading scorer, Marentes. Earlier in the game, Muhlenkamp crashed the goal on a deflected shot by Marentes to give JCHS the 3-2 lead with 1:52 remaining.

A pair of defensive mistakes gave Jay County an early 2-0 lead.

The first came on a corner kick from Marentes that went through Garrett’s hands to open the game up at 15:31. Immediately following the score when the ball was passed backwards into play, one of the Spartan defenders mishandled it, kicking it upwards into his own arm for a handball violation. Aryan Montes scored on the following free kick with a ball to the top right corner of the goal.

The lead didn’t make it to halftime, as Connersville got two shots past Peyton Yowell.

Mapes made the first goal after dribbling around defenders to take the ball himself at 12:30. The second came on a free kick by Cody Thomas near the opposite 40-yard line that Mitchell Steele managed to head into the net with 5:17 left before the intermission.

“We’ve got to quit giving games away,” said JCHS coach Rodney Reynolds. “Mistakes obviously let them back in the game. And when you let them back in, the momentum turns and you see how it goes. … I think we should have had a comfortable lead. They just wasn’t playing our toughest game.”

One of the biggest problems the Patriots had was allowing Steele to beat them to the ball and win offensive possessions for the Spartans. Despite getting to the ball first on many occasions, Steele didn’t manage to score outside of the header due to the defensive efforts of center back Ashton Castillo.

Due to the quality of the opponent, Reynolds said they were treating the Saturday matchup as a sectional game. While JCHS would have liked to win by more, Reynolds was happy to make it out with a victory and is looking to use this as a motivator to not let teams hang around. For the Jay County soccer teams sectional draws, see the local roundup.

“It’s been like that the whole season and we’ve been grinding,” Reynolds said. “When we play our best, like we did against Heritage, these guys can run with any team. There’s no doubt in my mind.

“When they come out and play a half like this, this is where we struggle.

“In the end I tell them, ‘It’s up to you guys. You guys gotta go out and want these games. You’ve got to play your hardest.”