CJ Staff Report
Danville — The Warriors of Southwestern traveled to Boyle County High School on Thursday evening to face the 23rd-ranked Boyle County Rebels in a regional match-up.
The Warriors scored two first half goals in the contest and held the Rebels scoreless throughout the match to take the win.
As predicted by Southwestern Boys soccer head coach James Ray; this was a contest of the midfield. For the first seven minutes of the game, there were no scoring opportunities as the physical play in the middle kept either team from pushing the ball deep.
The Warriors nearly struck first blood eight minutes into the contest when senior Jeremy Nissen threw the ball in deep to the center of the box. Junior midfielder Niklas Nielsen was left unguarded and put a nice shot on the goal off a header but was denied as Rebel keeper Van Pollack jumped up and grabbed the ball just in front of the upper crossbar.
At the 14-minute mark, Southwestern got on the scoreboard as Warrior speedster Chris Campbell broke loose from the Rebel defense and drove the ball into the box for a 1-on-1 with the Rebel keeper. Pollack came way out of the goal to challenge Campbell and dove in an attempt to cover the ball. Campbell pushed the ball out to the side just as Pollack slid for the cover leaving an open net for Campbell’s shot just as the Rebel defenders reached him.
The remaining 26 minutes of play in the first half continued primarily between the boxes. The physical play on both side of the ball led to numerous penalties and a pair of yellow cards being issued; one to each team.
Boyle County was awarded a pair of free kicks just outside the Warrior 18 yard box but they were unable to convert as the Warrior defense stepped up and denied their shots.
Senior stopper Chris Rink, who suffered a broken nose during the Somerset game, thwarted the Boyle offense numerous times and came away with a pair of blocked shots despite wearing a protective mask that limited his peripheral vision.
The Warriors managed to strike gold for the second time with just 16 seconds remaining in the first half.
Junior midfielder Florian Klett caught the ball just inside the 18-yard box after a pass from teammate Niklas Nielsen. Klett picked his way through the Rebel defense and rifled a shot to the back corner of the net just past the outstretched hands of the Rebel keeper to make the score 2-0.
With little time remaining, Boyle County took the kickoff, quickly drove the ball inside the Warrior goal box and shot but the ball deflected off the crossbar ending the half with the Warriors up by two. The shot count was tied at seven apiece.
The second half of play became the battle of penalties as both teams seemed to notch up the physical play. Boyle County, desperate for a score, took the ball deep into Warrior territory several times but was consistently denied by the stingy Warrior defense.
At the 31-minute mark, Rebel Will Upton took a free kick just outside the Southwestern box. Upton nailed the shot toward the post but Warrior keeper Michael Wright dove just managing to get his fingertips on the ball and pushing it away to prevent the score.
At the 60-minute mark, Southwestern got an opportunity to score another goal as Warrior Chris Campbell repeated his earlier move on Pollack but the kick went wide.
In the 71st minute, Boyle County’s Will Upton broke away from the Warrior defense for what looked to be a one-on-one with Wright. Defender Jeremy Nissen ran Upton down from behind and executed a slide tackle to break up the play.
With just a few minutes remaining, Boyle County continued to press but Wright came up with a pair of saves and the Warrior defense held on until the game ended.
In the second half, Boyle County out shot the Warriors 6-5.
“Overall, this was another exciting game in our region,” stated a smiling Warrior head coach James Ray. “Our kids came out tonight and played as hard as they could have against a quality team with quality coaches. I’m very happy to get out with a win on the road.”
“Defensively, we played one of the best games of the year, but we still have to work on some of the little things to get prepared for the post season,” Ray added.
With the win, Southwestern moves to 9-3-1 on the year. The Warriors will host South Laurel on Monday, Sept. 29.
