For nearly the entirety of Saturday’s boys’ soccer All “A” Sectional at Owensboro Catholic, the Aces and visiting Todd County Central waged a back-and-forth battle in the middle of the field with few clear-cut scoring chances. However, a brief drop in concentration and two Aces’ goals in less than three minutes doomed the Rebels in a 2-0 defeat.
The Rebels and O-Cath tied 1-1 on the same field earlier this season, and after a scoreless first half, neither team had the upper hand in the chase for a spot in Frankfort at next week’s All “A” Classic State Tournament.
Most of the opening forty minutes were played in the middle of the field, but the Aces nearly took the lead with a pair of good chances near the midway point.
The Rebels sent on Tanner Henderson with twenty minutes played, and he almost immediately opened the scoring when his shot under pressure was saved by Catholic goalkeeper Parker Jones.
Todd Central pushed forward as halftime neared, with Chi Herrera forcing a diving save with his shot from the top of the box. Rebel goalkeeper Jonah Rager was only called on for one stop in the 1st half, and the teams were tied at the break.
With Herrera unable to go in the 2nd half, Ric Garcia-Sears started and nearly gave the Rebels the lead when his shot from just outside the box skimmed the crossbar.
But less than a minute later, Todd Central was trailing after Austin Martin beat a defender on the right and tucked his shot into the far side-netting for a 1-0 Aces’ lead.
Martin rattled the crossbar with a free kick a short time later, and after the Rebels couldn’t clear, Catholic’s Thomas Eyre crossed for Brody Martin to score and double the advantage in the 51st minute.
Todd Central had a couple of good chances as the match would down, with Cam Wheelock’s shot saved after he got behind the Aces’ defense and Zack Robinson’s effort stopped after he ran down a long ball on the left side.
The Rebels slipped to 13-2-1 and will welcome University Heights Academy to Elkton on Thursday. In a bit of a subplot, Todd Central head coach Mike Smith formerly coached the Blazers, leading them to a 2nd-Region title in 2011.
