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GREENCASTLE BOYS' SOCCER SECTIONAL FINAL: Senior Barcus the hero as Tiger Cubs win third-straight sectional title over Knights
You can’t win the lottery unless you buy a ticket.
It’s a phrase with a simple meaning: one can’t expect to gain something without first taking action.
With the scores tied at 1-1 inside the final 10 minutes of the IHSAA Boys’ Soccer Class 2A Sectional No. 28 final, Greencastle senior Dylan Barcus bought his ticket.
The prize? A third-straight sectional crown.
Barcus was on hand to fire home from 15 yards out, quelling a Northview side bent on not falling for a third-straight final to the Tiger Cubs but falling short once again as the hosts won 2-1 Saturday evening.
“I had the ball at my foot and thought I might as well try,” Barcus said after his goal sent Greencastle to the regional. “You never know. I just took a whack at it and it went it.
“I guess it was meant to be.”
“Hat’s off to Northview. They came out with a plan and stuck to that plan,” Greencastle head coach JD Sims said. “It really could have been anybody’s game.
“We found the right moments and bagged another sectional championship.”
The two teams had played out a frantic 4-3 match Sept. 5 with Northview taking a 2-1 lead into halftime, Greencastle scoring three goals in 10 minutes, only for the Tiger Cubs to offer the Knights a lifeline with an own goal, setting up a frantic finish.
Both teams came out with a more reserved tempo to start the final though Milyn Tucker had a pair of early free kicks that caused some concern for Northview.
Greencastle’s defense played the offside line very well early on as the Knights were flagged several times in the first half, halting the visitors’ offensive flow for most of the first 10 minutes.
Mythius Slagle was able to beat goalkeeper Robert Styck to the ball but couldn’t get a shot on target while Tucker split the defense with a pass but Slagle was just shy of reaching it.
Tanner Hayes finally broke the Tiger Cub trap and forced Conor Petrie into a save 10 minutes into the match, latter breaking the offside trap again but not getting much strength on his shot.
In-between those efforts, Jackson Brock slammed a free kick off the angle of Petrie’s as the visitors were getting closer and closer to goal.
After giving away some control, Greencastle snapped back hard with the opening goal of the match.
Tucker again sent Slagle behind the Northview defense and while the forward couldn’t get a shot away, the ball fell to Fischer Barcus, whose shot hit Slagle but set up nicely for the latter to sweep home for a 1-0 lead.
The advantage lasted 26 seconds as, following a Tucker foul, a long free kick fell to Hayes, who slashed home past Petrie to level the match at 1-1.
“Everything kind of fell apart in that moment,” Sims said about giving up the lead so quickly. “We got a big goal and (Northview) goat a big goal right away. We lost our composure a little bit after that.”
Brayden Kreiger put in a cross a minute later that Petrie briefly spilled but recovered with Hayes lurking while another cross from the right was cleared by Madden Slagle with Hayes again eyeing up a shot, though a collision during the clearance saw Hayes exit briefly after an awkward landing.
Play began to settle more into the midfield area over the final 20 minutes of the half with Hayes, back on after treatment, beating the offside line five minutes from halftime but not able to test Petrie as the two teams went into the break at 1-1.
As the second half unfolded, a frenetic energy began to build as both teams searched for a goal to give them the advantage.
Greencastle started the half with several blocked shots in the Northview box before Cole Petrowski broke immediately the other way though Petrie came out and forced a wide shot from the forward.
Dylan Barcus nearly got a free kick on the head of Fischer 10 minutes in but the younger Barcus was inches away from connecting while another Barcus-to-Barcus free kick was headed the wrong side of Styck’s right-hand post.
A blocked shot by Cyrus Gurnon was poled at Styck by Sam Hanlon while Landon Propst went on a dribble for the visitors but saw his shot race wide of Petrie’s post.
Tucker hit a half volley just over the ball following some ping pong after a long throw midway through the half but it was the last chance for the hosts for some time as Northview put on considerable pressure in the following 10 minutes.
Propst sent in a free kick that resulted in chaos in the Tiger Cub box before the ball was cleared while Lucas Whitman appeared to be everywhere on the pitch, constantly breaking up Greencastle attacks and keeping possession locked into the hosts’ half.
“Our defense was a little rocky in the first half, talked about in the second half and were pretty solid,” Sims said about withstanding the second half pressure. “We let two or three plays slip through but we were much more composed in the second half.
“Madden and Dylan were playing tighter and we were able to shut down options. When a team relies on strikers running that much, it’s only going to get worse as time goes on, which worked out for us.”
When the Tiger Cubs finally got a chance at the other end, it was the moment all in purple had been waiting for.
Tucker sent in a corner from the right that Styck palmed away but not out of the area.
The ball eventually set up for Dylan Barcus at the top of the box and the senior took his swing, hitting a clean shot that, while not powerfully struck or carefully directed, found a path through the mass of bodies in the box and past an unsighted Styck into the back of the net.
With the energy seemingly sapped from Northview legs, Greencastle spent the final nine minutes on the attack as Tucker sent Anthony Peters away and only a strong hand from Styck prevented it from being 3-1.
Tucker saw another shot fizz wide while Peters was denied by Styck again with Jackson Stakeman able to clear before the Tiger Cub winger could get to the rebound.
“The goal gave us life in the last few minutes,” Barcus said. “It gave us confidence and we pulled it out.
“It means so much to me to win this. I never had any doubt in these boys as they’ve come through in so many moments. We win as a team and I’m glad to lead this team forward.”
The Knights had one more chance in the final minute but saw their corner kick headed well over Petrie’s goal as Greencastle claimed its third-straight sectional title, each coming at the expense of Northview.
“At the end of the day, we wanted to pass and wear (Northview) down,” Sims said about the finish. “You could tell that guys like (Hayes) were really worn out.
“We kept playing our game and things worked out in the end.”
Greencastle hosts Cascade on Thursday at 6 p.m. in the regional semifinal round with the winner advancing to the regional final at Bishop Chatard.
The Cadets hammered the Tiger Cubs 5-0 on Sept. 14 though Sims said the squad, which had won eight of nine matches since then, was in a better spot ahead of the rematch.
“Cascade is a very good team,” Sims noted. “We’re a better team than when we faced them the first time and have to come in with a plan and execute that plan.
“We have to make them work hard and we’ll see what happens.”