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GREENCATLE BOYS' SOCCER REGIONAL: Cadets repeat handling of Tiger Cubs with 5-0 win
Try as they might, Greencastle could not change the score from the first meeting with Cascade in Thursday’s IHSAA Boys’ Soccer Class 2A Regional Semifinal.
The No. 8 Cadets scored twice in the first half and added three goals in the second half to end the Tiger Cubs’ season with a 5-0 win, matching the result from the first meeting back on Sept. 14.
“We played better in the first 20 minutes than we did in the first match,” Greencastle head coach JD Sims said. “We had good momentum going but then let (Cascade) score.
“We talked about the play they scored on and we knew how to stop it but we struggled to stop it. When the second goal went in, we lost a lot of momentum.”
Cascade showed some of the speed that made it a formidable foe from the beginning as it broke from a Greencastle free kick with Brogan Trump sending Max Stucky down the right with his shot saved by Conor Petrie.
Cadet goalkeeper Jude Johnson nearly gave the hosts an early lifeline after his attempted clearance hit off Anthony Peters and bounced back over his head, though the keeper recovered quickly to keep the ball from spinning back into his own net.
Lane Trump teed up Brogan Trump 10 minutes in for a shot at Petrie while the latter cutback for Luke Mayo a few minutes later for another effort Petrie was able to cover.
A turnover eventually led to the first goal of the match as Kooper Spears won the ball down the left and surged forward, only for Declan Dodson to take over the dribble and slide a shot past Petrie for a 1-0 lead.
Greencastle had a chance midway through the half when Milyn Tucker got the chance to dribble into the middle of Cascade defense before laying off to Mythius Slagle, whose shot went under Johnson but was cleared away by Edmond Cruz before there was any follow up.
The second goal came with eight minutes remaining in the half as a Lane Trump corner was flicked in by Gabriel Glaze with the Tiger Cubs’ woes further compounded when senior Dylan Barcus went down a minute later and would not return until late in the second half.
Greencastle came out with renewed energy in the second half with Fischer Barcus seeing a header from a corner snapped up by Johnson early on.
Cascade began to shift the momentum back in to its favor and another corner sealed the match 12 minutes in as Lane Trump connected with Colson Mendenhall, whose header went back across a stranded Petrie for a 3-0 lead.
“We played well up until the third goal went in,” Sims said about the second half. “We kept our shape but after each goal, we lost a little bit of gusto.
“Once the third goal came, it was a rough moment.”
Stucky killed off the match midway through the half with a brace in 25 seconds, first reacting quickest to a deflected cross from Brogan Trump before a steal off the opening kickoff was quickly worked up to the senior to poke past Petrie and a shocked Tiger Cub defense.
The tempo of the match soon died down as the visitors worked in their deep bench, who kept Greencastle from getting a foothold into the match though Cyrus Gurnon did have one late effort force a save from Johnson.
The Tiger Cubs finished with a 12-1-6 record, winning a sectional title for a third-straight season despite needing to all-but rebuild their lineup due to multiple losses from graduation and player departures.
“I’m super proud of the way we played this season,” Sims said. “In the beginning, we struggled to find our form but, as we kept getting better and better, the team played really well overall.”