All three county boys’ soccer teams will be able to wipe their slates clean and have a shot at a new season starting Monday at the IHSAA Class 2A Danville Sectional.
The host Warriors are 13-2-1 and ranked No. 8 in the coaches poll, but Crawfordsville, North Montgomery, and Southmont are all ready to make some noise.
Crawfordsville and Southmont
The Athenians and Mounties will battle in a rematch from a 4-3 instant classic win by Southmont back in August at 6 p.m. on Monday night.
Crawfordsville enters the sectional after posting a 5-10-1 regular season record, and coach Marcus Hale said the Athenians are focused on themselves and with the goal to keep playing soccer as long as possible.
“Our sectional is tough with the recent realignments no matter what,” he said. “The kids are focused on trying to play well and enjoying the game. Our goal is to win and keep playing.”
Southmont enters 2-11-1 and coach Brandon Rash knows the Athenians will be ready to play hoping to avenge their earlier loss to the Mounties.
“We are keeping our heads up, knowing Cville will be coming hard to prove a point,” he said. “We are going to stay physical and play our game. Our strategy is the same as last time, to play our game all the way through.”
Despite their record, Rash says the Mounties have benefited from physical play and seen improvement throughout the season.
“I think we have played very well these last several games,” he said. “Physical play has helped us a lot. We’ve worked on that, and keeping our heads up. Keeping our attitudes in check has helped us. Staying positive, physical, and keeping our heads up, I believe we have a great chance.”
The winner will play Greencastle on Wednesday in the semi-finals.
Chargers open with Warriors
North Montgomery closed the season with a record of 4-11-1 and open a match against Danville, who they fell to 10-1 during the regular season.
Charger’s coach Tristain Hall says the Chargers are remaining positive despite their draw, and have confidence in being able to compete with the Warriors.
“After you find out you drew a team that is one of the best in the state, most teams would’ve given up already, and talked about losing,” he said. “But with this team that hasn’t been the case.”
Hall says the goal is to compete.
“We are staying confident because we know we can compete with anyone on any given day,” he said. “We are a very confident group who always are having fun and I think that has been our advantage all season long and I think it will continue.”
The Chargers face Danville on Tuesday, with the winner to play the winner of Frankfort and Tri-West in the semifinals on Wednesday.
