Wed Feb 08 2012
The Frankfort High boys soccer team brought home the championship trophy after two come-from-behind wins in the Grant County Invitational Saturday.
In the first game the Panthers beat Covington Latin High School 5-3.
The Panthers began sluggishly in the first half and had difficulty keeping pace with the speedy Latin offense.
Two goals in quick succession in the first half gave Latin an early lead before the Panthers' Andrew Grider broke free to pull one back.
Now back in the game, the Panthers kept the pressure on the Covington defense, but a lapse in concentration at the back allowed the Latin offense to pounce and make the score 3-1in Latin's favor at the half.
After a disappointing half, the Panthers came back out and looked like a different team. They immediately went on the attack, and it wasn't long before Grider made a run into the box getting chopped down before he could shoot.
He converted the resulting penalty kick and didn't look back, adding two more goals shortly after to give Frankfort the lead. Eli Purdy added the finishing touch with a low shot at the far post to make the final score 5-3 and put the Panthers into the championship game against host Grant County.
The championship game was a tight affair with neither team giving up much ground. The Braves scored after just three minutes, but the Panthers' defense led by Harold Jennings did not let the Braves through again.
Both sides had chances with Grider and Purdy coming close, and Clint Slugantz in the Panthers' goal keeping out the shots. The score remained 1-0 until the 64th minute of the game when Andrew LeMay brought down a rebound from Braves' keeper and slotted home from a narrow angle to tie the score.
Despite shots raining down from the Panthers' offense for the final 15 minutes, the game finished 1-1 and went to a penalty shootout.
In the shootout all five of Frankfort's kickers - Purdy, Grider, Mark Trivette, LeMay and Jennings - hit the target, while Slugantz in goal made a heroic save to give a hard-fought championship to the Panthers.
All-tournament team members for Frankfort were Purdy, Grider, LeMay and Slugantz.
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