Fri Jul 30 2010
OWENTON – If there were any nerves in the Franklin County lineup at the start of its elimination game against Anderson County Tuesday night, they weren’t evident.
With their opening day roster back on the field for the first time since Week 1, the Flyers played cool under pressure at Patterson Field, limiting the Bearcats’ scoring opportunities and advancing to the district tournament final with a 3-1 win.
“Our defense played well,” FCHS coach Zac Donnelly said. “We only had one mental mistake there where we let a goal in, but overall we played a real solid game.
“On offense, we finished our opportunities. There were even a couple more we could have finished as well, made the game a little more lopsided, but I’m proud of the way these guys played.”
With seniors Lyndon McKee and Adam Jones back in the same lineup for the first time since August, Franklin County held Anderson County to four shots in the first half and none in the second.
“That was huge just having everyone back healthy and it’s the first time they’ve got to play together,” Donnelly said. “I was a little worried about that, but they fell right back into it in a really hard-fought match.”
The Flyers built a 2-0 lead in the first 30 minutes of the game. McKee connected for FCHS’ first score at the 30:02 mark with a goal off a rebounded shot.
Ryan Sturm nearly doubled the Flyer lead with a curling kick that bounced off the crossbar at the 20:40 mark, but the sophomore forward came back with an assist from the right wing eight minutes later on an Oscar Urbina score.
The only major miscue of the night for the Flyers came at the 12:15 mark when a shot from the right side by ACHS’ Lyndon Stucker slipped through the arms of goalkeeper Travis Pettry and trickled into the goal, making the score 2-1.
Pettry redeemed himself in the final seconds before halftime, however, batting a well-placed ball by Martin Frantsvog up and over the goal to secure the 2-1 FCHS lead at intermission.
The Flyers weren’t satisfied with a one-goal lead, however.
FCHS regained a two-goal cushion eight minutes into the second half by taking advantage of the narrow Owen County field.
Urbina gathered the ball on the throw-in near midfield, passing ahead to Sturm down the left sideline. Sturm centered behind the defense to a streaking Bryce Burton who finished one-on-one against the keeper.
“We knew we could make some scoring opportunities from throw-ins, so we worked on that because this field is so narrow,” Donnelly said.
Defensively, Franklin County kept Anderson County at bay in the final 40 minutes. The Bearcats earned four corner kicks, but never found a clean look at the goal.
“I hope they have the same attitude Thursday night,” Donnelly said.
In the final, the Flyers (10-6-2) face Woodford County, who defeated Western Hills 4-0 earlier in the day. The Yellowjackets (15-1-2) have lost only once this season and defeated a patchwork Franklin County team 3-2 on Aug. 27.
Donnelly said the Flyers are prepared to give WCHS a strong rematch now that they are healthy.
“We didn’t have Lyndon playing with us in the midfield (in the first meeting) and our lineup was kind of switched around a little bit, so I think we are going to be ready for them,” he said.
“It’s a matter of our guys being confident and believing that they can win because I believe we can beat them. It’s just a matter of us going out there and taking it to them, taking it one half at a time.”
WOODFORD CO. 4, WESTERN HILLS 0
Western Hills season came to an end Tuesday night as the Wolverines fell to Woodford County 4-0 in the district tournament semifinals.
The Yellowjackets led the game 2-0 at halftime and added two more goals early in the second half.
“We were able to hold them in the first half until we took two lousy goals and they came back and capitalized unfortunately,” WHHS coach Marcel Simo said.
“I admire the guys. They went in there, they fought really hard.”
Western Hills finishes the season with a record of 5-8-2 and graduates seniors Mark Davis, Dillon Mann, Ian Claus and Matt Whitehouse.
The Wolverines return a core group of young starters next season.
“There was a lot of learning this season,” Simo said. “It’s just going to take some time to build the program back up.
“Overall, I appreciate them for their hard work.”
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