Henry Clay re-focuses for victory in opener of boys’ soccer state tournament
Henry Clay’s defense recorded its 10th shutout of the season in a 3-0 victory over Southwestern at home Tuesday in the semi-state round of the KHSAA Boys’ Soccer State Tournament sponsored by U.S. Army ROTC.
Sota Ippongi scored two first-half goals for the Blue Devils, one in the 21st minute after evading the keeper and having a clear line and another off a corner kick in the 36th minute after he rebound one of his own shots. Antoine Yongbang got free for an insurance goal in the 69th minute.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here's Henry Clay defender Tommy Svetich following his team's shutout of Southwestern. <a href="https://t.co/Se2HPjGtEM">pic.twitter.com/Se2HPjGtEM</a></p>— Josh Moore (@HLpreps) <a href="https://twitter.com/HLpreps/status/1054913107028594688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 24, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Henry Clay generated ample opportunities but failed to finish several times around the net. Blue Devils Coach Jason Behler was concerned his team might come out less focused after the emotional high of upsetting rival Paul Laurence Dunbar in the 11th Region finals Friday night.
“In this game, the intensity was a lot lower than what Dunbar was,” said Henry Clay defender Tommy Svetich. “ ... We need to get more clinical in that final third. We’ve been working on it all season and sometimes it looks like it’s put together and other times it’s just difficult to watch from the back.”
The Blue Devils advanced to the state quarterfinals, where they’ll play Boyd County at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Lexington on Saturday. Boyd County defeated Prestonsburg, 5-1, to qualify for the quarterfinals Monday. The Lions (15-1-1) are unbeaten against in-state competition but have not played a Kentucky opponent from outside the eastern regions of the state this season.
Henry Clay, ranked ninth in the Kentucky Maher Rankings, will be favored to make the state semifinals, scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1 at Frederick Douglass. It’s likely the Blue Devils would see top-ranked St. Xavier in the final four.
“We want St. X,” Svetich said.
This story was originally published October 23, 2018 at 10:23 PM.