Boys soccer postseason: Henry Clay and Paul Laurence Dunbar regain district titles
It seems Lexington boys high school soccer’s blue bloods are back.
Henry Clay (12-7-3), the three-time state champions who last won an 11th Region and state title in 2019, blew through last week’s 42nd District tournament after two seasons off the top spot.
Likewise, Paul Laurence Dunbar (15-4-5) dominated the 43rd District to regain its hardware a year after falling to Lafayette in a 2023 finals decided by penalty kick shootout. The Bulldogs are six-time state champions and won it all back-to-back in 2021 and 2022.
But the Blue Devils and Bulldogs will likely have to go through each other and some upset-minded teams this week in the boys 11th Region Tournament.
Saturday afternoon’s draw for the tournament placed Henry Clay and Dunbar on the same side of the bracket among the champions and runners-up from the 41st, 42nd, 43rd and 44th districts. That means their potential showdown will take place in Wednesday’s semifinals if they get past their respective first round opponents. Henry Clay defeated Dunbar 4-1 on Sept. 10.
Both Henry Clay and Dunbar have tested themselves against Louisville’s Trinity and St. Xavier, two of the state’s best teams. Henry Clay also played undefeated No. 1 Bowling Green. Though neither notched wins, both teams learned something about themselves.
“I learned that we’re right there with the best teams in the state,” Henry Clay coach Jason Behler said. “I know if we can make it through the 11th, we can make it through anything, and this team is riding high with a lot of confidence right now.”
Henry Clay rolls to 42nd District championship
It became clear from the outset of Henry Clay’s 42nd District championship game against two-time defending champion Frederick Douglass on Friday at The Farm that this Blue Devils team came determined to win.
“We need to keep the focus on us and not let any external circumstances or anything else get in our way of what our goals were,” Behler said of his strategy. “Stick to the game plan. Share the ball, be tenacious, do all the little work.”
The Blue Devils quickly began hogging possession and finally broke through on Marco Messerli’s third-chance goal midway through the first half. An initial shot by Connor Taylor was spilled into Messerli’s run. Messerli had his first shot saved back at him. He didn’t miss the second.
With just 1:25 until halftime, Elliot Tiennot ran onto a free kick served into the box, had his initial shot blocked and like Messerli before him, got a second chance that he did not miss. Moments later Braden Cundiff shook loose of Douglass’ defense in the box and fed Taylor for a 3-0 lead the Blue Devils would ride out for the rest of the game.
In six games against their 42nd District rivals this season, the Blue Devils didn’t allow any goals, outscoring those opponents 35-0.
“That should be the expectation for our team. We set ourselves a goal in preseason where we don’t want to get scored on in the district. We kept it like that,” Taylor said.
Dunbar back on top in the 43rd District
Paul Laurence Dunbar wasted little time signaling its determination to win back the 43rd District title on Thursday night at Lafayette.
Jackson Brooks rifled a shot into the top left corner of the goal on a corner-kick play 76 seconds after the kickoff.
Eight minutes later, Dunbar’s Chaz Rich got teed up inside the 18-yard box by teammate Aamir Siddiqui for a 2-0 lead.
“We’re starting to click now and just playing good together,” Rich said.
The hot start has been something Dunbar lacked so far this season, Bulldogs coach James Wray said.
“It felt like tonight, we were ready to go. And I told them at halftime, ‘This needs to be the baseline of how we’re going to be,’” Wray said.
With 23 minutes left in the second half, Rich outhustled his defender to a long pass up the middle and stunned the Commodores with a shot that put them down 3-0. Three minutes later, Darwin Doodnauth made it 4-0 with a shot between the keeper’s legs.
With seven goals in two district playoff games, Wray likes how his team has responded after regular-season losses to Trinity, St. Xavier, Henry Clay and two out-of-state teams..
“I would consider us still a work in progress,” Wray said. “While these guys have been pieces and parts of the whole in the past, they’ve been asked to step up this year and do more. We’re not going to go anywhere if we don’t have leadership and I’ve seen it start to come together.”
Defending champion Lafayette upset by Tates Creek
On Tuesday night, Tates Creek (7-6-2) rallied with a golden goal game-winner in the second overtime to knock off No. 14 Lafayette, the defending 43rd District and 11th Region champions.
Andrew Ferring dribbled across the face of goal with a defender on his hip and set loose a left-footed shot in the bottom left corner of the goal to end the contest and Lafayette’s season. That win sent the Commodores to the next week’s 11th Region Tournament for the first time since 2019.
“I’ve been wanting this forever and to score that is just everything to me,” Ferring said. “It’s been a while and this whole season that’s been our only goal. It’s amazing that we’ve been able to do it.”
Lafayette’s Mustafa Khan put the Generals up 1-0 in the first half, but Tates Creek’s Joshmar Balbuena-Lara responded in the second half with a diving header into goal off a free kick by Enoch Nsabimana.
Douglass player injured in semifinals’ final seconds
In Frederick Douglass’ 1-0 win over Bryan Station in Tuesday’s 42nd District semifinals, senior Eugene Aboagye suffered a broken leg due to a straight red card foul by a Bryan Station player with under 15 seconds remaining.
With a broken fibula and tibia in his right leg, Aboagye underwent surgery the next morning and was said to be in good spirits after some player visits at the hospital on Thursday.
Tuesday’s victory preserved a streak of six straight district finals and region tournament appearances for Douglass (10-7-1).
The Broncos dramatically stepped up their pressure in Bryan Station’s end of the field in the second half with forward Keegan Nash netting the game-winner with 12:45 to play.
“I knew we were going to score,” Nash said. “We had all the offense in the second half.”
The boys 11th Region field
Here’s a closer look at the boys 11th Region soccer tournament field listed in order of their final regular-season KHSAA RPI ranking. Team rankings in the MaxPreps top 100 are also noted.
HENRY CLAY:
RPI/MaxPreps: 7/5.
Record: 14-3-4.
How they got here: 42nd District champion with 3-0 win over Frederick Douglass.
Notes: The Blue Devils have not won a region title since their state championship run in 2019. Braden Cundiff leads the team with 18 goals. Marco Messerli tops the assists chart with 14. Henry Clay’s only losses have come to undefeated No. 1 Bowling Green and No. 3 Trinity.
PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR:
RPI/MaxPreps: 15/6.
Record: 15-5-2.
How they got here: 43rd District champion with 4-0 win over Tates Creek.
Notes: Seventeen Bulldogs have scored this season, led by Christian Delgado’s eight goals. Senior forward Chaz Rich tore his ACL in last season’s final regular-season game against Trinity and missed the postseason. He was Dunbar’s leading scorer at the time. In 22 games this season, he has seven goals and five assists.
FREDERICK DOUGLASS:
RPI/MaxPreps: 38/30.
Record: 10-7-1.
How they got here: 42nd District runner-up.
Notes: Keegan Nash and Ammar Alsiraj lead the Broncos with six goals each. Douglass reached the region finals in each of the last two years, losing in penalty kick shootouts each time. Unfortunately, Alsirah received a red card in the 42nd finals and will have to sit out two games, making him ineligible until the region finals..
MADISON SOUTHERN:
RPI/MaxPreps: 45/58.
Record: 13-5-2.
How they got here: 44th District champion with 1-0 win over Madison Central.
Notes: The Eagles have won five of the last seven 44th District titles and return to the regional a season after being knocked out of the postseason early by Model last year. Micah Whitaker leads the team with 14 goals. Hayden Shepherd tops the assist list with 13.
MADISON CENTRAL:
RPI/MaxPreps: 54/50.
Record: 11-7-1.
How they got here: 44th District runner-up.
Notes: The Indians were 0-4 in 11th Region games outside of their district with losses to Frederick Douglass, Great Crossing, Scott County and Western Hills. Cameron Alexander leads the team in scoring with nine goals.
TATES CREEK:
RPI/MaxPreps: 55/27.
Record: 7-6-2.
How they got here: 43rd District runner-up.
Notes: Tates Creek’s last region title came in the old 6th Region in 1988. The Commodores reached the region semifinals in their last appearance in 2019. Levin Guzman’s six goals lead the team.
FRANKFORT:
RPI/MaxPreps: 71/52.
Record: 12-6-3.
How they got here: 41st District champion with 3-2 penalty kick shootout win over Great Crossing.
Notes: The Panthers rallied from 2-0 down in the district finals to claim their third district title in four years. They have reached the 11th Region semifinals in two of their last three appearances. Bryson Cox leads Frankfort with 16 goals and six assists.
GREAT CROSSING:
RPI/MaxPreps: 75/71.
Record: 10-8-2.
How they got here: 41st District runner-up.
Notes: Ryan Payne leads the Warhawks with nine goals. Logan Hepp has a team-high seven assists.
Boys 11th Region Tournament
Semifinals and finals at Henry Clay High School
MONDAY’S QUARTERFINALS
Listed in bracket order. District champions are home teams.
7:30 p.m.: Tates Creek at Frankfort
7 p.m.: Frederick Douglass at Madison Southern
7 p.m.: Madison Central at Paul Laurence Dunbar
7 p.m.: Great Crossing at Henry Clay
WEDNESDAY’S SEMIFINALS
6 p.m.: Tates Creek-Frankfort winner vs. Frederick Douglass-Madison Southern winner
8 p.m.: Madison Central-Paul Laurence Dunbar winner vs. Great Crossing-Henry Clay winner
FRIDAY’S FINALS
7 p.m.: Championship game.
All-District Tournament Teams
42nd: Connor Taylor, Marco Messerli, Shukuru Hamisi and Will Potter, Henry Clay; Delfin Iteriteka, Andrew Hughes and David Triplett, Frederick Douglass; Max Majors and Joquin Guerrant, Bryan Station; Braeden Collett and Jack Steinberg, Sayre; Mike Calulot and Tristen Bright, Scott County.
43rd: Chaz Rich (MVP), Christian Delgado, Walter Claudio and Coco Diaz, Paul Laurence Dunbar; Joshmar Babuena Lara, Enoch Nsabiman and Durk Mapatano, Tates Creek; Bruno Montero and James Barnett, Lexington Catholic, Mustafa Khan and David Rodriguez, Lafayette; Cade Crager, Lexington Christian.
