High-powered Henry Clay already looks primed to defend boys state soccer title
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- Henry Clay opened its season 4-0 with 16 goals and three shutout victories.
- Senior midfielder Connor Taylor led the win over Lafayette with three goals.
- Coach Behler aims to build team depth and chemistry before postseason play.
It’s only August, but defending boys state soccer champion Henry Clay looked as devastating as it did a year ago in taking down crosstown rival Lafayette 5-1 Thursday night.
The Blue Devils, known for being able to score in bunches during their 2024 campaign, blitzed the visiting Generals with four goals in less than five minutes of first-half action to the delight of the a solid contingent of students gathered in the Devils Den.
“I feel like we’re firing on all cylinders right now,” said senior forward Braden Cundiff, who notched a goal and an assist during the run. “We’ve just got to keep pushing toward the midseason, getting every little thing right and trying to figure out all the kinks with this team. We got a bunch of new pieces, and I’m really excited about it.”
Among the returnees is last year’s state tournament MVP, Connor Taylor, a senior midfielder who scored three goals against Lafayette. Taylor paid off a run and perfect cross by Cundiff for the Blue Devils’ second goal of the game midway through the first half. Then, moments later, after Cundiff’s goal, Taylor converted a penalty kick for the 4-0 lead. Shukuru Hamisi scored Henry Clay’s opening goal.
“Most of us are seniors. … This is our last time playing soccer. So, we want to go out and have fun,” Taylor said. “Obviously, we have the talent to go back-to-back. So that’s what we want to do.”
This year’s Henry Clay roster features 17 seniors, eight juniors and two sophomores and includes two new starting midfielders who missed out on last year’s state title run to train with Lexington Sporting Club — senior Jose Flores-Cruz and junior Kingston Marshall.
With Flores-Cruz, Marshall and Taylor, Behler thinks he has “maybe three of the best midfielders in the state.”
“The key to this group will be building out the depth and keeping our legs fresh for October,” Behler said. “My difficulty is that (many of) my starters have been hearing my voice for four years. … And I only have so many things to say. They’re going to tune me out.
“It’s really about this group finding each other and finding what their chemistry and their dynamic is going to be, their personality — and then embracing that.”
Henry Clay (4-0) has opened this season with three shutout wins and 16 goals scored.
But Thursday’s rout of Lafayette (1-1) did not come without difficulty. The Generals, the 2023 11th Region champs and state runner-up that year, continued to battle and scratched a goal back by Max Jacobs to trim the lead to 4-1 late in the second half.
“We kind of let the game go there for a minute,” Taylor said. “We kept fouling when they were facing backwards — just unnecessary fouls. So we have to work on that and the mentality at the end. I didn’t see how we got scored on, but we just can’t let that happen.”
Taylor helped rectify the miscue a few minutes later as he completed his hat trick thanks to a turnover in Lafayette’s defensive third of the field. Taylor sprang across the 18-yard box, knifed toward goal and set loose a left-footed shot to extend the margin back to four goals with 5:29 to play.
The question is: Can Henry Clay sustain this level through October when it’s win-or-go-home time in the 42nd District and 11th Region tournaments and beyond?
“I feel like there could be some concern. I mean, you can never be too cautious,” Cundiff said. “But it’s always great to get started well and see what your capability is. … There might be some tough battles ahead, and we might falter, but I think this team has the capability to get back up and keep going where I know we can be.”
This story was originally published August 22, 2025 at 9:25 AM.
