Wendy Haun
RICHMOND — Vince Clay was flanked by three wingmen Wednesday as he led the Madison Central boys soccer team into the 28th District Tournament championship.
Clay scored all of Central’s three goals as the Indians topped Madison Southern, 3-0, at Memorial Field to propel them into a matchup Saturday with Berea.
“I don’t know what it is about Vince and district opponents, but he came out and scored three big goals for us,” Central coach Jeremiah Duerson said. “He helped us move on to the next round. He was great tonight.”
Central showed offensive pressure early, getting a shot on goal by Stephen Willoughby that was saved by Southern goalkeeper Kyle Dickhaus at the beginning of the game.
Then, with 15:30 left, Clay found the back of the net off an assist from the left wing by Garth Baxter. Ten minutes later, it was Daniel Monzon who fed the ball to Clay before he put it in the right side of the goal.
“Vince Clay tore us up tonight,” Southern coach Lyle Bailey said. “Our guys tried to stick on him when the ball was on our side of the field and we lost him a couple of times.”
Finally, with less than two minutes left in the first half, Grant McIntosh put the ball at Clay’s feet and he put it past Dickhaus again.
“When you get hot, you want guys to keep giving you the ball,” Duerson said. “The rest of the team did it. Vince has all kinds of speed. He got behind the defense and was putting them home.”
However, the Eagle defense really stepped up in the second half. After a penalty on Southern’s Adam Miller in the box, Gordo Horn’s penalty kick was blocked out of the frame by Dickhaus.
“That penalty kick was a great save,” Bailey said. “He’s done that three or four times this year with saves. From last year to this year, he’s improved 100 percent. He’s going to be a great goalie for the future.”
Then, it appeared Southern’s offense was making a move. Junior David Enge had a breakaway shot from long range that went wide left. Sophomore Chad Wheaton had a shot on goal that went wide left as well off a throw-in. Sophomore Ryan Baker had a shot on goal that hit the crossbar and bounced out of play.
“Our guys played hard tonight,” Bailey said. “It would have been awfully easy for us to quit at halftime, down 3-0, and let them score a few more times. But our guys played with some pride and held them scoreless in the second half. I was proud of them.”
The final 10 minutes were marked by cards as the game got more physical. Southern’s Wheaton, Miller and A.J. Jeck and Central’s Taylor Deaton were all given yellow cards for unsporting conduct and Southern assistant coach Graeme Crouch was ejected late in the game as well.
Southern finishes the season 3-9-6. On a team that boasts one senior and 13 sophomores, Bailey said he’s not too worried about what the future brings.
“We’ve got a lot of sophomores and a few juniors,” he said. “I think we’ll be really good the next few years.”
